Podcast Summary: The Joe Budden Podcast – Episode 881 | "We The Hood"

Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Joe Budden
Featuring: Ice, Parks, Ish, Queens Flip, Mark Lamont Hill, and crew

Episode Overview

This Thanksgiving week episode is a lively, story-filled roundtable in classic JBP style. The crew recaps highlights from a Friendsgiving at Mark Lamont Hill's impressive, culture-rich home, serving as a launchpad for comedic storytelling and group insight on Black culture, house parties, and the intersections of “nerd” and “hood” friend groups.

Lighthearted, yet thoughtful, the episode covers a range of topics: Black home aesthetics, the social dynamics of gatherings, the unwritten rules of Spades, debates on the Thanksgiving table, the importance of reading, controversies in sports and hip-hop, and a heartfelt acknowledgment of recent losses in the podcast and music communities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mark’s Friendsgiving: Where the Hood Meets the PhDs

[09:10 – 49:00]

• The Setup: Mark hosted Friendsgiving at his house, described as "one of the blackest houses I’ve ever seen," decorated with African art, books, and vibrant designs. The crew jokes about the lack of a TV, "idiot box," favoring books and conversation over entertainment.

  • Parks: "The TV’s an idiot box. At Mark’s house, it’s just books, walls full of knowledge, colors… It’s beautiful. It’s all culture." [29:15]
  • Joe: "Soon as I walk in, all I could feel was education, yo. Not one head up — they’re just breaking down the theory of relativity or some shit." [27:20]

• Fish Out of Water: Crew members joke about feeling out of place among the "academic" crowd, searching fast for familiar faces. Mark’s attempt at three friend groups – "smart, cool, and hood" – is dissected, with the crew realizing, to much laughter, "we the hood" in this context.

  • Ice: "Hold up, where the hood at? Then we realized — oh, it’s us. We the hood." [45:00]

• Friend Group Differentiation: There’s honest, friendly teasing about being the only white/hood guests, highlighting subtle pressures of assimilation and the comfort zones created by culture, appearance, and education.

2. Spades Showdown: Hood Tactics vs. Academic Rules

[50:00 – 1:20:00]

• Cultural Importance of Spades: A heated and hilariously detailed saga unfolds around the rules and etiquette of Spades, comparing “neighborhood” play to collegiate/academic rules. Joe and Corey face Mark and his longtime partner, George.

  • Joe: "Mark plays Spades like he went to college. I play Spades with contracted killers. Senior citizens who forgot everything but cards." [1:07:50]
  • Mark: "There were a lot of PhDs in the room, but not apparently in Spades." [1:11:30]

• Rules Debate: Detailed arguments over "house rules" (bags, nil, blind bids, etc.) expose differences in regional/cultural play, underpinning larger themes about tradition, pride, and Black identity.

• After-party: Following the game and their banishment to the basement (the more "man cave/hood" space), the crew jokes about being segregated from the academic crowd and finding a familiar spread of liquor, edibles, and blunts. They also enjoy a moment of realization: "It’s us — we’re the hood friends Mark was talking about inviting!"

3. Holidays & Family: Dynamics at Thanksgiving

[1:21:00 – 1:45:00]

• Thanksgiving Plans: Each member shares their Thanksgiving setup, discussing cooking, meal-hopping, and the cultural nuances around what to bring, how to split time between different households/families, and the pressure of leftovers.

• Do’s and Don’ts: Tips for Thanksgiving/friendsgiving — don’t show up empty-handed, don’t experiment on the meal if you’re not a good cook, and avoid being a holiday know-it-all.

  • Group sentiment: The value of community, food, and the unspoken etiquette of Black family gatherings.

4. Reading, Common Sense, & Black Excellence

[1:46:00 – 2:00:00]

• Juelz Santana’s Comments: The group reacts to rapper Juelz Santana's viral remarks that kids need to learn business, not reading — "you don’t really need to learn how to read." The cast laughs and cringes, with Mark and Ish especially voicing concern about anti-education sentiment in prominent Black voices.

  • Ish: "Reading is fundamental. It’s sad to see someone with so much influence pushing the idea you don’t need to read." [1:57:00]
  • Mark: "We, as MCs, words should matter to us. Reading builds your vocabulary. You want to read to your kids, man." [1:58:20]

• Balancing Book and Street Smarts: While empathizing with the culture of “common sense," the hosts urge the importance of literacy, knowledge, and the cognitive value of reading.

5. Culture & Sports Updates

[2:01:00 – 2:40:00]

• Chris Paul Announces Retirement: A thoughtful conversation about Chris Paul’s legacy — top-10, maybe top-5 NBA PG all-time — and the "dirty player" reputation that affects his popularity.

  • Mark: "Chris Paul’s PER (Player Efficiency Rating) was higher than any point guard in history at his prime… complete leader, great defender." [2:18:40]

• Shadur Sanders’ NFL Debut: Mixed reviews about the Browns rookie QB’s first start; the crew splits between rooting for his success and calling out the rush to anoint him as “the future” after one good game.

  • Joe: "Talk your shit if you can back it up. Muhammad Ali did it. Deion did it. I ain’t mad at Shadur for being cocky." [2:07:10]

• Aaron Rodgers vs. Matt Stafford: Hot takes volley about which QB is all-time greater.

6. Online Culture – Twitter & Rage-bait

[2:41:00 – 3:00:00]

• Twitter’s New Features: Discussion about Twitter’s display of account origin and name change history, exposing a high number of fake, "rage-bait" accounts posing as Black or American users, inciting hip-hop and political discourse.

  • Parks: "You realize you’re arguing with strangers, not even who they say they are. It’s bots, overseas, all bait." [2:48:30]

• Caution Against AI and Internet Fakery: The crew ties this in with AI-driven misinformation and the ongoing need for skepticism and media literacy.

7. Podcasting Industry Real Talk & Farewells

[3:01:00 – 3:40:00]

• The End of "Need to Know" Podcast: A heartfelt segment as Joe plays the funeral music, marking the end of Savon and Alex’s pod, discussing the burnout and grind behind-the-scenes in podcasting. The whole room reflects on the difficulties of sustaining a show, the chemistry needed, and the pressures of monetization and comparison.

  • Joe: "If you don’t love this enough to carry you when you hate it, you’re not gonna make it. And too many people just want a check. You gotta love it when there’s nothing coming in." [3:23:20]

• Ownership vs. Checks: Long, nuanced debate about Black podcasters taking quick deals vs. building something independently. Joe counsels would-be creators to “give yourself a shot” before taking the first offer.

  • Key Quote: "There’s no excuse for podcasters on episode 7 or 10 to call me talking about where can I get a check. You didn’t even try to build it yourself." [3:27:00]

8. Headlines, Hip-Hop & More

[3:41:00 – END]

• Cash Money’s Botched Reunion Show: Discussion of the much-publicized disappointment over Hot Boyz and Big Tymerz missing from the reunion bill — emblematic of the dysfunction in classic rap supergroups.

• Campbell’s Soup Scandal: Revelations about Campbell's chicken being "3D-printed," and a recorded exec ranting about "poor people" eating it. The crew jokes about the demise of the Campbell’s brand, fake meat, and the foods of their childhood.

  • Joe: "You ever seen that chicken? That ain’t noodles or chicken. And my grandma been buying that for 40 years." [2:59:00]

• Fabulous’ ‘Pause’ Cake Controversy: Light banter about Fab’s refusal to blow out his birthday candles ("pause"), with special guest call-in from Maino for clarification and laughter.

• Side Chicks at Funerals: A viral video leads to a surprisingly deep and hilarious conversation about Black funeral etiquette and what happens when a side partner disrupts a burial.

  • Joe: "If the dead had a side — and they usually do — and she’s in the casket bawling, she honestly deserves a little grace. They’ve had to be quiet for years." [4:12:00]

• Mario’s Onstage Dick Grab: The group responds to the viral video of singer Mario having his pants grabbed onstage, breaking down boundaries and the hypocritical double standards between male and female fan encounters.

9. In Memoriam

[3:55:00]

• RIP Shoutouts: Emotional acknowledgments for the recent deaths of Jimmy Cliff (reggae legend), Jellybean Johnson (Minneapolis sound), Viola Fletcher (last Tulsa Massacre survivor), and NBA player Rodney Rogers.

  • Mark: "Tulsa, Black Wall Street — Viola Fletcher was the symbol of that fight for justice right until the end." [3:56:00]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joe budden’s Spades Pride:
  "Mark plays Spades like he went to college...I play with contracted killers who forgot everything but cards." [1:07:50]

• On Realizing ‘We the Hood’:
  Ice: "Yo, where the hood at? We realized, oh — it’s us." [45:00]

• On Black Home Décor & Pan-African Aesthetics:
  Parks: "That’s one of the blackest houses I ever seen...but it’s on brand." [28:20]

• On Podcast Ownership:
  Joe: "Don’t just sell out the second somebody calls. You didn’t even try to build it yourself. It’s like owning a house. At least fix up the bathroom before you sell." [3:28:00]

• On Reading:
  Ish: "Reading is exercise for your brain. Nobody’s telling you what to read. Just read something." [1:58:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Friendsgiving/Mark’s House: 09:10 – 49:00
• Spades Showdown: 50:00 – 1:20:00
• Thanksgiving Plans/Family/Etiquette: 1:21:00 – 1:45:00
• Reading/AI/Juelz Santana Remarks: 1:46:00 – 2:00:00
• Sports Talk (Chris Paul, Shadur Sanders): 2:01:00 – 2:40:00
• Twitter Bot & AI Disinformation: 2:41:00 – 3:00:00
• Podcast Industry & Ownership: 3:01:00 – 3:40:00
• Headlines / Cash Money / Campbell’s Soup: 3:41:00 – End
• Side Chick at the Funeral: 4:12:00
• In Memoriam / RIP Segment: 3:55:00

Tone & Style

The episode maintains the irreverent, barbershop-style, quick-witted banter that defines the JBP. Affectionate roasting, sharp takes, and the “random friends” dynamic are all on display, but the underlying warmth and insight about Black culture, family, and ownership remain evident.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a quintessential “Friendsgiving” episode — both a humorous sendup and a sincere celebration of Black community, generational traditions, and the joy (and chaos) of coming together, whether over spades, food, or podcast mics.

"We the hood" becomes a tongue-in-cheek avatar for how Black spaces negotiate education, authenticity, and belonging — and a reminder of how much more unites than divides in any friend group.