Back in 2003, Joe Budden resurrected New Jersey Hip-Hop via “Pump It Up.” The rookie showed a lot of promise with his unique cadences, uncanny way of putting words together, and memorable metaphors. Being cosigned by Def Jam didn’t hurt his movement either. But as we all know, all that glitters isn’t gold, especially in the music business.

His self-titled debut album had moderate success, but not the amount as anticipated. During his downtime, he managed to get into a quick little lyrical tussle with G-Unit, and an indirect beef with the man who would eventually become his boss in Jay-Z. His second album, The Growth, should’ve been called The Mystery because it suffered so many pushbacks, people even wondered if it was ever coming out.

Not one to point the finger, Joe returned back to his grass roots and hit the mixtape circuit. His Mood Muzik series has somewhat kept his name in circulation, while the free agent looks for another team. But until then, fans of the MC from New Jeruz can enjoy the third installment of his Mood Muzik catalog with Mood Muzik 3.

The album starts off with a voicemail/song intro called "Hiatus." Over the dramatic production, Joe raps about how set backs won’t stop him from achiev ing his goals.

"Ventilation" is basically lyrical exercise for Joe as he explains his frustration with modern day Hip-Hop with lines like: “The rap game as is/either you on some snap sh*t/or plain old stuck in a different decade like Da Brat is/other artists are obsessed with more toys/like Lex, Coups, Beamers, and Benz’s/they Lost Boyz.”

On "Talk 2 ‘Em", Joe takes shots at his former boss with lines like: “Maybe you should study your understudy/I mean, are we hustlin’/or are we grown up/every time I hear you/ya changin’ ya tone up/when the new generation think about Jordan/all they remember is when Iverson crossed ‘em/take off the blazer, loosen up the tie/n***as fell in love when Superman died.”

Dr. Dre’s newest patient Joell Ortiz joins in on "Warfare", and makes his presence known with lines like: “It’s too easy, I’m feelin’ like I’m a cheater/the flow heavy/yours is light like a slice of pita/when moms was pregnant she was lightin’ reefer/that’s why I’m nice/in the middle of Alaska, I’ll write a heater.”

On "Dear Diary" Joe spills his guts (sort of) by writing entries like: “I would down a whole Pino Grees/but I seen the Group Home without Premo’s beats.” The production on "Get No Younger" gives you that 70’s feel, but Joe makes sure you’re in the current times with metaphors like: “Livin’ young and reckless/never mind who the best is/they need to get rid of their style/put it on Craigslist/if you ain’t crazy stop it/even if you was wild like Randy Moss/start feelin’ patriotic.”

"Star Inside" is Joe’s stab back at the commercial limelight, although he shows a little rust in that arena; he’s still on the right track. "Send Him Our Love" is a tribute song to Stack Bundles, where he uses the hook as time to reminisce about all the good times they shared.

Joe brings out the star power on "Family Reunion" which features Fabolous, Hitchcock and Ransom. Fab shows he hasn’t abandoned his mixtape game with punch lines like: “Ya shoes pop up like instant messenger/you got mail, nah n***a you got shells/and my Mac/you can’t use for iChat.”

In the end, Mood Muzik 3 is a display of raw lyricism and the hunger that Broadway Joe still possesses, while his current situation might hinder another MC’s creative juices from flowing. With the word play ability shown on this album, hopefully someone will see fit to give Mr. Budden another crack at the big time.