studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.mixed and

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

at Cyber Sound Studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The record features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Emanny, Drew Hudson and The Game. The album's release was supported by the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"The Future" featuring The Game, and two

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

s – "In My Sleep" and "Exxxes". ''Padded Room'' debuted at #42 on the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

chart and #2 on the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...

chart, with 13,451 copies sold in the first week of release. Many people in the entertainment industry had high expectations for ''Padded Room''. Upon its release, the album received generally favorable reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the rap album a favorable review, and ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' gave it 8.2/10. It was widely promoted, but its success was less than moderate.

Background

At the time, while he was still signed to

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, Joe Budden intended to released a second album, titled ''The Growth''. However, it was scuttled by a deteriorating relationship with the record label, and a rumored feud with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

(who became the President and CEO of the record label in 2004). Joe Budden commented on his disagreements with his former label, saying, "The relationship went sour over the years, not something that just happened spontaneously or instantly. It was kind of a developing process." Yet, he did acknowledge that Def Jam's changing of the guard in 2004, after his debut's release, was not good for his career. He explained that the people that signed him to the record label and had faith and belief in him were no longer in charge. If the people who currently run Def Jam were in charge in 2002-2003, he doubts that he ever would have been signed to a deal. In January 2008, in an interview with ''

Billboard.com ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'', the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

/

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

rapper said that the album would be "in the same vein as ''Mood Muzik'', just a little more structure and the mood will probably be a little lighter." Once ''Padded Room'' was released, Joe Budden hoped there wouldn't be another long wait before his third studio album. "I'm in the studio every single day, vibing and coming up with ideas," he said. "There's always music around to put out, so you'll hear more from me sooner than later, I hope." Due to complications with the physical product, it was pushed back from October 28, 2008 to February 24, 2009. Joe Budden and

Amalgam Digital Amalgam Digital is an independent record label based in East Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2006 by Anyextee, the privately owned label had been home to a variety of artists throughout the decade before significantly downsizing in its later yea ...

decided to release ''

Halfway House A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

'', a digital-only album featuring fourteen brand new songs, on October 28 as a prequel to the album. ''Halfway House'' is the first digital-only hip hop release employing both traditional marketing methods (commercial radio, video, advertising campaigns, etc.) and new media viral marketing initiatives. Joe Budden apologized to his fans, saying, "Though I'm not happy about it being pushed so far back, I do understand the method behind the madness. We've got an album that I’m extremely proud of and a lead single that Amalgam Digital and I are both very happy with, but for those of you who are just as anxious as I am, I apologize."

Recording and production

''Padded Room'' was recorded from 2007 and 2008 at Bennett Studios in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, Glenwood Place Studios in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, and Sundance Studios in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.MoSS Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

, Dub B, Versatile, Qwan, Dilemma and The Klasix. The album was mixed and

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

at Cyber Sound Studio in New York City by Jeremy Page. In January 2008, Joe Budden told ''

Billboard.com ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' that ''Padded Room'' is completed. "It basically will be in the same vein as 'Mood Muzik,' just a little more structure and the mood will probably be a little lighter. I'm definitely pleased with the direction that it's going." He added that the album "sounds like Joe Budden. I can't really say it sounds like the times, because the times right now I'm not too fond of. I'm not too big on how that sound is going. But Joe Budden fans will get what they're accustomed to, and there's music on there for the casual listener as opposed to 'Mood Muzik,' which is not for the casual fan." Amalgam partnered with

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...

to broadcast Joe Budden's studio session live on August 21, 2008. The fans had the opportunity to chat with the rapper before watching him live in studio as he puts the finishing touches on his album. In the studio session he finished "Exxxes" and "Happy Holidays".Joe Budden In Studio Finishing Padded Room, AmalgamDigital Ustream.TV
/ref>

Singles

The lead single, "The Future" featuring The Game, was released on December 30, 2008. On February 16, 2009, "In My Sleep," was leaked onto the Internet as a promotional single. Its music video, directed by

Rik Cordero Rik Cordero (born 1979 as Fredric Joseph Cordero) is an American film director and musician. Cordero was born and raised in Queens, New York and is known for applying unusual, non-traditional shooting methods in his work. He was nominated for Vi ...

, was released on March 14, 2009. Joe Budden filmed a music video for the song "Exxxes," for which the behind the scenes footage was released on March 9, 2009. On April 14, 2009, the music video was released.

Critical reception

''Padded Room'' opened up to generally favorable reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 70, based on 5 reviews. Jesal 'Jay Soul' Padania of RapReviews gave the album a 7.5 out of ten, saying "Therefore, whoever had the final say-so on the beat selection is the main culprit for the failings on the album - if it was Joe Budden himself, then more shame him, because he also turns in a superb lyrical performance that rap fans will appreciate as one of the most interesting efforts in recent hip hop history." Evan Rytlewski of ''Prefix Magazine'' gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "On his 2003 debut, he was arrogant and scattered, too often losing his train of thought and reaching for throwaway puns. The Joe Budden on ''Padded Room'', however, is focused and hungry, spinning dense, psychological yarns that build for dozens and dozens of bars. Budden scratched and clawed for his second chance, and he hasn't squandered it."

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

's Andrew Martin gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "''Padded Room'' is still a solid, well-crafted effort. Budden has not slouched at all in his six years 'out' of the game, though that’s clearly not accurate as his mixtapes have more than filled any possible void. But there is still plenty for him to accomplish if he wants to have a classic under his belt. And if his shit-talking and online presence is any indication, he will likely not settle until he has a classic album of his very own." Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted "while Joe Budden is enamored of his rhymes, which are taut, intricate and structurally varied, he raps in a scraped-up monotone, a technician first and stylist second." Ivan Rott of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "For so long, Joe Budden has been deemed the ultimate mixtape rapper, but with ''Padded Room'', perhaps he can begin to commence the discography and career he and his fans have sought after for so long. Independent hip-hop and it's a thing to celebrate. And support." Andres Vasquez of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

gave the album a 3.5 out of five, saying "Joe Budden has released a candid and thought provoking piece of work. It's something that many fans have been waiting for. Even with miscues on board, it's still the album mainstream rappers attempt to make on paper, and the kind of writing that many independents can't seem to keep up with." ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' reviewer, Alfred H. Leonard, III, gave the album an 8.2 out of ten, stating "Joe's talent is undeniable as he effortlessly paints vivid pictures of his life and allows his audience to see a real person rather than a faux rap persona." Jason Reynolds of

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

gave the album 84 out of a 100, saying "Like most of Joe Budden's work, ''Padded Room'', is sad. But it's good. Which makes me happy. Maybe that's Joe Budden's appeal. Maybe he shows us our humanness, our misery, and the resilience it takes to grow. Or that insanity might be normal, and that we all are in need of a padded room. Either way, this Padded Room is worth a visit." DJBooth reviewer, Nathan S., gave the album four "spins" out of five, saying "In the end, if Budden belongs in a padded room it's because he's self-destructively focused on making music that matters, and if that's crazy, I don't want to be sane." Damien Scoot of '' XXL'' gave the album an "XL", saying "Lyrically, Joe crafts a masterpiece, opening the door to the mind of a disturbed yet misunderstood soul. Sadly, the album's beat selections, at times, don't match. There are no throwaways to speak of, but tracks like the '80s-rock-inspired 'Don't Make Me' and the retro pop 'My Life' just aren't as innovative as the lyrics atop them. Whatever the case, ''Padded Room'' proves that, when it comes to heartfelt hip-hop, it's good to be crazy."

Track listing

Chart positions

Personnel

Credits for ''Padded Room'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

and from the album liner notes. * Joe Budden – primary artist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

,

rap vocals Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

* Dominic - featured artist * Blastah Beatz –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Dilemma – production * Dub B – production * Andrew "Fyu-chur" Jackson – production * The Klasix – production *

MoSS Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

– production * Al Perrota –

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Qwan – production * Emanny "Emanny" Salgado – featured artist * Jayceon "The Game" Taylor – featured artist * Versatile – production Additional personnel * Crystal Isaacs –

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

* Jeremy Page – mastering, mixing * Alexander Richter – photography * Skrilla –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

,

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Joe Budden albums Albums produced by Andrew Roettger Amalgam Digital albums MNRK Music Group albums Albums produced by MoSS