Drake and Joe Budden. It’s the beef that never actually dies; it just goes into a very loud hibernation. Honestly, if you’ve been following hip-hop for more than five minutes, you know this isn't your standard rap war. It’s not Kendrick vs. Drake. It’s not even Pusha T levels of "I'm going to ruin your life."
It’s more like a toxic relationship where one person can’t stop watching the other’s Instagram Stories.
When people search for Drake Joe Budden live, they’re usually looking for one of two things. Either that legendary 2020 Instagram Live where they actually acted like friends, or the more recent, high-octane explosions that happened after For All The Dogs dropped.
The For All The Dogs Fallout
In late 2023, things got nasty. Joe Budden did what Joe Budden does: he sat in front of a microphone and gave an unfiltered, somewhat grumpy review of Drake’s new album. He basically told Drake to "grow up" and stop rapping for 25-year-olds when he’s pushing 40.
Drake didn’t take it well. At all.
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Instead of a subliminal bar on a song, he went full "keyboard warrior" on Instagram. He wrote a massive, multi-paragraph essay calling Joe a failure. He literally brought up Joe’s old living situation, saying he was "broke living cheque to cheque" while Drake is out here owning a Boeing 767.
It was a weird moment for fans. You’ve got the biggest artist in the world—a guy who has every reason to ignore critics—typing out a novel because a podcaster didn't like his music. It showed a level of "thin skin" that the internet absolutely feasted on.
Why Drake Joe Budden Live Moments Are Different
Most rap beefs happen in the studio. This one happens on screen.
Back in April 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, the world saw Drake Joe Budden live on Instagram for a brief, surreal moment. They were laughing. Drake was joking about coming on the podcast for an interview. He told Joe, "We have an interview to do when the album’s ready."
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Spoiler alert: that interview never happened.
Instead, the relationship devolved back into what we see today. Drake trolls Joe by playing "Pump It Up" in random clubs and posting it to his Stories. Joe responds by calling Drake "ice cold" or a "corpse" (his words, not mine) on his Patreon.
The Real Root of the Tension
You have to go back to 2016 to understand why this keeps happening. It started with Joe calling the Views album "uninspired."
- Joe thinks Drake is a "pop star" who lost his hunger.
- Drake thinks Joe is a "quitter" who couldn't cut it in the rap game.
- Both are probably right, depending on who you ask.
Joe released a series of diss tracks—"Making a Murderer Pt. 1," "Afraid," "Wake"—and Drake responded with "4pm in Calabasas" and a verse on French Montana’s "No Shopping." It was the last time they actually traded bars before the conflict moved almost entirely to social media and podcast clips.
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Is It All Just Marketing?
There is a segment of the audience that thinks the whole Drake Joe Budden live tension is a work. A "work" is wrestling slang for something that’s staged. Think about it: every time Joe slams Drake, his podcast numbers go through the roof. Every time Drake responds, he stays in the headlines.
But if you look at the 2023 Instagram response, that didn't feel like marketing. That felt like genuine, visceral annoyance. Drake brought up Joe's "modest house in the 973" and his "Best Buy podcast mics." That’s the kind of specific, petty detail you only use when you’re actually mad.
What Happens Next
As of early 2026, the two are still at it. Joe recently addressed Drake’s "finsta" account (plottttwistttttt) where Drake posted a video of Joe smoking a cigarette outside a car. Joe’s response was brutal, essentially saying he’s not interested in "spinning the block" for a rapper who he considers to be in a decline.
If you’re looking to keep up with this saga, here is the best way to do it without getting lost in the noise:
- Watch the Patreon clips: Joe saves his most inflammatory Drake takes for the paid subscribers, but they always leak to Twitter (X) within minutes.
- Monitor the "Finsta": Drake’s secondary Instagram accounts are where he does his most direct trolling nowadays.
- Check the Timestamps: Whenever Drake releases a "Timestamp" song (like 5am in Toronto, 8am in Charlotte), there is a 90% chance Joe will spend two hours of his next podcast episode deconstructing it.
The dynamic has shifted from a rap battle to a meta-commentary on the industry itself. Joe represents the "old guard" of lyricism and hip-hop gatekeeping, while Drake represents the unstoppable, data-driven machine of modern celebrity. They need each other. Without Drake, Joe has less to talk about. Without Joe, Drake doesn't have a foil to remind him that he’s still "The Boy."
Check for the next live stream event—whether it’s a surprise IG Live or a "Table For One" episode on SiriusXM—because that's usually where the next shot will be fired.