Meek Mill is once again the target of a shady diss. This time around, his contender is Joe Budden, the New Jersey-based rapper who made his name in the early 2000s with his party hit “Pump It Up.” Now, Joe Budden tries to remain relevant by hosting a blog and participating in rap battles that he usually loses. As for Meek Mill, he’s not much of a winner these days either.

Joe Budden and Meek Mill belong to the same class of performers. They both emerged from the underground hip hop scene and developed a slew of followers. But as is normal in hip hop, most of the beef involving artists like Meek Mill and Joe Budden is all about appearances and personas and never about music. Fans excited about the rap tracks that may emerge because of Budden’s choice words should understand that history repeating itself is not exactly a sign of talent.

In fact, the plethora of so-called music that has come as a result of rap beef can be summed up by saying that hard rappers (like 50 Cent) hate soft rappers (like Drake) for selling more records than them. And with rappers like Meek Mill, Joe Budden, 50 Cent, and Drake, this is an ongoing song about the exact same thing.

Meek Mill vs. Drake

Meek Mill would’ve been the “hard” rapper in the Drake vs. Meek Mill feud if it wasn’t for his complete lack of punch lines. Instead, Drake somehow softened Meek Mill’s persona and hardened his own. How did he do this? By referencing Meek’s fiancée, Nicki Minaj.

Meek’s “hard” persona started to fade when he got into a public relationship with Nicki. It wasn’t merely because he decided to marry, but also because his fans believe that his music changed shortly after. Drake saw Meek’s tarnished appearance as an opportunity. This is what Drake had to say in his famous diss track “Back to Back.”

“You love her, then you gotta give the world to her/Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?/I know that you gotta be a thug for her/This ain’t what she meant when she told you to open up more.”

So, Meek Mill is not the master of his life or career anymore, if you let Drake tell the story. But Drake was not the only rapper who had this opinion of Meek Mill.

Meek Mill vs. 50 Cent

Soon after the Meek Mill vs. Drake beef subsided, Meek decided to release a song dissing 50 Cent. The popular belief is that Meek Mill did this to regain credibility. Unfortunately, it fired back at him.

50 Cent brought Nicki Minaj into the conversation, but this time, he insinuated that Nicki was the bread winner in their relationship. 50 Cent told Meek Mill to “focus on getting Nicki pregnant,” so that Meek Mill could get a child support check.

Meek Mill’s response to 50 Cent is similar to his response to everyone. He simply says that these rappers are irrelevant. But that response is old, and it’s clearly not working. As a result of his failed comebacks, other rappers will continue to call Meek Mill to the battle ring.

Meek Mill vs. Joe Budden

Meek Mill vs. Joe Budden is a rap battle that has yet to happen, but he has already begun to take Joe’s bait. According to MTV, Meek Mill recently made a statement in response to Joe Budden’s diss, also referencing Nicki Minaj. This time Meek appears to be playing a little smarter, stating that he will only retaliate if Joe Budden’s feelings toward him become a song.

“He’s been dead since 2003 it’s evident. We don’t talk to dead people unless they presidents. This is clearly a rhyme, so it could be lifted from a song lyric, but we’ll have to wait and see if his response ends there, and remains on social media, or actually ends up on a song.”

If Joe Budden makes a Meek Mill diss track, it won’t say anything other rappers haven’t already said. So in a way, Meek Mill has already responded. There’s no use in dropping another weak rebuttal track.

Meek Mill’s disses are contributing to his tarnished persona. If he focuses on dishing out hit songs and pays less attention to “dead” rappers who call him out, eventually he’ll be on top again.

[Image by Randy Miramontez/Shutterstock]