Joe Budden Reflects On Past Beef With Jay-Z, Eminem: “I Don’t Regret Any Of It”

Joe Budden is looking back over some of his highly publicized feuds over the years, including his beef with Jay-Z and Eminem.

The outspoken rapper turned podcaster was asked if he has misgivings over any of his spats during the latest episode of The Pivot podcast. While Budden said he has no regrets, he admitted he could have handled things better.

“I don’t regret any of it ’cause I pulled a lesson from it,” he explained. “All of the yesterdays lead to today. If I change one thing, then the outcome, the result is different.”

When pressed to recall a specific situation he mishandled, Joe Budden went all the way back to the beginning of his career when he was signed to Def Jam while Jay-Z was at the helm.

“I was a young artist on Def Jam trying to work on my second album,” he explained. “And at that time, a lot of the artists on Def Jam had an issue with Jay-Z being the president. This was the first time that a rapper, our peer, was calling the shots, in charge of DMX release date and LL release date, and none of us took that well. And I really didn’t take it well.”

Budden confessed, “I didn’t handle myself well at all,” and would belittle the label at every turn.

“Every interview that they booked for me, I kicked them back in,” he added. “Every chance I got in front of a microphone, I had disparaging things to say about people who, ultimately, were maybe trying to help me. Even if they weren’t trying to help me, if I would’ve helped myself, I would have been in a different predicament. But I didn’t. Gas on the fire.”

Joe Budden Insists His Intentions Were Selfless

Ultimately, Budden says that although he could have expressed himself better, his intentions were pure.

“The intent is always for the better of everyone. It’s never a selfish act,” he said. “When I had my back and forth with Shady Records and Eminem, I was fighting for me and my brothers to get a better situation. What other fights? I forgot all of them now… But there was good intent behind it all.”