Fat Joe

Hailing from the South Bronx, Fat Joe stands among the earliest Latino artists to attain superstar status in rap. Throughout the 1990s the Puerto Rican-Cuban performer advanced steadily on the Billboard rankings with each successive project, as Jealous One's Envy in 1995 and Don Cartagena in 1998 demonstrated continued upward movement. He further expanded his reach by launching Big Pun to widespread attention via “Still Not a Player,” while also executive producing and guesting on the late artist’s own successful releases. The 2000s brought sustained chart momentum and a pronounced shift toward pop audiences, yielding Grammy nominations for the 2001 Ashanti collaboration “What’s Luv?” and for Terror Squad’s 2004 number-one single “Lean Back.” Although releases became less frequent in his third decade, Fat Joe preserved mainstream visibility through repeated work with fellow Terror Squad member Remy Ma, highlighted by the 2016 Grammy-nominated track “All the Way Up.” He concluded the 2010s with Family Ties, the 2019 co-billed album recorded with Dre of Cool & Dre, one of several longtime high-profile production partners that also include Diamond D, DJ Premier, and Scott Storch. In 2021 Fat Joe resurfaced via “Sunshine (The Light),” a joint single issued with Amorphous and DJ Khaled.

Known alternately as Fat Joe da Gangsta, Joey Crack, or by his given name Joe Cartagena, the South Bronx native absorbed street wisdom from an older brother and first encountered hip-hop at block parties featuring pioneers such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Funky 4 + 1, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Adopting the Fat Joe da Gangsta moniker, he obtained a contract with Relativity in the early 1990s that yielded the 1993 debut Represent and its chart-topping rap single “Flow Joe.” Two years later Jealous One’s Envy arrived, introducing Big Pun while also featuring KRS-One and DJ Premier and spawning another rap Top Ten hit, “Envy.” Around that period Fat Joe joined Prodigy, Foxy Brown, and Keith Murray on the LL Cool J “I Shot Ya” remix.

By the late 1990s he had transitioned to Atlantic and pursued non-musical ventures that included a clothing boutique, a barber shop, and a clothing line. He simultaneously negotiated a production-and-distribution arrangement with Atlantic for Mystic Entertainment, the boutique imprint he operated alongside Big Greg. Don Cartagena, his 1998 major-label debut, marked the introduction of Terror Squad, included appearances by Puff Daddy and Nas, and became his first project to reach the Billboard 200 Top Ten. Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) followed in 2001, driven by the number-15 pop single “We Thuggin’” featuring R. Kelly and the near-chart-topping Ashanti duet “What’s Luv?,” which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. After the 2002 album Loyalty, Terror Squad achieved major success with the club-oriented “Lean Back,” which topped the Hot 100 and secured another Grammy nomination, this time for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Issued under the Terror Squad Entertainment imprint and distributed by EMI, the unvarnished Me, Myself & I surfaced in 2006 and registered Fat Joe’s fifth solo Top Ten placement on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. The Elephant in the Room and Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2) followed in 2008 and 2009, propelled by the Grammy-nominated Lil Wayne collaboration “Make It Rain” and the J. Holiday duet “I Won’t Tell.” The Darkside arrived in 2010 via E1 as a return to his earlier hardcore approach. Beyond an appearance on DJ Khaled’s 2011 hit “Welcome to My Hood,” subsequent years centered on mixtapes and self-released Darkside sequels in 2011 and 2013.

Reuniting with Remy Ma in 2016, Fat Joe released “All the Way Up” featuring French Montana and Infrared; the Top 40 single garnered Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance and later appeared on the joint 2017 album Plata o Plomo. Family Ties, credited to Fat Joe and Dre of Cool & Dre, arrived in 2019 as the artist considered reducing his musical commitments to spend more time with his daughter. He reappeared two years afterward on “Sunshine (The Light)” with Amorphous and DJ Khaled, then issued the 2021 single “Back Outside” once more alongside Remy Ma and Cool & Dre.