Joe Budden Offers Apology to Latto Following 'Hostage' Lyrics Controversy
Culture critic and podcast host Joe Budden has issued a public apology to rapper Latto, retracting earlier comments that questioned her songwriting originality. The controversy stemmed from Budden's remarks suggesting Latto's flow on her new track 'H...
In a recent Patreon episode of the Joe Budden Podcast that has since surfaced, Joe Budden extended an apology to Latto, addressing comments he made about her songwriting.
The controversy ignited earlier this week when Latto took to social media, tweeting a picture of her handwritten lyrics for “Hostage,” a track from her latest album, Big Mama. She directly tagged Budden after he suggested her flow echoed Drake's cadence on ICEMAN’s “Shabang.”
During the podcast, Budden's co-hosts pressed him on the matter. He attempted to clarify his initial remarks, stating, “I ain’t tryna be funny — somebody not writing they sh– is a heavy accusation.” He jokingly noted he'd never seen anyone write raps on a whiteboard before.
He continued, emphasizing that he wasn't trying to accuse her of not writing her own material. “So I wasn’t really trying to say that about her. She’s been on the show, she won the Netflix show, she says she writes all her sh–.”
Budden then elaborated on the concept of influence in songwriting. “But there’s also such a thing as listening to somebody so much that they influence… they kinda rub off on you when you write. That’s a thing,” he explained. “She could really listen to Drake 24/7 and love that flow so much that now when she writes that’s what’s happening.”
He added a personal anecdote: “When I used to write, I would try my best to not listen to the radio or other rappers because whether you like it or not, whoever you like, it’s gonna happen.”
Concluding his explanation, Budden offered a direct apology: “Latto, I’m sorry. I wasn’t tryna play with your pen like that. I get how it sounded like that, so my bad.”
Latto has been making headlines since the release of her fourth album, Big Mama, last week. The project notably features “Gimme Dat,” a track where she appears to diss Cardi B in response to a leaked phone call from 2025. Cardi B has since issued an apology regarding the incident.
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