Joe Budden has joined Jermaine Dupri in criticizing Apple Music’s recent ranking of the 100 best albums of all time. The Slaughterhouse MC expressed his disappointment on his podcast, posted on May 28, highlighting the notable omissions of classic R&B albums and the low ranking of others.
Budden specifically took issue with the lack of recognition for Sade’s Love Deluxe, Usher’s Confessions, SZA’s Ctrl, and the works of Prince and Michael Jackson. He emphasized that the list was disrespectful to many R&B albums, citing Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On not being in the Top 10 as evidence.
However, Budden did acknowledge one notable exception: Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city being ranked in the Top 10, although he noted that his former podcast co-host Mal would likely disagree.
Apple Music published its list over the course of a week in mid-May, describing the rankings as an “editorial statement, fully independent of any streaming numbers” on its platform and “a love letter to the records that have shaped the world music lovers live and listen in.”
Jermaine Dupri initially expressed his disappointment on social media, calling the list “sad” and the lack of R&B entries “CRAZY!!!!!”
Some notable R&B albums that did make the list include Solange’s A Seat at the Table, Mary J. Blige’s My Life, SZA’s SOS, Erykah Badu’s Baduizm, Sade’s Love Deluxe, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, Janet Jackson’s Control, and Beyoncé’s self-titled LP.
SZA also reacted to the list, expressing her disappointment at the low ranking of her chart-topping, record-breaking SOS album. She wrote on Instagram, “Lmao 72nd is so disrespectful.”
