Joe Budden is sharing his thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic that has adversely affected thousands of citizens around the world.
During an Instagram live conversation with Chi-town native Lupe Fiasco, which surfaced on the internet on Monday (May 11), Joe spoke on the impact the virus has had on New York, which has been deemed the epicenter of COVID-19.
"I'm actually abiding by what they're telling us to do, which is stay in the house. New York is fucked up," Joe said in response to Lupe telling him that he looks like he hasn't been outside in "decades." The Drogas Wave MC was referring to Budden's growing beard with visible gray hairs.
Joe later expressed his confidence in New York and his home state of New Jersey surmounting the coronavirus, in due time. "We'll bounce back," he continued. "It's just gon’ be a slow, slow process. I believe all this shit is some form of population control anyway."
According to the Center for Disease Control, New York currently has over 330,000 coronavirus cases while New Jersey has more than 140,000 residents that have tested positive for COVID-19. On Monday (May 11), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the first phase of reopening the state this Friday (May 15). Phase one includes industries such as construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, retail—which will be limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off—, manufacturing and wholesale trade, as reported by the state's official government website.
The initial reopening phase specifically pertains to three regions in the upstate section of New York, Cuomo says, adding that the areas hit the hardest—New York City and Long Island, N.Y.—had not met the criteria to open as of Monday.
Meanwhile, Georgia reopened on April 24 and Texas on May 1. On Wednesday (May 13), it was reported that the Texas Governor Greg Abbott will move forward with stage two and plans to reopen more businesses on Friday (May 18).
See 30 Prolific Quotes From Your Favorite Rappers