"I was asleep the other day, and I woke up to a text message saying, 'Big Joe, what up? This is Game,' " Budden said Wednesday (August 27). "I was like, 'Oh, somebody is playing on my phone again.' I hit him back with a bunch of question marks, and he hit me back with 'This is Game.' Still, I wasn't convinced yet. Then I started checking my messages, and apparently he was on [a New York radio] morning show and asking if anybody had my phone number and [said] he was trying to reach out to me. So I eventually called him. We had a great conversation, talked about a lot of things. He invited me to come to his show, come kick it. I took him up on it."

"Me and Game never really had an issue," Budden said. "It was more so a Joe Budden vs. G-Unit thing — which, at the time, [Game] happened to be a part of. So, I mean, it wasn't anything personal between myself and him. And it was so many years ago, and I think we both grown and gotten past all of that verbal bashing. I thought [Tuesday night's show] was great for hip-hop.  He showed me a whole lot of love. Him and his people. It was altogether a great experience. I was standing there [during the show] like a fan. Dude brought out Dana Dane, Kool Herc, Maino, who is like family to me. Rae and Ghost. I think all these people, who I am all cool with, were shocked to see me. But the energy in the building was great."

Budden's next album, Padded Room, comes out on Amalgam Digital on October 28. 

Game's album, L.A.X., just hit stores this week.