- Fat Joe Bio: The Bronx’s Own “Greatest in the Game” - October 13, 2022
- Common Bio: The True Renaissance Man of Hip-Hop - August 3, 2022
A trailblazer in the world of hip-hop since the early 2000s, rapper Fat Joe has come a long way since his days growing up in the projects of the Bronx. Whether you know him from his music with the groups D.I.T.C. or Terror Squad, as a frequent collaborator of the late Big Pun, or from one of his many other endeavors in the world of hip-hop, Fat Joe has proven to be a musician who marches to the beat of his own drum.
Making music since the early 1990s, Fat Joe has been a huge part of the hip-hop world for millennial hip-hop fans like myself, having truly hit it big in the late ‘90s/early 2000s era of hip-hop. Though he has been involved in some controversy over the years, just as many in the hip-hop world have, he is also known for his giving back to his beloved community of the Bronx, and it’s clear that Fat Joe still has a long way to go when it comes to making great music in the world of hip-hop.
Early Life
Joseph Antonio Cartagena- better known today as Fat Joe- was born on August 19, 1970 in the Bronx area of New York City. His parents, Ernest Delgado and Marie Cartegena are Latino, more specifically of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry; he grew up in a crime-ridden public housing project in the South Bronx, often stealing just to get by. He was introduced to the world of music by his older brother, who shared a variety of musical genres with him, yet Cartagena found himself particularly intrigued by hip-hop, rap, and R&B music, and was additionally influenced by the Zulu music of South Africa.
He also admits that he struggled in school and even took advantage of his large size by being a bully to other students, something that he regrets to this day. Joe grew up in the Forest Housing Project in the South Bronx and attended schools in that area. He admits that he was academically an awful student and frequently got himself into trouble for his poor behavior.
Early Career: 1992-1995
Cartagena signed in the early 1990s with Relativity Records, using the stage name of Fat Joe Da Gangsta- a name inspired by his large size. However, at the time he was not yet a solo artist and had signed with Relativity Records as a member of the hip-hop group D.I.T.C. (an acronym for “Diggin In The Crates” Crew), which also included artists Lord Finesse, Big L, Diamond D, O.C, hip-hop duo Showbiz and AG, DJ O.Gee and The Ghetto Dwellas.
Represent, Joe’s debut album, was released in 1993, and was produced by several big names including Lord Finesse, The Beatnuts, and Diamond D. The album proved to be rather successful, and its lead single “Flow Joe” managed to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
Sophomore Album and Introduction to Big Pun
Jealous One’s Envy, Fat Joe’s sophomore album, was released two years later in 1995. Prior to the release of his second studio album, he dropped the “da Gangsta” portion of his name and from then on would be known solely as Fat Joe. On the Billboard 200 chart, Jealous One’s Envy peaked at #71, and the album’s lead single, entitled “Success”, did not chart. However, the album’s second single, “Envy”, hit #8 on the Hot Rap Tracks Chart.
It was during the recording of his second studio album that Joe would meet and become musically influenced by Big Pun, another Latino rapper from the Bronx. At the time, there weren’t that many Latino rappers on the scene, and Big Pun would become a sort of protégé of Fat Joe.
Though it was Fat Joe that helped Big Pun reach his now legendary status in hip-hop, Joe actually says that in many ways, Pun was his mentor and influenced him musically. Big Pun would go on to be featured in the album’s song ‘Watch Out”, and Fat Joe and Big Pun would become frequent collaborators and good friends. Joe would later go on to explain Big Pun’s influence on him as a fellow Latino artist in hip-hop by stating the following:
“Latinos before us who had the opportunity to do it just didn’t know how to do it. They came in trying to do this black music, waving flags. [But] we’re trying to kick in the doors for other Latinos and represent our people, and it shows.”
Coincidentally, one day while working on his second album at a recording studio in New York City, Fat Joe found out that hip-hop artist LL Cool J, whom he considered to be his idol and a huge musical influence on him, was at the studio as well, working on the remix for the single “I Shot Ya.” LL Cool J invited him to contribute a verse to the song, and Joe ended up appearing on the single as well as the accompanying music video. Joe considers this to be one of the highlights of his career.
Rise to Fame: 1998-2005
In 1997, Fat Joe launched Terror Squad Productions, his own record label, which was distributed under Atlantic Records. Big Pun was Terror Squad Productions’ flagship artist. Fat Joe had been disappointed with the record sales of his first album with Relativity Records, and made the decision to leave Relativity and sign on with Atlantic Records. Atlantic Records granted Fat Joe his own label. As part of their deal, Fat Joe was allowed to sign artists to his record label and would also be responsible for producing the albums for his label’s artists.
Besides Fat Joe himself, the hip-hop collective Terror Squad (founded in 1998), along with its founding members Armageddon, Triple Seis, Cuban Link, Prospect, and Big Pun were also signed to the label. Capital Punishment, Big Pun’s debut album, which came out in April 1998, would become the first release for Terror Squad Productions. It featured guest appearances by Fat Joe as well as several other members of Terror Squad. Capital Punishment went on to reach the Billboard Top 200 chart, peaking at number 5. The album would also become RIAA-certified Platinum.
Terror Squad’s Debut Album
Fat Joe’s third studio album, entitled Don Cartagena, would also be his first album under Atlantic Records and Terror Squad Productions. The album was released on September 1, 1998, and its songs included guest appearances from Big Pun, the Terror Squad, Nas, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Puff Daddy, Raekwon, and Jadakiss. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and would be certified Gold by the RIAA.
The album Don Cartagena introduced the music world to the hip-hop collective Terror Squad, and Terror Squad’s debut album, The Album, was released in September 1999. Though their debut album was not much of a success commercially, only selling about 250,000 copies of the album to date, it is considered a critical success.
Fat Joe intended for The Album to be a foundation for the individual members of the Terror Squad group to launch their own hip-hop careers and release their solo records. However, only one member of the Terror Squad, Remy Ma, would end up releasing a solo album, and Joe acknowledged in an interview that he has received criticism over the years since the other Terror Squad members never released solo albums.
According to Fat Joe, many of the Terror Squad artists had possible release dates for their albums postponed for years, and in the end, no additional albums ever came out under Fat Joe’s label. Remy Ma would go on to have a relatively successful hip-hop career, while many of the other members of the Terror Squad, such as Prospect, Armageddon, Tony Sunshine, and Triple Seis, did not reach that level of success.
On February 7, 2000, Terror Squad member Big Pun (born Christopher Rios) died of a heart attack at the young age of 28 years old; at the time of his death, he weighed almost 700 pounds. Fat Joe was deeply affected by Big Pun’s sudden, untimely death, and it still hurts him to this day to think about what he and Big Pun could have achieved together had Pun survived.
J.O.S.E
Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), Fat Joe’s fourth studio album, was released in 2001. Irv Gotti produced the album, and it featured appearances by N.O.R.E., Ja Rule, Ashanti, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Petey Pablo, R.Kelly, and others. The album’s single “What’s Luv?”, released in early 2002, featured Ja Rule and Ashanti; the song sampled Tina Turner’s 1984 hit ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It.”
“What’s Luv?” would become one of Fat Joe’s greatest hits of all time, and J.O.S.E would go on to be his best-selling album to date, reaching certified platinum. Unfortunately, his fifth album, Loyalty, was released in November 2002, yet did not reach the same level of success as J.O.S.E.
Fat Joe and Terror Squad released the single “Lean Back” from their album True Story in 2004, which was massively successful and became a number one hit. True Story would be Terror Squad’s second and final album, though the success of “Lean Back” allowed Terror Squad to leave a lasting mark on hip-hop history.
That same year, Fat Joe began to record material for Puerto-Rican singer/rapper Ivy Queen’s first English-language album entitled Real. A longtime supporter of Latinos in the hip-hop world, Fat Joe saw helping Ivy Queen with her debut English-language album as a way of contributing to another Latina artist’s success in world of hip-hop.
Feud with 50 Cent
All or Nothing, Fat Joe’s sixth studio album, was released in 2005. The album featured the popular diss track “My Fofo,” which was aimed at fellow hip-hop artist 50 Cent. 50 Cent had had a longtime rivalry with rapper Ja Rule, and Fat Joe became caught up in the feud after collaborating musically with Ja Rule; 50 Cent believed that Fat Joe’s musical collaboration meant that Joe was siding with Ja Rule in the rivalry between the two rappers, and starting dissing Joe in music and in interviews.
During the MTV Video Music Awards in 2005, 50 Cent and Fat Joe crossed paths, ending in a conflict that almost turned violent in which obscenities were exchanged between the two rappers. Their feud continued for many years and was only put to an end after the death of their mutual friend, Chris Lighty, in 2012, when the two musicians made peace in honor of their late friend during a tribute performance in his memory at the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
The Middle Years: 2006-2010
Fat Joe released his seventh studio album in 2006, entitled Me, Myself, and I. He had just signed a new deal with Virgin Records, thus making the album his first with his new label. This album’s hit single, “Make It Rain,” featuring Lil’ Wayne, went on to become one of Fat Joe’s most well-known songs and was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
The Elephant in the Room, Fat Joe’s eighth studio album, came out in spring 2008 under Imperial Records, which is a division of Terror Squad Entertainment and Capitol Records. The album’s lead single, “I Won’t Tell, featured J. Holiday, and was followed by the single “Ain’t Sayin’ Nuthin’. “ The Elephant in the Room made its debut at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
J.O.S.E. 2 and The Darkside Vol. 2
His ninth album, J.O.S.E. 2, was released in June 2009; the title was inspired by the name of Fat Joe’s 2002 record Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.). Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Akon, Lil’ Kim, Fabolous, and Ron Browz were all featured on the album, and it was produced by The Inkredibles, Jim Jonsin, and Streetrunner. J.O.S.E.2’s first single was “One,” which featured Akon; the album debuted on The Billboard 200 chart at number 73.
Despite the poor performance of J.O.S.E. 2, as always, Fat Joe remained determined to come back on top. In early 2010, Fat Joe revealed that he was in the process of creating his tenth album, entitled The Darkside Vol. 1. According to MTV News, Fat Joe’s intention was to create harsher material touching on more serious subjects than his previous music.
The Darkside Vol. 1 was released in July 2010, only four short months after Fat Joe entered into a record deal with E1 Music. The album featured guest appearances by Trey Songz, R.Kelly, Lil’ Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Clipse, Rico Love, Cam’ron, Too $hort, and Jeezy (then known in the hip-hop world as “Young Jeezy”). Its first single is “(Ha Ha) Slow Down,” which features Jeezy, and its second single is “If It Ain’t About Money,” featuring Trey Songz. The Darkside Vol. 1 would sell 12,000 copies of the album in its first week and debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart at number 27.
Later Career: 2011-Present
During an interview in September 2011 with XXL Magazine, Fat Joe revealed that he would be releasing his first official mixtape entitled The Darkside Vol. 2 and that the mixtape will feature the songs “Drop a Body” and “Massacre on Madison,” which were produced by Mark Henry and had already been released earlier in 2011. He also revealed in this interview that he was currently working on another, yet-to-be-titled album that would include “Another Round” featuring Chris Brown as its first single.
“Another Round,” the first single from Fat Joe’s not yet titled eleventh album, was released on iTunes in October 2011. Fat Joe collaborated with ASAP Rocky, Lil Wayne, and French Montana for the album’s second single, “Yellow Tape.” In line with Joe’s frequent support of Latino artists in the world of hip-hop, Fat Joe contributed to Grammy winner Alejandro Sanz’ new album, La Música No Se Toca, being featured in the song ‘Down”. On March 18, 2013, Fat Joe released another single, “Ballin,” featuring Teyana Taylor and Wiz Khalifa.
Fat Joe reunited with his group from the 1990s, D.I.T.C, for the creation of their new album Sessions in October 2016. Prior to the release of Sessions, D.I.T.C. officially debuted the album’s lead single, “Rock Shyt.”
Going “All The Way Up”
Not long after Sessions, Fat Joe divulged (to the excitement of longtime Terror Squad fans like myself) that he and Remy Ma (of Terror Squad) were collaborating on a joint album. That album was released in February 2017 and was entitled Plata O Plomo (which literally translates to “silver or lead” in English, though it historically has been used as a slang term in the drug cartel world meaning “money or bullets’). “All The Way Up,” its first single, featured French Montana and Infared. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song peaked at number #27 and became Fat Joe’s first single to reach the top 40 in almost a decade. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, “All The Way Up” was a nominee for both Best Rap Performance and for Best Rap Song.
Fat Joe released the single “So Excited,” a collaboration with Andre “Dre” Lyon of the hip-hop duo Cool & Dre, in 2017. The following year, Joe released another single entitled “Attention” featuring Chris Brown. In December 2019, he came out with Family Ties, a collaborative album with Dre.
Fat Joe’s ninth EP, a collaboration with DJ Drama and frequent collaborators Cool & Dre, was released in August 2021. Entitled What Would Big Do 2021, the self-released album’s name is a reference to the late rapper Notorious B.I.G, who is one of Fat Joe’s greatest musical influences. What Would Big Do 2021 featured appearances by CeeLo Green, Ivory Scott, Sevyn Streeter, Nerfititti Avani, Lil’ Yachty, and Angelica Vila.
Acting Career
In addition to his three decades on the music scene, Fat Joe has acted in several films and made multiple appearances on television shows. His acting career started in 1994 with appearances in the film ‘I Like It Like That” as an unnamed minor character. In 1999, Fat Joe acted in three different movies in three diverse roles. He appeared as himself in 2003’s “Scary Movie 3” and voiced the character of Seymour in “Happy Feet” in 2006.
Between 2009 and 2020, Fat Joe would appear in nine total films, sometimes playing major characters in these movies. His most recent acting role was as the voice of DJ in the 2020 animated film Fearless. His unique Bronx accent led to him doing the voices of several video game characters; his voice has been featured in video games such as “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “Def Jam: Icon,” and “True Crime: New York City.”
Personal Life
In 1995, Fat Joe married his wife, Lorena Cartagena, and Joe is the father of three children: a daughter named Azariah (born 2006) and two sons, Ryan and Joey. However, Joey is Fat Joe’s son from a previous relationship who was born when he was in his early 20s. Joey is special needs, and his biological mother and her family could not handle taking care of a child who needed extra care. Fat Joe and his parents took in and raised baby Joey.
Joe and Lorena separated briefly in 2012, but reconciled and have now been married for 27 years.
Controversies
Throughout his life, Joe has had several legal issues, beginning in 1998 when he and Big Pun were arrested for assault after allegedly beating a man with a baseball bat and then stealing the victim’s gold chain. In 2002, Joe was once again arrested following a fight with another patron at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York, although the charges were dropped in January 2003.
In September 2008, Fat Joe and Big Pun allegedly beat a man with a baseball bat and stole the victim’s gold chain; the two would be arrested on assault charges. On May 12, 2002, Joe was arrested for fighting with another man at New York City’s B.B. King’s Blues Club, but the charges were later dropped.
Fat Joe served three months in prison in 2013 after he plead guilty in December 2012 to tax evasion. Allegedly, he had not paid income tax on over $3 million in earnings between 2007 and 2010.
Activism
The rapper is a known supporter of the LGBT community. Fat Joe revealed when being interviewed for Vlad TV, that though he himself is not gay, believes that gay people, especially those in the hip-hop industry, should not hide their sexuality. He also stated that there are a lot of LGBT people in hip-hop who have remained in the closet out of fear of backlash, even admitting that it is very likely that he has worked with rappers and producers who are secretly gay.
Joe has done a lot of charity work over the years, particularly in his hometown of the Bronx, including donating computers to underprivileged students at his old school. In 2008, Fat Joe attended the opening of Miami’s Hip Hop Soda Shop, a community project organized by Ben Chavis to give the youth in Miami a safe, positive place to hang out and enjoy activities such as recording music, using computers, and playing video games.
He has made several appearances at community events in the New Jersey area as well. In June 2009, Fat Joe attended a “School is Cool” assembly at Jersey City’s Public School 5 as a guest speaker. In 2011, he appeared alongside Cory Booker and personal trainer Jeff Halevy at an event in Newark, NJ to promote first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move project against childhood obesity.
Net Worth and Real Estate
Fat Joe owns numerous real estate properties throughout the United States, some of which are investment properties. His home in New York City is where he and his family reside most of the time. He also has several properties in the Los Angeles area in addition to one in Chicago.
In 2009, Fat Joe purchased a plot of land in Plantation, Florida for the price of $115,000. He had a five-bedroom, over 5,000 square foot home built on that plot of land, but placed it on the market just a few years later for $2 million. The home remained on the market for quite a long time until it was purchased by TikTok star Malứ Trevejo in 2022.
Fat Joe’s net worth is estimated to be around $4 million, but some sources have listed it to be around $6 million in 2022. Joe’s wealth comes largely from decades of record sales, in addition to earnings from his acting roles as well as income from numerous lucrative endorsement deals over the years, including deals with Boost Mobile, Latino Film Festival, and Bacardi.
Upcoming Work and Legacy
After several years out of the public eye, Fat Joe made his comeback with a performance at LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells Festival in Queens in early August 2022. In one of the most significant experiences of his career, Fat Joe hosted the 2022 BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, GA, on October 4, 2022. According to BET, Fat Joe was chosen to host this special annual event not only because of his important place in the history of hip-hop but also because of the vibrant and lively energy he always brings to the stage that will surely make him a memorable host of the BET Hip Hop Awards.
As host of the annual awards show celebrating hip-hop music, Fat Joe certainly brought that amazing energy to the stage, opening up the show with a brief performance alongside the Clark Atlanta University Marching Band. He also made sure to use this platform to highlight some of the highs and lows in hip-hop over the last year, including the importance of proper, professional security teams to ensure the safety of rappers, as well as the significance of freedom of speech in rap music. He also paid tribute to hip-hop legend Coolio, who passed away on September 28, 2022.
A One-Man Show and an Autobiography
In August 2022, Fat Joe announced that he would be creating and starring in a one-man stand-up show about the many ups and downs he’s experienced throughout his thirty-year career. Comedian Dave Chappelle is set to open the show with a special introduction, while Chris Robinson will be acting as the show’s director, and Roc Nation and Magic Lemonade are co-producers. Fat Joe’s one-man show is scheduled to debut in New York City later this autumn and will surely be an entertaining mix of comedic storytelling, hip-hop tales from a true legend, and the story of Joe’s rags-to-riches rise to fame told from his own perspective.
Fat Joe’s stand-up show is set to coincide with his upcoming autobiography, The Book of Jose, which will be released on November 15, 2022. When the autobiography was announced in April 2022, Fat Joe stated:
“This ain’t just a rapper’s story, it’s talking about everything [from] police brutality [to] drug abuse, selling drugs, hustling, getting locked up, getting framed, getting betrayed, depression, hip-hop’s greatest moments — they’re all in this book.”
Fans of Fat Joe, and of hip-hop music in general, are likely to find Joe’s story to be inspirational, honest, and of course, interesting. He will surely be telling many firsthand accounts of his experiences in the industry over the last three decades. This autobiography is sure to be an in-depth, first-person take on Fat Joe’s life and impressive career, as well as an insightful look at what many hip-hop artists experience during their rise to fame. Whether a fan of Fat Joe or of the genre he is famous for, The Book of Jose will be a definite must-read for any and all hip-hop and rap fans.
Legacy
Fat Joe is the winner of an ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Award as well as a Billboard Latin Music Award. He’s also a five-time Grammy nominee. Although Fat Joe may not have quite as many awards, albums sold, or accolades as some of the other stars in the hip-hop industry, he has become hip-hop royalty over his three-decade career due to his unique talents. A large part of the reason that Fat Joe has remained relevant over the years is due to his special ability to keep up with the ever-changing world of hip-hop music and create songs that take into account the aspects of hip-hop music that are popular among fans at any particular point in time.
His music in the ‘90s, a time in which there was a fine line between the genres of hip-hop/rap and pop, both with D.I.T.C. and as a solo artist, is a representation of old-school hip-hop. In the early 2000s, as Fat Joe started to become a household name, his singles incorporated the mesmerizing beats, poetic lyrics, and radio-friendly elements that defined early 2000s hip-hop; during the early 2000s, hip-hop, rap, and R&B began to reach mainstream popularity, and Fat Joe often incorporated aspects of pop and club music into his rap/hip-hop music.
In recent years, hip-hop and rap songs have frequently discussed real-life issues and experiences, which Joe has continued to do with some of his more serious songs. He has also featured countless other popular artists in his singles. He adds the unique styles and sounds of other musicians in his work in addition to collaborating with the most popular contemporary artists as a way to remain relevant himself.
Fat Joe is also a proud Bronx native and Latino and remains one of the few Latino artists to dominate hip-hop. Though he has received backlash for some of the comments he has made regarding the role of Latinos in the formation of hip-hop, Fat Joe is proud of the fact that he is a successful Latino rapper in a world dominated largely by African-Americans and asserts that Latinos have played an important part in the creation of hip-hop and rap music as we know it today. He remains supportive of other Latinos in the hip-hop industry, and his background as a native Spanish speaker, as well as his distinctive Bronx accent, have both contributed to his unique musical sound.
FAQs
Answer: Fat Joe is 5’11. He got his stage name “Fat Joe” from the fact that was always very overweight. At his heaviest, he was about 460 pounds, but was inspired to lose weight as many of his other overweight friends, starting with Big Pun, continued to die over the years from health issues relating to obesity. In recent years, Fat Joe has lost over 100 pounds. He has credited his weight loss to a healthy, low-carb diet and exercise.
Answer: Fat Joe is a Leo and was born on August 19, 1970.
Answer: Fat Joe has an older brother named Andre, who was the person who mainly introduced him to hip-hop music. Joe also had a sister named Lisa, who passed away around 2002 after a complication from an epidural during childbirth left her in a coma for a year before she succumbed to her medical issues. The baby also did not survive.
Discography
Studio albums
- Represent (1993)
- Jealous One’s Envy(1995)
- Don Cartagena(1998)
- Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.)(2001)
- Loyalty(2002)
- All or Nothing(2005)
- Me, Myself & I(2006)
- The Elephant in the Room(2008)
- Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2)(2009)
- The Darkside Vol. 1(2010)
Collaboration albums
- The Album with Terror Squad (1999)
- True Story with Terror Squad (2004)
- Plata O Plomo with Remy Ma (2017)
- Family Ties with Dre (2019)
- What Would Big Do 2021 with DJ Drama (2021)
A Bright Future Ahead
Though Joseph Antonio “Fat Joe” Cartegena has been in the game for thirty years and is now in his 50s, he has no plans on stopping anytime soon. Whether it’s releasing new music, appearing in films, or doing community and charity work in his native Bronx and beyond, Fat Joe is clearly determined to continue making his mark on hip-hop history.
He is immensely proud of the fact that he is one of the few Latino rappers to truly make it big, and hopes that he will inspire more Latinx artists to follow in his footsteps in the years to come. My personal respect for Fat Joe comes not only from his impressive music career but also from the fact that he’s made his fair share of mistakes in his life and has owned up to them. He has been arrested several times and even served four months for tax evasion, yet did not let these setbacks stop him from following and living out his dream. He also never forgot that he came from the Bronx-something that he is rather proud of- and knows what it’s like to come from nothing, which is what inspires him to give back by making appearances at community events.
Fat Joe certainly will have an interesting story to tell in both his upcoming standup show and his autobiography, The Book of Jose. I have been lucky enough to watch the majority of Fat Joe’s growth as a hip-hop artist who has been able to keep up with the changes in the music world. Since he’s not anywhere near done yet, I look forward to seeing what he does musically in the years to come as hip-hop, the entertainment industry, and the world itself continues to grow and change. No matter what the future holds for Joe, one thing is certain: within the last thirty years, Fat Joe has managed to start from the very bottom and rise, both as a hip-hop artist and as a human, “All The Way Up.”
References
- hiphopscriptures.com
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-05-28-0305290041-story.html
- https://dailyrapfacts.com/26663/fat-joes-first-rap-name-was-fat-joe-da-gangsta/
- vibe.com
- https://hiphophero.com/inside-the-fearsome-feud-between-fat-joe-and-50-cent/
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/fat_joe
- https://portfolio.newschool.edu/giore543/2022/08/25/fat-joe-net-worth-bio-age-height-weight-career-2022/
- https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/richest-rappers/fat-joe-net-worth/
- https://www.gemtracks.com/guides/view.php?title=how-did-fat-joe-get-discovered-net-worth&id=1661#real-estate-investment
- billboard.com
- https://www.xxlmag.com/fat-joe-backlash-blacks-latinos-half-and-half-hip-hop/
- https://www.bet.com/article/ser1sp/hip-hop-awards-2022-fat-joe-opens-clark-atlantas-band
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