Maino Says 50 Cent “Went Bad” as a Rapper, and Joe Budden Isn’t Having It

October 30, 2026, 8:00 pm

November 2, 2026, 5:02 am

A podcast debate about rappers aging turned into a fresh jab at 50 Cent, with guest Joe Budden taking Fif’s side.

Photo by Senior Airman Nia Jacobs, U.S. Air Force (public domain)

The Lowdown

Asking a room full of rappers who “fell off” was always going to get spicy. Asking it on a show that has been trading shots with 50 Cent for months made the answer almost too easy. Maino says it’s not personal. Joe Budden, sitting right there as the guest, wasn’t buying the take either way (Complex; HotNewHipHop).

Key Takeaways

On a new episode of Let’s Rap About It, Maino named 50 Cent as an example of a rapper who “went bad” lyrically as he got older (Complex; HotNewHipHop).
Guest Joe Budden disagreed, saying Fif could still deliver if he went back into the studio (Complex).
Maino insisted the show’s ongoing feud with 50 had nothing to do with his opinion, and joked about having Budden’s mic cut (Complex; HotNewHipHop).
Co-hosts Jim Jones and Fabolous were on the episode; Dave East sat this one out (Complex; HotNewHipHop).

The Story

The exchange started with Budden talking about himself. Asked whether he still had it, the former rapper turned podcaster said that if he picked up a pen again, he didn’t think he’d be “far off from where I was” (Complex).

That opened a bigger debate about whether rappers get better or worse with age. Fabolous argued that some lyricists actually improve over time, “some people, not everybody,” and said the ones who slip usually lost the hunger: “If you lose the passion, you’re going to go bad” (Complex).

Maino’s pick

When Budden asked for an example of someone who was nice and then went bad, Maino answered fast: 50 Cent. Jim Jones reacted with a “Damn,” and Maino immediately joked that he should stop talking, which drew silence and then laughs around the table (Complex; HotNewHipHop).

Budden didn’t sign off on it. “I don’t think he went bad,” he said, arguing that if 50 got back in the studio he could still “write four theme songs,” a nod to the music he makes for his TV shows (Complex). Budden also pointed out that the show has its own history with 50, which Maino brushed aside. “I love 50 Cent,” he said, before joking that the crew should cut Budden’s microphone (HotNewHipHop).

The Background

The two go back further than the beef. HotNewHipHop notes that 50 Cent once helped Maino land his Atlantic Records deal after Universal let him go (HotNewHipHop).

Things soured after the Let’s Rap About It hosts criticized 50’s role as an executive producer of Netflix’s docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which set off months of trolling from the G-Unit boss (HotNewHipHop). In one post, 50 called the hosts “squatters” and claimed they owed money for the space where they film; Maino fired back online (Complex).

Whatever the motive, the debate over 50’s pen isn’t new. He hasn’t released much music lately beyond features and theme songs for his TV projects, so there’s not a lot of recent material to judge either way (HotNewHipHop).