‘All the Words That Fell Out Were Felonies’: Fans Say DJ Envy Should’ve Listened When Joe Budden Warned Him of Alleged Real Estate ‘Ponzi Scheme’
Hindsight is 20/20, and resurfaced clips rehashing a years-old conversation between DJ Envy and Joe Budden have fans on social media wishing the radio personality had taken the podcaster’s sound advice.
Back in October 2021, DJ Envy was a guest on the “Kitchen Talk” podcast with rapper Maino, where he discussed meeting his business partner Cesar Pina and getting his start in real estate. Envy told Maino that Pina was actually locked up at one point in his life, adding that he “learned how to do real estate in prison.”
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According to Envy, Pina asked him why he used his money to fund his real estate projects. Envy didn’t know what Pina meant, so Pina told him, “You don’t use your money. You use other people’s money to get these deals.”
After learning the real estate game from Pina, Envy says he called DJ Clue, Fabolous, and Joe Budden to try and get them into business with him. Envy recalled telling them, “Hey guys, I’m doing real estate. This is something that I think that you should invest a little bit of money and try it out. That way, you can do it.”
According to Envy, Budden told him it was a “Ponzi scheme” and that he was going to “go to jail.” Budden might not have been way off in light of the most recent events.
Joe Budden (left) tried to warn DJ Envy (right) about his alleged “Ponzi scheme” just when Envy was getting started in it. (Photo: @joebuden @djenvy/Instagram
The rapper-turned-podcaster reacted to the clip from Maino’s podcast on the June 1 episode of his own show, “The Joe Budden Podcast.”
The “Pump It Up” rapper played the soundbite for his cohosts, and one of them asked if the story was true. “Facts,” Budden replied. “Big facts.” Budden also played a voice clip where Envy said that he and Budden don’t speak.
Budden told his co-hosts, “A few years ago, Envy calls me as someone he is not speaking to. We have not spoken about anything. And he calls me and starts talking about some real estate s—t.” Budden added that for him, “that’s odd.”
Budden admits he barely listened to Envy’s spiel about the real estate opportunity, but from everything he heard, it didn’t seem right. “That just sounded fishy,” said Budden.
Fans commented on the resurfaced clip, as some believe it might be incriminating for the radio personality.
“Jesus Christ!!! This did not age well,” one commenter noted. Others just wished they were a fly on the wall when Envy pitched the idea to Budden.
“I’d spend every dime I have to watch Budden sit in absolute quiet while Envy pitched him this BS for 10 minutes….only to be like, ‘Everything you just said to me is a crime. No. When you opened your mouth to start talking, all the words that fell out were felonies,’” a social media user wrote.
Lmaoooooo.
I’d spend every dime I have to watch Budden sit in absolute quiet while Envy pitched him this bs for 10 minutes….only to be like, “Everything you just said to me is a crime. No. When you opened your mouth to start talking, all the words that fell out were felonies.” https://t.co/kCfK1uomlw
— fooler initiative (@metroadlib) October 20, 2023
Later in the conversation about Envy and the real estate problem, Ish, one of Budden’s co-hosts, sparked a debate about whether Envy should be held accountable for the bad business dealings of his partner if he was unaware of what was going on.
“I don’t think Envy is to really be held to the fire for some s––t that somebody is doing,” Ish said. “In my opinion, to be complicit you got to have knowledge.”
Budden disagreed, adding that if the investigation shows that Envy took “one penny from an illegal operation,” it wouldn’t matter if he knew.
Investigations are still ongoing in the case, and Pina has been arrested this week on charges of wire fraud. Pina posted bond shortly after his arrest, and he is being electronically monitored. Federal authorities also visited Envy’s iHeart Radio workplace, and electronic equipment was taken. New York news outlets are reporting that their law enforcement sources say that this was just the beginning.