W0javelli "Just Crack" (Fat Joe Tribute Mix)

Wojavelli returns once again with a Fat Joe tribute mixtape. Just Crack mixes over an hour of early Fat Joe rarities, features, freestyles and blends. As a member of the Diggin' In The Crates crew and Terror Squad, Fat Joe's career has spanned multiple eras and decades, where he's remained consistent with not only quality records, HITS and an ear for outstanding production, but a true presence in -- and behind the scenes -- in the hip-hop community. He's a true legend in the game and while he may not be atop and greatest of all-time conversations, he's had a celebrated career that is the envy of your favorite rappers' favorite rappers. Has he touched a classic tho? Probably not entirely, although he's come very close with Jealous One's Envy and even the slept-on Don Cartagena. Much respect to Joe Crack, dig into the mix below and hit the archives for lots more...

Fat Joe "Jealous One's Envy" (October 24, 1995)

Fat Joe, the South Bronx Puerto Rican counterpart to Notorious B.I.G. of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a gigantic physical presence with the rhyming skills and booming voice to match. The force of his delivery often forces the beat to match his flow rather than his flow surrendering to the beat's rhythmic constraints. Jealous One's Envy, his stellar sophomore effort, finds the Fat one living much the way he did the last time out, daring suckas to step up to get beat down, interspersing his autobiographical tales of the hard life with boasts about how large he's living. Unlike other pseudo-hard rappers, Fat Joe doesn't necessarily always have to talk about bucking people down to communicate his hardcore appeal. On "Bronxtale," he pairs with KRS-One over a lush jazz track that floats along without losing its edge, a style characteristic of most of the songs on the album. The best moments come with "Success," a "Flow Joe" remake called "Part Deux" and the album's best song, "Respect Mine," on which Fat Joe is matched with the hottest underground rapper of 1995, Wu-Tang's Raekwon the Chef. There might be better rappers than Fat Joe, but he has so much heart, so much exuberance in his flow and in the way he approaches his subject matter, that his personality has a way of winning you over. - Rolling Stone. A favorite of mine, revisit Joe's LP below...

Fat Joe "Don Cartagena" (September 1, 1998)

With "Don Cartagena," Fat Joe reached a new plateau with his rhymes and the entire approach on the album brings "the art of rap at the illest form," as poignantly said by Fat Joe in "Crack Attack," produced by LES of the Trackmasterz. Fat Joe has expanded his reach as an artist, while not compromising his hardcore essence and this time around, more than ever, manages to sprinkle jewels everywhere in his lyrics. In the title track and first single off the album, "Don Cartagena" (an eloquent piano looped track featuring Puff Daddy and produced by Younglord of "The Hitmen"), Fat Joe proclaims "modesty will get you no where / that's why I go there / and let you know where / to buy the new Fat Joe gear," and later in the verse asks, "Let's choose what life you'd rather live / on the streets stabbing kids or living mad sweet in lavish cribs?" Word. Another of the bound-to-be-classics is "John Blaze," a symphony track that guest stars Nas, Raekwon, Big Pun, and Jadakiss (The LOX) and was produced by Ski. Amid the live strings, the MCs flex lyrically. Fat Joe boldly professes, "I used to run mad spots / now I own many shops / gortex with the lock / 560s - 4 bills a pop / I'm hot / who wanna get burned?" A part of Fat Joe's persona is a new found consciousness and goal to reach a balance, keeping it both real and right. Inspired by a meeting he had with Minister Louis Farrakhan, Fat Joe enlisted the Terror Squad to create a politically-charged song. The result was "The Hidden Hand." Produced by Spunk Bigga, this emotionally-tinged track is reflective in nature with peaks captured by a subtle violin. On this track, Joe talks of his trials as a youth and his dreams for the future. "I was a wild adolescent / blessed with the foul essence / messing with the wrong crowd / I learned my lessons / ... / but now I understand the bigger picture / fuck crying about the struggle / I teach ya how to get richer." Press Kit cont'd below...

"Don Cartagena" is truly a trip through a myriad of sounds and escapades. Fat Joe keeps to his essence with the hardcore anthems "Find Out," produced by Marley Marl and "Misery Needs Company," featuring Noreaga. Fat Joe also provides us with "My World," a Baby-Paul produced track which will have crowds chanting, "It's my life, my money, my world, my girls. TS electrify the sky like the third rail" alongside Big Pun. In addition to the star studded names above, the album also features rising rap queen, Charli Baltimore and rap super group Bones Thugs-n-Harmony. Fat Joe's growth as an artist is reflected by the assembled artists and producers that appear on "Don Cartagena." With lots of love come blessings, and with blessings come protection. Blessed by his peoples in entertainment, his family, and the people in the streets, Fat Joe is surrounded by a legion of friends and loved ones. Men who move with that much reverence, power, and respect deserve the title Don. This summer, prepare to welcome "Don Cartagena." "If I ever make a hundred million, I still walk these streets freely; this is what I love man. More importantly, this is reality." Spoken like a true man of the people. - Press Kit, 1998. Revisit one of Fat Joe's best LPs above. R.I.P., Big Pun.

DJ Premier "So Wassup?" ("The Enemy" Episode, Video)

The Greatest of All-Time, DJ Premier keeps on keepin' on with his phenomenal new series, So Wassup?, a tribute to the floppy disk! In this third episode, Premo tackles the Diggin' In The Crates crew's "The Enemy." Featuring dope verses from the late great, Big L, and Fat Joe, it was originally released as their second single after "Day One" and the B-Side to "Internationally Known" in 1997. Now, let us sit back and watch how DJ Premier breaks down the process of how he made "The Enemy." For more episodes, hit up the archives below and happily get lost down on memory lane...

D.I.T.C. "Next" Feature in Vibe (December, 1999 + Playlist)

For close to 10 years, D.I.T.C. members Show, his longtime partner, A.G. (short for Andre the Giant), Lord Finesse, Fat Joe, Diamond, Buckwild (all of whom hail from the Bronx, NY), Brooklyn's O.C., and the recently murdered Harlem rhyme slinger supreme, Big L, have individually garnered accolades for their superior lyrical and/or production gifts. But besides Fat Joe's gold-selling Don Cartagena (Atlantic, 1998), street acclaim hasn't translated into record sales. "Not [achieving] what we were supposed to has taught us to stay on top of our business," blasts A.G. His man Show claims that it was a lack of organization and resources on the part of labels like Wild Pitch, Chemistry, and Pay Day that hindered D.I.T.C.'s individual success. "We felt it would make a greater impact if all of us put our ideas together, and everybody came with their different styles," Show says. And he tells no lies: Not since the rise of Staten Island, NY's Wu-Tang Clan has there been a collective that could come close to the Shao Lin Swordsman's concentrated can of whup ass. When it comes to the stock market of beats, lyrics, and flow, D.I.T.C. stand taller than the World Trade Center's twin towers. Just peep songs like the felicitous, guitar-guided "Foundation" and the bouncy, video-game-effects-bleeping, Big L-fronted "Thick." Yet as D.I.T.C. vie to become hip hop's first family, things are a little bittersweet. "I wish he were still around," says Show of his fallen compadre. "He's on most of the album, and I think about him every time I hear those songs." Fear not, Show, Big L is probably looking down, smiling, watching his crew's evolution from ghetto superstars to household names. - Next (Vibe, December 1999). No doubt, one of the greatest crews in Hip-Hop history! Below is a playlist with some of my favorite joints from the Diggin' in the Crates crew! I'll add more songs later.

 

Terror Squad "Terror Squad" (Vibe, 1999)

"It's hard not to root for Fat Joe. The Bronx, New Yorker spent years as an underground rap underdog before discovering a fellow borinqueno heavy-weight. With verbal skills as massive as his body, Joe's find, Big Pun, debuted in 1998 with the platinum-selling Capital Punishment (Loud). Riding the wave of momentum supplied by his protege, Joe finally struck gold with his third try, Don Cartagena (Atlantic, 1998). Now as his crew, Terror Squad (Joe, Pun, Cuban Link, Prospect, Triple Seis, and Armageddon) release their self-titled full-length, the MC/entrepreneur is once again banking on his eye for talent to pay dividends. Big Pun, rapping and singing, shines over the tasty violins and face-pounding drums of "Whatcha Gonna Do?" Bolstered by a creepy, hollow-sounding piano, "Bring It On" features Fat Joe going for dolo in vintage form: "Come at us if you're ready for war / Whoever you are / Leave you dead in your hall / Leaking red on the floor." Unfortunately, such stellar moments are few. By mid-album, many of the tracks start sounding the same -- a betrayal of the lesser-known Terror Squadians' distinctive flows and charismatic Latin linguistics. Let's hope Joe and his compatriots change production teams before coming out with solo efforts. If not, we'll be calling them the Not-So-Scary Crew." - Vibe (November, 1999). Rest In Peace, Big Pun.

Do you agree or disagree with Elliott Wilson's review in Vibe?

Fat Joe Da Gangsta "Represent" (July 27, 1993)

Drop what you're doing and get a fix of this lyrical dope being pumped city wide by Fat Joe. He used to juggle the lyrical jumbs back in the day with Dee Jay (oh, excuse me) Kool DJ Red Alert - lighting up NYC with the fat radio promos for 98.7 KISS FM. In 9-3 Mr. Fat Flow Joe rolls solo, Latino mafioso style - loading the clip with rich beats and selecting lyrical styles as if they were various models of guns - in order to represent that Uptown-Boogie Down home gangsta sound. Listen for the sounds Joe makes in the night as he extorts your local badbwoy sound system for volume and delivers the uncut product that will ring bells in hell. But Joe can't do it alone so he makes sure the rest of his family gets a cut. Special guests from the NY central include Ski, Grand Puba, King Sun, Showbiz & AG, Diamond D, Apache and Kool G. Rap. Click play and continue below...

The first single, the haunting "Flow Joe," has that mid-tempo underarm Teamster swing to it, but it doesn't do justice to the other bits of uncooked talent and fit-unk the rest of the album provides. When he's not tellin' shorty that she got a fat ass, he's tellin' suckers how he's going to do them. Nevertheless, livin' fat is the central theme. But the question remains: Is Fat Joe a bad, bad man or just another rapper riding the gangsta wave? In any case, he's never been busted and is not to be f#cked with - he just wants to tie his fans up with fat laces and stay around longer than Nike. Just do it, Joe. - The Source (9/93). "Flow Joe" was all over the radio at the time, that beat is still crazy to me. Props to Joey Crack. Dig into the tags/archives for more content from Fat Joe in 1993. 

Fat Joe released a commercial in 1993 for Represent, watch it below...

Percee P Trades Verses With Fat Joe & Eminem (Video)

Happy Born Day to the legendary veteran emcee; the Rhyme Inspector, Percee P. It's been many years since you'd catch Percee P outside of Fat Beats slingin' his CDs, but his hustle is the story of legends. People came from far and wide to cop his CDs and meet the man for a photograph and/or an autograph. I'm not sure of the exact year, but I'm sure most of you have already seen the footage... below is Percee P trading verses with Fat Joe and a young spitter named Eminem. The video was re-shared by Stones Throw Records to help hype Percee P's Perserverance album, but the original footage is from GeRard X and GETTO VIDEO. Another classic video is the infamous battle in 1989 between Percee P and Lord Finesse in the Patterson Projects (Bronx, NY). You can watch that battle HERE. I had the pleasure of interviewing Percee P several years back, hopefully I'll share parts of that interview on here one day, too. In the meantime, enjoy the video below. HBD!

Fat Joe "Heart of Bronxness" (Vibe, 1996)

'Maybe with my first album, I was kind of arrogant ... I thought I was the shit, but after a couple of months ... everybody's like, 'Man, 'Flow Joe' is the only hit Joe can make. So I came up with some ill shit. I learned to appreciate the fans more - I know it's because of the consumer that I'm here.' (Vibe, March 1996) He definitely came back hard with his sophomore album, 'Jealous One's Envy.' I remember back in the days of exchanging dubs with my friends, I bought another tape and my boy got Joe's album. We exchanged copies and I was like man, I bought some bullshit by comparison, lol. I've probably told that full story before, if not, it's definitely still fresh in my mind. To this day, the DJ Premier remix to 'The Shit Is Real' is one of the most nostalgic songs for me. 20+ years later, Fat Joe still knows how to stay relevant with a hit or 2 every few cycles. The album with Remy Ma kinda came and went, but the single was a smash and it won't be the last we hear of Fat Joe.

The Combat Jack Show "Fat Joe Episode"

On the latest episode of the Combat Jack Show, they take it to the South Bronx, Forrest Projects to be exact. Fat Joe has been around for 24 plus years and is still going strong. He's part of the legendary D.I.T.C. crew; he introduced the world to the likes of Big Pun (R.I.P.), Remy Ma, DJ Khaled... and the Terror Squad. He's also powered through beefs with 50 Cent, Jay-Z and survived the ugly scenarios of being in these New York City streets. Fat Joe has played an integral role in generations of Hip-Hop, and he keeps a hit or two on 'em! Tune in below to hear Don Cartagena share it all...

D.I.T.C. "D.I.T.C. Studios" (Album Sampler)

The legendary Diggin’ In The Crates crew are back in the studio - their own studio at that - and the result is their first new album in 15 years! 15 tracks deep, the album features lyrics and production by all members of the crew, including a few new affiliates. Highlights include a return to the microphone by Lord Finesse on the banger “Rock Shyt”, Fat Joe returning to this legendary Bronx crew and DJ Premier production on “Connect 3.” The album was designed to be the first of many new releases coming out of their new headquarters and label, DITC Studios. You can order the Deluxe Edition via Fat Beats, but you know how I feel about album samplers, so check it out below + Put an L up for Big L - may he Rest In Peace. Great to see the D.I.T.C. crew back together.

DJ Boogie Blind "Definitive D.I.T.C." (Mixtape, 2007)

Much respect to Boogie Blind of the world famous X-excutioners. This is his "Definitive D.I.T.C." mix, showing love to one of the greatest all-star crews, Diggin In The Crates. A double-CD mix, Definitive D.I.T.C. runs through over 50 tracks, including joints from Diamond D, Showbiz & AG, Big L, O.C., Fat Joe, Buckwild, Lord Finesse, some posse cuts and random features thrown in for good measure. With a catalog as extensive as the Diggin in The Crates crew, it's hard to catch it all, but this is no doubt a phenomenal mix by one of Hip-Hop's greatest DJs. Props to DJ E-Feezy for the stream below, check his page for lots more content. Big L, Rest In Peace! Listen to the mix below...

Fat Joe "Don Cartagena" (1998)

Taken from the original press kit from Fat Joe's Don Cartagena: "With the wisdom and experience of a Don, Fat Joe brings to life street morality, Mafia fantasy and hardcore realism, delivering "Don Cartagena," his third and best album to date. On "Don Cartagena," Fat Joe plays musical auteur directing each track dramatically and intensely. Fat Joe - aka Joey Crack - wields an album with diverse tentacles, reaching some of the complexities and contradictions of Hip-Hop. Through the course of his six years in the industry, having fostered relationships with major players, and after growing up in squalor of the South Bronx, he has good reason to call himself the Don of Rap." In my eyes, this was Fat Joe's last (near) classic album, and while I don't run to it often in my crates, you cannot deny his ear for production - especially on this project. Vibe had this to say about "Don Cartagena" in October, 1998: "Third time's a charm for Bronx bad boy Fat Joe. After two marginal releases on Violator/Relativity, Joey Crack returns with Don Cartagena - a refined arsenal of explosive songs ... Don Cartagena proves that the game ain't over until Fat Joe rhymes." Check out the video below for the smash track "John Blaze," featuring Nas, Big Pun, Jadakiss, and Raekwon.

Promotional t-shirt from '98's Don Cartagena...

D.I.T.C. "Diggin' In The Crates" (Vibe, March 2000)

Diggin' in the Crates are to rap as the Portland Trail Blazers are to the NBA - deeper than Bill Gate's pockets and brimming with skills and chemistry. After years of functioning as a loosely knit collective, D.I.T.C. have assumed a Voltron-like formation to create an LP chockful of their widely revered punchlines and metaphors. With Fat Joe, A.G., O.C., and the tragically deceased Big L sharing the majority of mike dity - plus Diamond, Show, Buckwild, and the unfadable DJ Premier behind the boards - it seems that they've got every base covered. From the pounding primo opener, "Thick," to the sobering vinyl-classic closer, "Day One," D.I.T.C. hit like a freight train, crushing all in their path. With knocking drums and somber melodies, the mid-tempo beats on songs like "Champagne Thoughts" perfectly complement the collective's energetic style. Unfortunately, the LP's greatest moments are also its most depressing, as Big L rips verses like, "You frontin' cause yo' whip's a Range / But it's a 4.0 / You nerd n!gga / You heard Jigga  Now get yo' change" - begging the painful question, What if? But despite the morbid splendor of L's ultimate glory, D.I.T.C. come correct, adding another solid notch to their belt. - Vibe, March 2000. Revisit the debut LP from Diggin' In The Crates below...

The full review in Vibe Magazine (March, 2000) is below...

Fat Joe "Jealous One's Envy" (Album Review, 11/95)

"I know you remember "Flow Joe" from the album Represent back in '93. A lot of heads might even remember the phat remix for "The Shit Is Real." But I don't think too many of y'all were anticipating or fiendin' for whatever Fat Joe might drop next. Well, it's '95 and the big man's back, representin' with Jealous One's Envy. "Bronxtale" opens the music saga. A very polite KRS-One requests, "Music please," and the Kings of the Boogie Down proceed to rip the track, accompanied by a skipping, slightly off-beat, deliberately played bassline, and chiming, almost serene, organ-like hits. Fat Joe has definitely upped the lyrical ante, as demonstrated by the next joint, "Success." An upright sounding bass and a constant hard snare are layered by lingering keys and orchestral string sounds. Crisp and precise, Joe puts forth the hustler's national anthem: "hustling is the key to success, money is the key to sex." Revisit Jealous One's Envy and continue reading The Source's LP review below...

"Envy is a slow, funky, almost bouncy usage of Marvin Gaye's classic "Sexual Healing." It's an ode to life and death, a groove caressed by the angelic crooning of a female voice. The way heads peeped Biggie's remix of "One More Chance" should definitely have them fiendin' for some "Envy" flavor ... Other standout tracks include "Watch Out," which features Joe's crew - Armageddon, Big Dog Punisher and Keith Nut - "Bronx Keeps Creating," a joint that transports you to the New York borough wars on wax circa 1986, and "Fat Joe's In Town," which asks you to "keep this rap shit true" and brilliantly uses Raphael Saadiq vocalizing "that's all I ask of you" as the response. All you can say is phat lyrics, phat production, Fat Joe." - The Source (November 1995). Sticker + review is below...

Big Pun "Next" Feature In Vibe Magazine (February, 1998)

"Big Punisher laughs a lot. The Puerto Rican, Bronx-bred behemoth behind last year's brilliant Loud singles "You Ain't A Killer" and "I'm Not A Player" can't stifle a chuckle even when resurrecting acerbic childhood memories of his disciplinarian Vietnam vet stepfather. "Your reflexes are sharp when you get your ass whupped all the time," Pun says while pounding the pavement of his old neighborhood. "My stepfather would walk every morning to the bathroom. I could hear the toilet bowl flushing. Whoooshhh. Then he'd walk past my bedroom door," Pun pauses. His black eyes are piercing; he's lost in a trance. "Next thing you know," the Punisher says, "he would kick in my door and (say) 'Early, soldier! smack me around, and make me do f#ckin' push-ups Ha-ha." Pun brought an end to that pain when, at 15, he became big enough to fight back. "I use that experience for my writing," he says. "You can hear the anger." Big Punisher's gusts of fiery breath were first on 1995's "Watch Out" from Fat Joe's Jealous One's Envy. Pun has since flexed his self-described sophisticated hardcore flow on solo Bone Thugger Flesh-N-Bone's 1996 "No Mercy" as well as the Beatnuts' recent-blazer "Off The Books." Throwback live video: Terror Squad runnin' through their joints...

"But the juiciest slab on Pun's menu is is own full-length debut, Capital Punishment (Loud). It's a relentless collection of bone-crushing bravado. Check for the banging, Buckwild-produced "Dream Shatterer" as well as the exacting "Twinz," a "Deep Cover"-esque duet with Pun's manager Joey Crack aka Fat Joe. "People got me blushin," says the nearly 400-pound 26-year old father of three. "They stop me and go, 'You Pun?' All my life I didn't feel special, so it feels good to finally be spoiled." Later that day, Pun treks down to his label's Manhattan offices. "I'm gonna try to write some ballads too, man," he says, stone serious. "I'll sing this one song for you..." The tumultuous conference room is ripe with crazed interns and Pun's lifelong, round-the-way amigos and fellow rhyme slayers Cuban Link and Tripe Seis. They simmer down. "You stupid," Pun says. "Like I'm gonna sing a song for you. Ha-ha-ha." Ouch. Big Punisher - hip-hop's newest heavyweight champion - has punchlines that will knock you out." - Vibe Magazine, February 1998. Rest In Peace, Big Pun.

Fat Joe "This Shit Is Real" (DJ Premier Remix, 1994)

Represent was the debut studio album from Fat Joe, then known as Fat Joe da Gangsta. The first two singles to promote the album were "Flow Joe," produced by Diamond D, then "Watch The Sound," also produced by Diamond D, who features on the record alongside Grand Puba. The third single was "The Shit Is Real," originally produced by The Beatnuts and later remixed by DJ Premier. The famous remix would push Fat Joe to new heights in his career and land on his classic sophomore album, "Jealous One's Envy," in 1995. For an interview with Complex, Fat Joe recalls, “He (DJ Premier) threw me for a loop because when I was like, ‘I want you to do the remix for this,’ the beat was slow. It didn’t sound like a Premo beat. If you heard it, you would be like, ‘Yo, Premo ain’t do this.’ I remember we were all sitting in front of the projects, and I played it loud, and by the second or third time I heard it, I was like, ‘This shit is crazy!’ So I got excited ... We shot the video for that version and all that. That shit was hard. It’s probably the hardest record I ever did in my whole career. And the whole shit was real. That was the whole point. I shot the video in my neighborhood, in my building, and in my projects. All over the hood. I always represented." Watch the video below.

Fat Joe "Flow Joe" (1993)

"Flow Joe" is the debut single by Bronx eMCee Fat Joe. It was released on his debut LP "Represent" in 1993. The song contains samples of "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Lee Dorsey and "The Long Wait" by Morton Stevens, flipped by Diamond D as the producer on the track. Years later, Joe describes the record and his come-up to Complex: “I started out in the Apollo Theater. That’s where I got my start. I won Amateur Night four weeks in a row. I met Red Alert, who was the number one DJ in New York. He worked on 98.7 KISS FM. He asked me to give him a promo, like a jingle. So I went to Diamond D’s spot, and he came up with the beat. Red played it a couple of weeks later and the whole projects and everyone in front of the building started going crazy. So that was where ‘Flow Joe’ came from originally. Then, Chris Lighty and Relativity approached me about signing me, and they wanted that to be the single. So we took that, and we turned it into Flow Joe... and the rest is history" The B-Side to the 12" was "Livin Fat," produced by Lord Finesse.