Charlamagne Tha God and Joe Budden Exchange Words Over Budden’s Spotify Drama
Joe Budden announced during the week of Aug. 23 that he would be pulling his podcast from Spotify due to issues with the company. The news was met with both a torrent of headlines and many reactions from his peers, including fellow radio host Charlamagne Tha God.
In a recent episode of his show The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne seemed to blame Budden for the problems he’s having with the streaming giant. His remarks led the former rapper and Love & Hip Hop star to speaking out against Charlamagne on Twitter and on his show. Take a closer look at what happened, below.
Joe Budden’s issues with Spotify explained
Budden said on the Aug. 26 episode of his hugely popular podcast, The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory and Mal, that he would not be renewing his contract, per Variety.
“September 23rd, I cannot tell you where this podcast will be. But as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify,” Budden said, before accusing the streaming giant of undervaluing and exploiting his show and pillaging his audience.
In a statement shared with Variety, Spotify said it had hoped to continue its business relationship with Budden.
“It was our desire to keep Joe Budden on Spotify. As Joe referenced on his show, we made him a considerable offer — one that was significantly larger and many times the value of the existing agreement and reflective of the current market and size of his audience. Unfortunately, we could not come to terms and we respect his wishes to find a new home for his show,” the statement said.
Budden’s podcast has aired exclusively on Spotify since 2018, three years after its launch.
Charlamagne Tha God’s comments about Joe Budden’s Spotify drama seemed critical
As the news of his exit swirled, Charlamagne took to his show to weigh in on Budden’s impending departure. He insinuated the host was to blame for his issues with Spotify as he seemingly drew a comparison to Budden leaving Complex’s show Everyday Struggle in 2017 due to issues at the company.
“It sounds to me like Joe Budden is a person who knows his worth but doesn’t know how to properly negotiate it, ’cause if you keep doing deals with various corporations and you keep getting trash-a** deals, that’s on you,” he said. “Like, things like vacation days, bonuses, all of that has to be negotiated in your contract from the beginning.”
After catching wind of the comments, Budden reacted on Twitter and then shared more of his thoughts on a recent episode of his podcast.
Joe Budden sounded off on Charlamagne Tha God on his podcast
On the episode, Budden said Charlamagne could not understand his position because unlike him, Charlamagne does not own his show. (The Breakfast Club is owned by iHeartRadio.)
“I know that you have this healthy obsession with me. I know that you think that we are in a competition. You might also think that we are fighting the same fight. You would be mistaken with all three of those,” Budden began around the 33:00 mark.
“Charlamagne, you not gonna get it because I own this. My most valuable, my most powerful, my most accomplished asset, I own it. Ownership. You see all these Black people running around preaching ownership, ownership, ownership? There’s a reason for it,” he continued.
He went on to call out Charlamagne for his own failed shows like an HBO series. “That’s what happens when you don’t have your own. …We not having the same fight behind the scenes. It looks the same but it’s not the same. Don’t be fooled by the cross streets,” he said.
So far, Charlamagne has not yet replied to his statements.
