Everything about Fat Joe totally explained
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born
August 19,
1970), better known by his
stage name Fat Joe, is an
American rapper of
Puerto Rican &
Cuban descent, and is signed to
Imperial Records. Fat Joe also runs his own label
Terror Squad Entertainment, where he's the CEO and main artist, also being a performer in its musical group
Terror Squad among several other New York City-based rappers.
Fat Joe's first album was
Represent, released in 1993, followed by
Jealous One's Envy in 1995. From 1998 to 2006, he was signed to
Atlantic Records, releasing four albums under the label,
Don Cartagena in 1998,
Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001,
Loyalty in 2002, and
All or Nothing in 2005. Around the release of
All or Nothing, Fat Joe was involved in a highly publicized feud with another New York City-based rapper
50 Cent, who attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank". His most popular song in which he performed was "
Lean Back" with
Terror Squad, which was a
number-one hit in the summer of 2004.
Starting in 2006, when his album
Me, Myself, & I was released, Fat Joe was signed to
Imperial Records, which distributes through
Terror Squad Entertainment. His second album released under the label was
The Elephant in the Room, which was released on
March 11,
2008.
Music career
1993-1997: Early years
Under stage name "Fat Joe da Gangsta", and part of
D.I.T.C., Cartegena was signed to
Relativity Records in the early 1990s, recording material and working with many artists who he'd later sign to his own label. In 1993, his debut album
Represent was released, featuring production from
The Beatnuts,
Diamond D,
Lord Finesse, and others. Its lead single "Flow Joe" peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart; other minor singles from the album included "Watch the Sound" and "This Shit is Real". The album featured two hit singles "Bet Ya Man Can't (Triz)", and "Don Cartagena". Guest appearances included
Nas,
Diddy,
Big Pun,
Raekwon,
Jadakiss, and
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Within the album, Fat Joe debuted his own group
Terror Squad that consisted of the late
Big Pun, as well as
Cuban Link,
Triple Seis,
Prospect,
Armageddon and later
Remy Ma.
Joe himself acknowledged, in an interview with HipHopGame.com, that he's received criticism for releasing only one solo album by a former Terror Squad member,
Remy Ma, as well as barely featuring original members Prospect and Armageddon on "True Story." Terror Squad singer Tony Sunshine has had possible album release dates pushed back over three years, and Joe had stated that artists Prospect and Armageddon have not released solo albums yet as the result of them being "really lazy". Former Terror Squad member Triple Seis also went on record when asked who had written Fat Joe's lyrics, stating that he and Pun were Joe's
ghostwriters, and asserts that Joe continues to hire ghostwriters.
Fat Joe released his fourth album
Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, featuring production from the then-popular
Irv Gotti. The album featured a star-studded line up from the likes of
Ashanti,
Ja Rule,
N.O.R.E.,
Busta Rhymes,
Petey Pablo,
M.O.P.,
Ludacris,
R. Kelly,
Buju Banton, and artists from his
Terror Squad label. The lead single "We Thuggin'" featuring
R. Kelly was a big hit in late 2001, but wouldn't reach the level of the Irv Gotti-produced "
What's Luv?" which was a massive hit in early 2002 and featured
Murder Inc. superstars
Ja Rule and
Ashanti. The album was Fat Joe's biggest hit as it was successful from its January release all the way into May, being certified platinum.
Despite the setback, Fat Joe scored a number-one hit in 2004 with his group
Terror Squad, collaborating with
Remy Ma on the
Scott Storch production "
Lean Back" from the album
True Story. However, Jason Birchmeier of
All Music Guide called the song "a perfect club-ready duet between Joe and
Remy that boasts a trademark
Scott Storch beat and a memorable singalong hook (and dance-along step)".
Three years later, in 2005, Fat Joe released his sixth album
All or Nothing, noted for featuring the popular diss track "
My Fofo" aimed at fellow New York rapper
50 Cent, who had dissed Joe for recording with
Ja Rule.
All or Nothing spawned the singles "So Much More" and "Get It Poppin" featuring
Nelly, also with guest appearances from
Eminem,
Mase,
Remy Ma,
Mashonda, and
R. Kelly. Responding to "My FoFo",
50 Cent attacked Fat Joe in his 2005 song "
Piggy Bank" from his album
The Massacre. Fat Joe, subsequently, attacked 50's street credibility and called him a "coward" on a phone interview with
Kay Slay of
New York City hip-hop radio station
WQHT. Fat Joe also released a track criticizing 50 Cent in his 2005 album
All or Nothing titled "My FoFo" (referring to his
.44). The conflict carried on at the 2005
MTV Video Music Awards, while Fat Joe introduced the
reggaeton act featuring
Daddy Yankee, Joe remarked, "I feel safe with all the police protection—courtesy of G-Unit." Shortly after, when MTV switched to a commercial break, 50 Cent directed an
obscenity at Joe, and 50 Cent jumped on stage as Fat Joe was leaving.
2006-present: Me Myself & I, The Elephant In The Room, and More
Me, Myself & I, released in 2006, is Fat Joe's seventh album. It was his first album released on his new deal with
Virgin Records. It was his first album since
Jealous One's Envy not to receive
RIAA certification. It featured the hit single "Make It Rain" with southern rapper
Lil Wayne, followed by "No Drama (Clap and Revolve)".
In June 2007, the Reverend
Michael Pfleger targeted Fat Joe as among several rappers he believed promoted
misogyny in his billboard campaign "Stop Listening to Trash", which was launched
June 18,
2007 throughout
Chicago, Illinois, where Pfleger preaches. Also that month, Fat Joe was featured in the
DJ Khaled single "
We Takin' Over", from the album
We the Best, alongside several other performers. In September 2007, on the
BET program
Rap City, 50 Cent again criticized Fat Joe, who responded in early January 2008 on
Rap City that 50 Cent's criticism was nonsense and that he was just trying to re-introduce the earlier feud from 2005 from 50 Cent's song "Piggy Bank". Later in January, 50 Cent released another Fat Joe diss, called "Southside Nigga (I'm Leaving)". At the end of January 2008, Fat Joe and his longtime accountant Brian Dittrich both denied rumors spreading on the Internet that Fat Joe owed the
IRS in taxes.
Fat Joe's eighth solo studio album
The Elephant in the Room was distributed by
Imperial Records, a division of Capitol Records and Terror Squad Entertainment, and released on
March 11,
2008; its lead single was "
I Won't Tell" featuring singer
J. Holiday.
The album debuted at the sixth position on the
Billboard Hot 100.
On
March 20,
2008, shortly after record sales were released for Fat Joe's new album The Elephant in the Room, 50 Cent released a video via online, which features the "funeral" of Fat Joe, which shows 50 Cent crying in the fake footage. 50 Cent then talks about Fat Joe's record sales, and states that he ended Fat Joe's career (like he says he did to Ja Rule's) and that his mixtape blew out Fat Joe's album. In April 2008, Fat Joe hosted a mixtape by KAR Mafia (Kill All Rats Mafia) called "Gay Unit Volume 1".
You Ain't Sayin' Nothin', the CD's second single, was released in
April 2008 as a single. The video also has a sample of another song off the album, Cocababy, at the end.
Discography
Solo albums
Collaboration albums
2000: D.I.T.C.
1999: Terror Squad
2004: True Story
2008: A New Story
Filmography
Thicker Than Water (1999) - Lonzo Medina
Prison Song (2001)
Empire (2002)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Happy Feet (2006) - voice of SeymourFurther Information
Get more info on 'Fat Joe'.
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