No Love Lost (Joe Budden album)

No Love Lost
Studio album by Joe Budden
Released	February 5, 2013
Recorded	2011–2012
Genre	Hip hop
Length	71:49
Label	E1 Mood Muzik
Producer	8 Bars A6 Allen Ritter Boi-1da Beewirks Cardiak Darknight Frequency KdotOnTheBeat LV Mizfitz Soundz Sean C SLV T-Minus Vinylz
Joe Budden chronology
Escape Route (2009) No Love Lost (2013) Some Love Lost (2014)
Singles from No Love Lost
"She Don't Put It Down" Released: October 10, 2012 "NBA" Released: March 26, 2013

No Love Lost is the third studio album by American rapper Joe Budden. The album was released on February 5, 2013, under E1 Music.^[1][2] The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Lloyd Banks, Juicy J, Slaughterhouse, Tank, Fabolous, Kirko Bangz, Wiz Khalifa, Twista, French Montana and Omarion among others. The album's release was supported by two singles: "She Don't Put It Down" featuring Lil Wayne and Tank, and "NBA" featuring Wiz Khalifa and French Montana.

Background

Budden has stated that the album is actually the final piece of the four album concept, which includes Halfway House, Padded Room and Escape Route, as he finally finds salvation and freedom from a sense of confinement that had been pervading his life and career.^[3]

On August 11, 2009, Amalgam Digital and Budden released a digital-only album entitled Escape Route, the third piece of the four album concept. Budden said that Escape Route will give fans a taste of what to expect from him on his third studio effort.^[4] In September 2010, Budden signed to E1 Music, so the album will not be released under Amalgam Digital. At the end of 2012 Joe Budden embarked on the Second First Impression Tour.^[5]

Budden explained that he hoped to highlight his love for the live instrumentation that's made R&B great through generations on No Love Lost with more jazzy beats. Also saying Love will be the main subject point of the album.^[6]

In an interview on November 19, 2012 with HipHopDX Budden said about the album,

"For me, it's been a long, long journey. I've met a lot of people, some I've pissed off. I've been public about some things, I've been immature, I've been a dickhead, and some people have been those things to me. The title just symbolizes being in a real state of happiness. I don't have any malice toward anyone, no grudges, just being in a real pain-free type of state. I wouldn't say free of pain, but a different type of pain. It's like a new Joe Budden."

According to Joe this album will show his maturity and growth as an artist.^[5]

On November 22, 2012 Joe Budden released the mixtape "A Loose Quarter" to positive critical feedback. It features Ab-Soul, Royce da 5'9" and Kobe among others.^[7]

Guests and production

On August 31, 2009, a potential single for the album named "No Competition" featuring R&B singer Emanny was leaked unto the internet. The song was produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. On January 29, 2010, Budden released a now-scrapped track for the album named "Downfall" via his Twitter page. Budden stated that he and J.Cardim were not able to clear a sample from the track, leading to the release and being scrapped from the album. The song was later released as a part of Mood Muzik 4.5.

In August 2010, Budden stated that the producer DJ Premier had a beat potentially for No Love Lost. On January 5, 2010, Budden hinted via Twitter that Havoc from Mobb Deep made a beat for No Love Lost. In an interview on November 18, 2012, he revealed that there will also be tracks produced by Cardiak and AraabMuzik on the album.^[8] and the next day revealed Beewirks, gentlemen by the name of Dark Night and 8 Bars, Blessed By The Beats and his own underground group SLV (Summer Leather Vest) also among the production.^[5]

Guest features on the album were to include Twista, Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Lil Wayne and Lupe Fiasco.^[7][9] Joe Budden later said he recorded many songs with Black Hippy's Ab-Soul.^[10] In December 2012 Joe said in an interview with HardKnockTV that there is a song with Juicy J and Lloyd Banks on it. Also saying Omarion and Kirko Bangz will be featured on the album.^[11] Budden indicated that this album will have more features than any of his previous albums.^[12] The final tracklist revealed Emanny and Slaughterhouse also as featured artists on the project.^[13]

Singles

On February 27, 2012 at a concert, Budden previewed a new track featuring Lil Wayne, and R&B singer Tank called “Put It Down Like You”. On October 10, E1 Music released the first song from the album, "She Don't Put It Down Like You", which featured fellow rapper Lil Wayne and R&B singer Tank. The track was produced by T-Minus.^[14] The remix was also included on the album and it features Fabolous and Twista. A music video was shot in January 2013 for the remix.^[15] On February 5, 2013, the music video was released for "She Don't Put It Down" (Remix) featuring Fabolous, Lil Wayne and Tank.^[16]

On November 28, 2012 he announced his second single to be "NBA". The song features Wiz Khalifa and French Montana.^[17] On March 26, 2013, the music video was released for "NBA".^[18] That same day it would be released to iTunes as the album's second single.^[19]

He also filmed a music video for the song "Castles", for which the trailer was released on February 5, 2013.^[20] On March 19, 2013, the music video was released for "Castles".^[21]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[22]
The Boston Globe	[23]
DJBooth.net	[24]
Exclaim!	7/10[25]
HipHopDX	[26]
PopMatters	[27]
The Quietus	5/10[28]
RapReviews	6/10[29]
XXL	4/5 (XL)[30]

No Love Lost was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "mixed reviews".^[31] Roman Cooper of HipHopDX gave the album three out of five stars saying, "The most glaring issue with No Love Lost is the truly terrible production featured throughout. “She Don’t Put It Down” and “You And I” sound like limp versions of some generic top 40 hit of yesteryear. “Castles” and “All in My Head” are more lush and interesting, but too much of the album is glittery, banal R&B a la “Switch Positions.” As the production might suggest, there’s a lot of homogenous discussion about women on the project. And while that’s a subject that can get a lot of mileage if addressed properly, Budden’s love/sex talk just rarely ever rises to the level of compelling."^[26] Grant Jones of RapReviews gave the album a six out of ten, saying "No Love Lost strengthens the reasoning behind putting a few love-related tracks on a hip hop album. In short bursts, tracks like "Skeletons" and "You And I" are excellent examples of Joe Budden, and "She Don't Put It Down" is as infectious as any other single in 2013. But ultimately, "No Love Lost" is too inconsistent to leave a lasting impression, and falls short of greatness."^[29]

David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "So many highlights make the album trophy-case worthy, but the best party numbers sit right next to one another, and long stretches of emo and midtempo threaten to alienate newcomers. At 17 tracks, the last being a remix of "She Don't Put It Down" with Twista adding the fury, it's a long haul as well, even with all the pop touches and crossover appeal. The casual listener might think it drifts too much, but fans who wrap it up in the Slaughterhouse universe will find it's a somewhat jumbled effort with plenty of literate, thoughtful writing to explore."^[22] Christopher Minaya of XXL gave the album an XL, saying "With No Love Lost, none of Budden’s fans lose. He has something for all of them. It is very close to a decade after his self-titled debut dropped, yet Budden seems as new now as he did then. The album probably has more features than any other Budden project, but it’s not overbearing. Also, Joe does not move away aimlessly from what he is good at and what he enjoys, as clearly showcased through the endings with live instrument solos (“You and I,” “Ghetto Burbs” and “Tell Him Somethin”)."^[30] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe gave the album two stars out of five, saying "Budden has been releasing tart, clever music for a decade, but he sounds completely adrift here, struggling to articulate vulnerability or trying to figure out relationships. More problematic, he seems to have cherry-picked beats off a thrift store rack."^[23]

David Amidon of PopMatters gave the album a four out of ten, saying "No Love Lost has its highlights (“Skeletons”, “You and I”, Juicy J adlibs) and is far from terrible. It’s just typical Budden atop typical Top 40 (other than “Ghetto Burbs”, which could’ve been a Lil’ Cease epic in 1999) and that’s not a formula that makes for anything memorable."^[27] Peter Marrack of Exclaim! gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Guest verses by Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J work well to round out the album. Taylor Gang prove they can stay trippy but fully functional, whereas Budden gets fucked up and depressed. No Love Lost is all about accepting your weaknesses and moving forward."^[25] Gary Suarez of The Quietus gave the album a five out of ten, saying "Gorged on hackneyed R&B slinkiness and moody muzak, this ultimately ensures that the record won't do much to reboot his tempestuous career, all of the light and hope of 'Pump It Up' extinguishing in the suffocating atmosphere of a characteristically self-centered outro."^[28] Nathan S. of DJBooth gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Ironically, on Slaughterhouse’s Welcome to: Our House these fluctuations between bearing their hearts on their sleeve and strapping a Rolex to that same wrist left the album feeling scattered, but with Joe’s distinct style steering every track, No Love Lost is a much more cohesive and focused work, despite similar fluctuations. Budden’s pulled off a rare feat, but what can I say, the man’s always defied easy definition. He is large, he contains multitudes."^[24]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 30,000 copies in the United States.^[32] As of March 20, 2013, it has sold 60,000 copies.^[33]

Track listing

• All song samples, writing and production credits are according to the album booklet.

Note

• "Our First Again (Intro)" features uncredited vocals by Wakenna Rosado and Emanny.
• "NBA" features uncredited vocals by Dion Primo.
• "Skeletons" features uncredited vocals by Kaydence.
• "Tell Him Somethin'" features Emanny's vocals as a member of the group SLV.
• "Runaway" features uncredited instrumentation by Maki Athanasiou.

Personnel

Credits for No Love Lost adapted from Allmusic.^[34]

Chart positions

References