Mood Muzik 4: A Turn 4 The Worst review.

Joe Budden has had an interesting career, to say the least. Signed to Def Jam at the beginning, he released his self-titled album in 2003 to generally positive reviews, then had a falling out with the label which led to his release.

He then created the Mood Muzik series, starting with the first version which was dubbed The Worst of Joe Budden. The title was a play on words, because even though he and others thought it was his best work, he called it the worst of his discography because it wasn't what a label would want.

Mood Muzik 1 didn't receive much buzz, but Mood Muzik 2: Can It Get Any Worse? really put Budden on the map, in regards to underground rap. Songs such as 6 Minutes of Death, Dumb Out, For a Reason, Three Sides to a Story and Stained were all instant classics to me and the other tracks aren't too shabby either.

Then you have the third part of the Mood Muzik series, in For Better of For Worse. Regarded by many as the greatest mix-tape ever, Mood Muzik 3 received outstanding reviews and is my favorite out of the three. (A lot of diehard Budden fans will agrue that 2 is better than 3, but you can't go wrong with either one.) This had Budden's best song, All of Me, which I would put up near the top when talking about best songs ever. It's an absolute masterpiece.

So that brings us to Mood Muzik 4: A Turn 4 The Worst. When I am listening to an album or mix-tape, I usually see myself comparing it to another album or mix-tape that I've listened to numerous times. So with that being said, it would be assumed that I would compare Mood Muzik 4 mostly to one of the other tapes in this series, correct?

Wrong.

Instead, I'm looking at Recovery by Eminem as a comparison when listening to this. The basic concepts of the projects are the same, with the feel-good vibes stemming from both. Recovery is self-explanatory, as it's themed from Eminem's recovery from his drug abuse. On the other side, Mood Muzik 4 is supposed to be more light-hearted than the other mix-tapes in the series and is supposed to show how Budden has recovered from his depression.

Another reason why I can compare the two projects is because my hype level for both of them went through the roof before I actually had the entire thing on my iTunes. With Recovery, I liked Not Afraid and Won't Back Down; the two tracks that were released/leaked before the entire project dropped. Adding the factor of Eminem being my all-time favorite music artist, it was easy for me to be excited for the album.

However, I feel like my hype for Mood Muzik 4 shot past the hype I had for Recovery after hearing what I heard before it came out. Budden released three trailers for the mix-tape which were on constant repeat for weeks and songs like Black Cloud, Sober Up, Inception (not on the actual tape, although it was supposed to be), No Idea and Remember the Titans all leaked before. After listening to both, my expectations raised to nearly the max and I was extremely ecstatic to find out it leaked onto the Internet late Saturday.

With all the similarities in my eyes between Recovery and Mood Muzik 4, the latter should receive a similar grade, right? That's where the only difference is, and you'll find out why after I go by song-by-song.

Leading off the mix-tape is the intro, otherwise known as Pray For Them. [5/5] Immediately, I recognized the beat from the last tape in the series, as it's the exact same one from the song Invisible Man; one of my favorites off of Mood Muzik 3. That disappointed me just a tad, but Joey's lyrics more than make up for it. The "reminded my past is darker/cause when AM died, I was staring at Travis Barker" line gave me chills.

Rocky Balboa makes an appearance in Aftermath [4.5/5], as the Rocky clips are scattered throughout the song. Budden starts this track with a recycled line from his Unthinkable freestyle released earlier this year, but once again it's all good. Judging by the first two tracks though, I can definitely see why Joey said this won't have necessarily the same mood as the other Mood Muziks.

And we are back to a classic 'ol Mood Muzik feel with Role Reversal. [5/5] He discusses a subject that, along with not being the subject of a song before, is one that a lot of men are going through nowadays. Joey said this was one of his favorite records he's ever written and I can definitely see why after hearing it. A lot of dope lines are in the story-like feel of this song, like "but when he slips up and calls me dad, I correct him." This is also one of his songs that doesn't have a hook/chorus, just one long verse with Joey going in.

I'm not going to say much about Come Along [3/5], because I just can't get into it that much. Sometimes I'll listen to it when it comes up, but most of the time I skip it.

Mop Salad is a decent skit, but it's not like the classic Killa BH skits from Mood Muziks past. (Note: I don't review skits or intros/outros with little substance to them.)

The second track that leaked, Sober Up [5/5] was played non-stop by me during the time period when I didn't have the entire mix-tape. I absolutely love the beat and Joey's three verses are great, then Slaughterhouse member Crooked I rips it up with a nice verse himself. The hook is awesome as well, with a little Hail Mary from Tupac in there.

Dessert 4 Thought's [4.5/5] beat sounds like it should be on Pilot Talk. It's very chill and fits that album better than this, but I digress because I still like it. Another very good song and once again, I'm loving Pusha T's guest verses. Ever since he's gone the solo route for now, he's killed it with his guest spots, from Runaway at the MTV Awards to all the G.O.O.D. Friday releases. Styles P was alright as well in this.

I love the samples Joey uses for his songs. 1000 Faces [5/5] is another great example of awesome sampling, as he takes A Thousand Faces from Creed and creates another epic song that is in my top three for the entire mix-tape. The title should provide the subject matter for the song if you haven't listened to it yet, as Budden wonders about the true faces and feelings that the people around him possess.

Inseperable [5/5] just keeps the ball rolling as another song with a great sample, even though I'm still not sure what exactly he's sampling. Another deep track just reading the lyrics, but just like he's done for the last few years, Budden's emotion in his voice really ups the ante and make it that much better. The only flaw to this song is the misspelling in the title; it's inseparable Joey, not inseperable.

Another skit comes up, but it's the given Killa BH one. The Shoes is absolutely hilarious, as Joey's "protege" starts spitting wack, but funny verses during a phone call. However, he is hung up on mid-verse but then pokes fun at LeBron James's decision to go to the Miami Heat. You can never skip a Killa BH skit, no matter how much you hate skits on mix-tapes or albums.

Here's the required Posse Cut in Mood Muzik 4. Remember the Titans [4.5/5] was hyped up to be Family Reunion Part Dos, but it didn't live up to that. However, it's still very good and would be another 5/5 if it wasn't for Fabolous starting off the song with a meh verse. He did have a nice punchline about Kat Stacks, but Joey takes the mic and outshines him. The verse quality goes from worst to first in order, as Fabolous drops the worst one, followed by Budden, then Lloyd Banks and finally Royce da 5'9.

Emanny! He finally makes his first appearance in Welcome to Real Life [4.5/5] and does another outstanding job with the hook, but that's no surprise. This is another story-telling track from Budden, as he talks about three different people who have major faults in their lives and how they feel about them. With the potential to be a real standout track, it falls to the middle of the pile on Mood Muzik 4 because there's so many great songs.

Another song from Mood Muzik Mondays, No Idea [4.5/5] continues the train of very good songs that would stand out on any other album or mix-tape, but they can't with Mood Muzik 4. The Jim Joyce line ("We had a perfect game until it was Jim Joyce'd") was great and the entire third verse is amazing.

The first leak from the mix-tape, Black Cloud [5/5] sent expectations through the roof on first listen. A very dark beat is coupled with dark lyrics from Budden and a hook that sounds perfect with the distortion effect. There's plenty of quotables in this song.

This song just screams epic. Follow Your Lead [5/5] has a catchy hook from Budden and the three verses he spits are awesome, like always. He talks about how he doesn't need the cliche famous person lifestyle to be happy, which reverts back to the theme of this entire mix-tape; recovery from his depression. Then Joell Ortiz comes in after Joey's three verses and drops a gem, recalling a dark day in his life and how he's gotten past that. My second favorite of this tape.

Before describing Stuck in the Moment [5/5], I'd like to say that it didn't live up to my expectations. After watching the final trailer for this tape and hearing that song along with the video, I had enormous expectations and thought this song could surpass All of Me. That wasn't the case however, but it's still a definite classic and is my favorite. The Just Blaze produced beat (seriously, who would have guessed Just Blaze made this beat?) fits in perfect with Budden's lyrics and in his second and last appearance, Emanny delivers another incredible hook. I can't say enough about this song; just listen to it yourself and you'll see what I mean.

If All Else Fails [4/5] finishes off the mix-tape and although it's another good song, it shouldn't have been the ending track. Stuck in the Moment fitted perfectly to end the tape and this just sounds like a bonus track if anything. It's another song that has no hook, just Budden going in on the beat until he's out of paper to write his lyrics on.

And after going through the entire mix-tape [4.63/5], this is where the comparisons to Recovery end. Recovery got stale after a while and although I still consider it to be a good album, that's all it is - good. A lot of tracks have lost their replay value and others I don't enjoy as much as I did when I first got the album. (Note: If you haven't noticed by now, there's going to be a big change in Recovery's rating when I go back and re-rate albums later this year.)

Mood Muzik 4: A Turn 4 The Worst is the best project I've listened to this year, which isn't much of a surprise to me considering all that I heard of it before it actually dropped. Now when I compare it to other Mood Muziks, I'm not sure where exactly to place it. The production on this blows the first three's out of the water but they all had epic tracks, so it's hard for me to place the newest version on a pedestal above the others. Maybe in half a year, I'll be able to judge it in comparison for the others, but for now we'll just say it's an instant classic.