Fat Joe | Ep 98 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

City through today. I'm coming to sooner. Got all your four teens, put them on the side for me, all right now, we got the one and only call a Gina and introduce you man. My brother and my family and somebody who showed me love from the first show I was in the NBA. Made me feel like family, The one and only Joey Crack appreciate. I appreciate y'all. And so to elaborate because people think I just talk ship.

But your first year in the NBA, you had a ten dade contract and then they kept extending it like five six times. But you was with us. You know what I'm saying. And we've you know, I've been so proud of him, you know, moving on to San Antonio and winning chips and getting the bag. But you know, we know the birth of Stevie Jack. So any first of all, no disrestracts you. It's the realist NBA player. That's my Stevie Jack. That's how you know family. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

you know he's the realist NBA player. Ever when it comes to that former street ship, right, and so because you Muslim, you, I'm den alt see you all in the temples. Now I see you in there, so we gotta say formally, right, and so he comes in the game. You know what I'm saying. We loved him to death and we just became families since since day one. And shout out to Steph Maulbury for introducing us. No, I'm excited cause I've been hearing stories. Something can't be told,

something can be So we're gonna get to it. But before we get going, Jack, I forgot bro I got something for you. Oh I've been in my bag when I went to the bathround forgot about it for you. This has awakening spray. But this is really called pretty boy. Miss. This wakes you up. I'm not been fainting for this. You know you never seeing Jerry Carol Hollywood shop when

he lost his activating That's how I felt. Let me get another and give me a couple of sprints one time, one time for you know what it is though, this is Awakening Spray. I need to know where the guys that the signs, the checks for this is my company. Yeah yeah, man at the store near you finding that target, you can find it that target and Hugh for every Man dot com. And we got men we got when I go. When I put in my hair, when I washed my hair with what I shaved with, you see

what Jack does. It has awakeness prey, but I call it pretty boy missed. He has got his girl said he's gotten a handsomer since he started using that ship, so he did. I could grow my hair back with with you. I don't know if you're not making that, you're not making that. I wouldn't want to lie to you, Joe, I wouldn't you anyway, Let's let's get to it. Man, New York. When you think New York, you know you're one of the first name to come up. Tell me

about your upbringing. Wow, I grew up in the Bronx hip hop was created Birst and you know some people some places and that some people some the place race. So there's uptown Bronx, there's the West, there's a I was just born in the South Bronx where hip hop was created. So Mellie Mel I would watch grand Master Flat.

My brother was a great boy for grand Master Flash ms the Nest like, so all these people were around my neighborhood for real love Bucks, Star Ski and I would watch and play baby kids seven years old, eight years old. First Latino rapper ever was in a Fantastic five. His name was Ruby D. So I used to watch him and his brothers. They used to play softball. They was nice. They diving on concrete Goose the real port

of regions that dive on concrete. And so you know, I was that blessed to grow up love and hip hop just as a fan, and just to watch the evolution of hip hop over the years is mind blowing. Obviously music came later in your life, but you know, you you hit the streets of the fourteen Road up to No Good. Talk to us about that and how that transitioned you there, what you learned on that, Well, I was in the streets since I was born. So I grew up in the rustiest projects in the Bronx,

and ship was gladiated school from kindergarten up right. And they really ain't had no you know. I had hair like the beetles and green eyes, not real talk. And I grew up in the nine Black neighborhood, so I had to go hard since birth, like you know, and and and so it's always been gladiated school as soon as I had fourteen. I can't discredit my mother, my father, you know, they were all hard working, you know, but I wanted more. And you know, I wanted to fly kicks.

I wanted to fly outfits. I wanted the chicks. I wanted all a lot. So you know, in fourteen years old, I left my house and the very next day I started hustling, you know what I'm saying. But I just knew I didn't want to be broke. I knew that one million percent. I said, look, I don't want to still fit E's line, but he got the best line. It was like get rich or died trying. And and I just knew for some reason in my DNA that I wasn't born to be broke. I don't even know

how to explained it to you. Like I remember I used to stay out my window twelve years old, like, yo, I'm tired of this broke ship like this, this ain't for me. And you know, so I hit the streets ninety two, you hit music. What obviously you told us what you're around growing up, But what was a pivotal moment from that street life to like, okay, I'm give

this a shot. Well, you know, I was hustling big at this time, like big, right, no, like big like not like these guys like the real ship, right, And uh then they made up a lower corda Rico logan and they started snatching sixty guys, fifty guys, the whole crewise like have you. It was like, Yo, the Claremont Boys they're going down. The Treatmont boy is going down. The Cypher's boys just went down, honey. Seventy eight of them got locked up that this this and all this

ship is happening. And I'm like, holy sh it, we're going to jail forever or you know. And of course you got the die factor. And then Diamond D. I grew up with Diamond. I used to write graffiti with him digging in the Crazy Crew shoutout dr TC. He was like, yo, Joe, man, let me pay for the studio or somebody. I know you like to wrap put your life on the music. So we went to the studio. We came up with the demo which became Flow Joe.

I went to Apollo Theater Amateur nited Apolo. So to tell you the truth that that when I did Amateur Nite, it must have been the drug Dealer's ball and my Lione Rich and why, like any serious hustling street they was in the village. Joe, He's gonna rap. And so I came in first a couple of weeks and that's where I met Red Alert and uh he played my demo, which later on turned into Flow Joe. That turned into the number one song in the country. And you know, we we never looked back the day I quit the

drug game. I never I didn't care. I never got involved with anything like like the Cinderella movie. Before. I was always rapping. Since I was like ten twelve years old, I was like spitting that diamond. Knew I spit, but he was like, yo, bro, you're gonna die here. You're gonna go to jail forever. Here here, just tell your story, you know, and shout out to a lady man from my building. Her name was Miss Burger, Jeffrey Burger's mom.

So she would tell me this all the time. She'd be like, Yo, God got bigger things for you, Joey, you ain't supposed to be out here. Whild I'm like this, like please like And you know, it was the music. It was hip hop, So what was the vibe and the energy like in New York at the time, you transitioning from hustling fresh into the music game, you hit and go what's the energy like? So for me, you know,

I grew up with with a life of violence. So I woke up every day for the smoke, right every day when I left out that not all of it. I was doing the smoke like I was applying the smoke. I don't care about life pretty much. And so when I when I became a rapper, there was two things.

There was guys that were scared to death for me almost let's just say shig knightish guys was like yo, this guy like Steve Riftin, you know, when I went to bring big pun to him, he said he had nine phone calls from the industry telling them, yo, this guy's will killer extortionism, Like yo, don't meet with him, don't put him in the game, because you got a lot of guys acting like the gangster. And then they didn't want this guy to get up there if he

abuses the power the wrong way. Actually it was the opposite. When I got in the game, I was trying so much to show people I'm a nice guy. I tuned it all the way down where I was like, yo, yo yo, because when people are scared of you, they don't want to break brad with you. They don't want to create a monster, nothing like that. So I actually toned it down when I got in the rap game. Going back to what you said about the lady, she must have saw something that you're seeing yourself at the

time to tell you that she knew. There was a lot of people who saw stuff in me that I ain't see. When that rest in peace, Chris Lidy. When he came he came to my spot, he's I signed in the middle of the street. That's why when you know people who really want to make it, whether I mean it's not educated to sign a record contract, a recording contract with no attorney. But when you want to pout the streets that bad, you will fucking sign. So when Chris Lidy came and said, Yo, I think you

could be a rapper. You you could be, I was like, Yo, signed now, and I was just showing everybody in my contract, Yo, I signed, I'm gonna fish you. You know I'm gonna be a rapper. And you know I was that nobody believed it. They were like, yo, Joey, I remember everybody, God bless him all who did twenty years and better laughing at me when I told him I'm gonna be a rapper, and these are my friends, and I'll be like, yo, I'm a be wrapping they I'm like, oh man, you're

playing yourself right. So your celebrity in your neighborhood. But what's it like when you start getting that world eyes on you and it's not just Joey from here? Now is the world starts? My first whole album was about the four Corners. We had never left nowhere. There was no social media. You know, we're talking about the time there was no social media. This is what what? What years? There's a broke kid right now in New Orleans or the Bronx that could actually see us in mansions and

be like, oh ship, I could do that right. We didn't never see that, so it was like all we knew was the four Corners and let's wrap out block Yo. I'm Fat Joe from the Projects. I don't give a funk whatever this this that it wasn't too. I went on my first promo to or to l a and and I just happened to be in the crowd for City Hall shout out to all stretch DJs stressed for stretching Barbitro. He invited me to the City of horse Show.

He was a guest DJ, and we're sitting in the crowd our CEOs like god, you know what I'm saying. And we're sitting in the crowd and out of nowhere, he's like, Yo, I got my main man in the house. He got the hottest song out, Fat Joe. I was like, what, Yo, come down Joe. And then I performed on our cdeo. I quit the whole promo tour and came back that night. I came back to New York like couldn't like I had made it, Like everybody saw me the whole country.

That was my first big moment of the whole country acknowledging me. You know what I'm saying, Who was your influencers? That's hip hop? The biggest My biggest influences was Heavy D for being confident, for being a big, big man, fly dressing, fly the ladies man h l O who j ll coo j Uh still is uh someone that I look up to in the spy of the beat. I mean, if you talk about a person who's been excellent role model for hip hop music, it's LLL cool J. I don't feel like no man, he's one of the

greatest way he's a goat. And so the fact that he got his wife, he got his family, you know what I'm saying. I've always looked up to him. You know, I've been my wife twenty six years, so we we we look up to them. And of course Caress wanted being from the Bronx. Nobody rocks the show like Carrerass. Nobody's more lyrical than Caress. So that's really the gunboat that created Fat Joe. Those street players right there, When did you run across uh biggie? And what kind of

relationship did y'all have? I have flowed you out, and uh Big goes up to this place called the lyricis Lounge, puffies with him. It's the same puff Daddy Puff. Daddy wasn't rich, but he was the same puff that he he kept that energy, that same energy. Right, So Biggie's up there in the lyricist lounge. I'm already flow, Joe's already out. I'm walking around my vinyl trying to give it to the DJ so they could play it. Back in the days, you couldn't just press play and everybody

got it. You had that. It was word of mouth, hand delivered. And so I'm sitting in the crowding. Biggie's just battling like ten different killing them all. And he had a backpack on the puff kept going, I'm telling y'all, y'all can't funk with my man. Y'all can't. And that that's how I met Big. So Big was like, oh ship you Flow Joe, you fat Joe. I was like, what's up? Man? I actually booked them because on this my side hustle besides wrapping, because money making money rapping

was like seasonal when you're not really big. So it's like you put a record out, you make a lot of money than them other months. You slow. So I used to throw parties, like promote parties. So I had booked Biggie for his first show ever. Yeah, it was at the Fever and and and you know what, nine two nine three nine three, Biggi's first show ever, crazy and the FLI says, party and bullshit and all that, and then we became tight ever since then I got I knew he was gonna be big, and that's where

he was still underground. I just was like, Yo, this guy he's special. And then me and him was tight. I'll tell y'all some ship. Me and him was tight. And I remember when he met jay Z because he stopped. Me and Big used to talk every day. He said, Yo, man, it's this guy. He's nice. I've been hanging out with him. His name is jay Z. That boy nice. I ain't gonna lie to you. That's on everything. I never said

that in the interview. Um, he definitely. I remember when he met jay Z and he was hanging out with him every day. He was like, oh, I'm with jay yo. This is that. So he saw what I saw on him. He saw that ship jay Z. Immediately, you know what I'm saying, so, how did you guys relationship continue to grow through it? I mean, obviously you're established now. He's a great, great story, no Biggie. To this day, there's nobody's career that has went more viral than Biggie Smalls.

Biggie Smalls went from wearing an army jacket to the next day we'recking the Tuck Salmon tuxedo with gators and the fur on and going number one, two and three. We never seen no ship like this, Like overnight, he went from Biggie Smalls to the notorious virg number two, two and three Brooklyn. We did it like that'sh It happened like him, right, And so we know because we're in in the situation of power that a lot of times people's opinions, we at least perceived that people's opinions

change on us because we got success or status. So I'm even guilty of that. When Biggie was like number one, two or three, I remember walking up to a Vibe party and um, I just seemed like two hundred people around the one truck and I ain't know as that and when I seen it, it was Biggie standing on the truck and me myself, jose Car the Gena myself. Looking at that, I was like, I'm not gonna go over there. He probably changed. And Biggie sees me right at the movie yo, yo, I go over there. So

then he grabs a little kim. She was with him. He was like, what the funk we've been playing all day? What we've been playing all week? My new album had dropped, my second album, jealous on. She was like, your album, it's like you got that avoid You're killing him now, you know. I was like, damn, he ain't never changed all that. Yeah, he ain't changed. That's one for you know that York, New York. That's the one to tell the story about when I got locked up and said,

you set the kite for him? Be clear that story Muta told. The story was pox right here, man, and who was Napoleon's Napoleon? I had never said that story in twenty something years. Fat Joe never leaked that story. It's a true story. And so what happened was East coast, West coast. Big he's my man. And to be honest with you, you know, they were really get I want to use my words correctly. Let's just say, the West Coast was like leaning on New York like like like

really leaning on New York like hard. The pressure was legendary in the New York rappers, you know, they just wasn't really coming back at them like that, and they were just violating, like doing crazy ship. I don't talk about type of ship going on, right. And so I'm in the radio one day and they asked me the question, yo, Joe, what you think about Tupac and all I said, Yo, He's cool, but you know, if they stepped to me,

it's gonna be some ship. So I said that on the radio, not knowing Tupac's locked up upstate in New York. The Puerto Ricans here that Bobby got beef with fact Joel Yo, yo, no, no that, And then we were still in the street hard. So I said that in an interview, you gotta be careful your words to really create problems. So then I get on the phone call. I get a phone call from Great Nice, who pretty much put me in the game. One of my brothers.

He said, your Joe, I got pocked. On the other line, I was like pop, So I pick up and in Tupac. I don't want to elaborate too much, guys. But what I'm saying is Tupac was like, Yo, these Puerto Ricans is on me, like you said something in the radio. I don't got a problem with you, Joe like this, I know what's up this is. And so you know, we sent the kite out to the Puerto Ricans and be like na, na, na, na, na, this ain't about that. Don't that not on the strength of me. Don't do that.

And then they wind up being real tight with Tupac and then holding them down in there. That's how that came about. But be clear, y'all. I know I talk a lot of ship. I talk a lot of ship, and I never told that story in twentysomething yus, you know, because now we gotta be careful with podcasting, the cloud chasing, like it's crazy out there. So outside of that experience with him, after he's out, I knew. I knew Tupac Tupac the realist rapper ever, but really the fat Joe,

he's the one. Right when I met Tupac, we was in uh Atlanta. It was me Wu Tang, a couple of people freestyle it in front of check the rapper and the dude comes up with a red band Danna and two guns in his hand. That's how I met Tupacs to Colleen Jackson for real life Stevie Jackson and so and so, I'm like, you know, I'm standing there trying to act like you know what suck? You know it is what it is, but I don't know who the funk this is with two guns. So he's like, yo, crack,

what's up. I'm like, yo, suck and he was like it's me, He's pop. Yeah. This ship he was at that COVID a long time ago. There won COVID. He pulled ship down. It was like Tupac. That's how I met Tupac. Every single time I saw a Tupac to Corps, he was in violence, if it was beating up the bootleggers, if it was chasing the DJ it was. I would see Tupac in the club like you just running up, Yo, Joe, pull out a gun. Yo, you've seen such and such like crazy and no I did not see such like

my brother and he's out. So yeah, I met Tupac a bunch of times. But Big, let's be clear, Big was my brother, right right right, So transcended from those two legends. Let's go to your man. Pun talked about that relationship with what's your brother Big Pun different? You know what I'm saying, e Pun was the brother I never had, the little brother I never had, and I was the big brother he never had. And so when I met him rapping, I knew he was the best in the game and I and I wanted to be

the Puerto Rican puff Daddy. And I saw what they did with Big with my own eyes, so I wanted to And so I was like, yo. And so the first second I met Punt, he was telling me ship that none of us would be talking about. He sat in the car, he was like, Yo, you're gonna be my big brother, yo, this and this and that, and he was just telling me everything about his family is upbringing, being homeless. This just a lot of ill ship. I come from the street before I started rapping, so unfortunately,

the streets taught me to never trust nobody. So I'm sitting next to Punt and I'm like, why the funk this guy's telling me all this ship, Like why is he trusting me like this? You know? And uh, and and then I realized it's almost like when you get

your wife. You know what I mean? Guys tell a woman, yo, you're gonna be my wife, and then they already know you already press a button in your brain, like you know, you stopped smoking weed for three months and you never thought you You're like fun that him the lot, I'm stopping this ship. So it's the same thing. So in Pun's mind, he was like, oh no, I got him, Joe Cracks my big brother. I'm rolling with him, so I'm gonna lay it out for him so he could

know what's my problem? Why? You know why I want to do this. Everybody needs to know that why in life. He knew his why. It's like they shipped on me and shipped on me, left me for dad. For him, Pum was probably like, uh, nineteen, I was trying like what I'm saying, and you know, but I was already Joe Crack, I'm finishing my second album. I took him to the studio that night and he jumped on the album.

I stopped my whole career to put the energy behind Punt and use every relationship I ever made in the MU music business to make sure that Punt blew up. Because I knew the world needed to hear punt, and so you know we got like white Cliffs. Jon had just sold thirty million records. I pulled that favor from Joe, the singer just went number one Drake numbers at the time, like he just did five hundred thousand. I was, you know, every favor I could pull, I pulled it for for Punt.

People were like, oh, it's for you, No, no, no, it's from my artists. They never even met him. And I was like, na, no, no, he'd one he gonna blow. And I knew that he was just gonna open the doors for us, almost like I see Rich here and the football says the guy that does this running back run stid So that that's how we ran with it. How important was it to represent the Latin community at the time, But we always Latino, you know what I'm saying. I'm Puerto Rican and Cuban. Shout out to Cuba Coo.

I leave with it and said, we always Latino and were always proud to be Latino. But um I got in this game, you know, to be Philippino, on be Jamaican, be black and white. You know what I'm saying. I made this music for everybody Punt made this music for everybody, always representing the culture, but for the world, making this music for everybody because music is the is the universe music and sports is the university. We probably sat next to Confederate Flaggers at the game and high five them

when they Rod hit the home run. Yo, And it's the troph that's the only thing that brings everybody together. So music, I was conscious of being a loutino representing a lot of things of what we was doing, but always it was for everybody because that's how you grew up. Yeah, that's what everybody so you know, that's how That's how we always approached it. You No, Punt never liked your you're nice for a Latino MC. That was the one thing you could say to him to kill his whole

vibe in one second. Yo, you're nice for a Latino him like lights for a lot too. You don't ask Stevie wonder if he's nice for a being like you know, he's serious about that ship like you know. So we made music for everybody. Man, So I'm such a fan of this era of music. You mentioned puff and you said that's what you tried to be for Pun talk to us about your experience with Puff and what you took from seeing him early on, because he's a monster,

not taking smarter than everybody. He was smarter than everybody. And I asked him when we alone, you know what I'm saying. Then in the middle of the COVID he made me come see him. And this when I was staying home. So goes house man, Ship and Ship. They're cooking for us, Me and him, just me and Puff sitting there and looking at the fucking water, you know, And he tell me, I'll tell you he'll confronted. He

was like, yo, you know you're the realist nigger. Ever, I was like, yea, y'all said, I see your puff. I don't really need He said, no, I want you to know you realist one. I said, with your puff, that's cool? And on I said, boy, how was you so smart? Like how you figure it out? And I canna tell you why? And so he said that he studied all the grades, He had his whole game plan. So Puff, you take Puff as a party animal weak like damn. When when it was happening, he was like, Yo,

this guy parties too much. But little did we know he was networking in there. Little did we know that every time he came to my video and maybe where Sean John, we was added value to his clothing. Little did we know that every time he said yo, hole listen, it was just a rock bottle. This guy was billion there up the ship. He was just he was a genius. I had the time. We did not know right now, it'll be right now, you just said him, what's the

nameless again? You for men? Beautiful life right you. We did not know that the at all. We did not know that. So he knew everything ahead of his time. And if he threw a party, threw a party with somebody who would be impressed by all his friends being there so he could Paul lay another deal. And he was doing all that. We didn't know that. So Puff, what I learned from him is, uh, he knew branding, uh network, and he knew everything before everybody. He was

smarter than everybody. Everybody took notes from Puff. Still all we're still taking notes. I'm a huge fan of Puff and just always just watching it. Like I said to me, he figured it out. But he's enjoying the ship White happened. It's like it's not a job to he's making money. It's it's fun. His life is he's growing to be growing as a person to still. Yeah, what we do is, uh, we learned to appreciate life and happiness is the key. Whatever makes you happy, if it's righteous, if it's not

robbing nobody, hurting nobody, taking advantage of nobody. Whatever makes you happy, do you because God gave you this life. God gave you this life. God gave me this life. It's like we he at one time, there's an exploration day. So you as long as you do it makes you happy, you know, and not putting up with what people think or what people like. What this is as long as you're happy, you know what I'm saying. And I think Puff has figured that out. I think Floyd Mayweather has

figured that out. There's certain people that have figured that ship out where they're like, yo, I don't I don't care. Whatever makes me happy. And we we were, you know, we brought up in the society is so judgment to. Everybody got their opinions, everybody got there dis and some people just you know, I think Fat Joe being an O G now I tapped into yeah, I'm doing what makes me happy. If it's hanging out with my daughter.

That I don't get. I don't care. Maybe it's not cooling you no more that I'm not walking in with cool That's all right. I hang out with my wife, I hang out with my daughter. That's what makes me happy, you know what I'm saying. Or I hang out with my brother Kali, that's what makes me happy. Rich you know, it's whatever makes you happy. I remember to touch on Puff.

I remember when the whole George flour I think was going down and I was about to do my first interview on seeing it, and like the first time I was speaking and I hadn't talked to Puff and nothing. It's some kind of way he got my number and he faced time me, and the words he told me really kind of calmed me that. I was, like, you were built for this, Like just remember you speaking for all of us, He's saying, And at this point, I don't know you, but I know of you, and I

wouldn't want nobody else in this position. You don't know what that did for me, bro, you know what I'm saying. Just to have him face time me and tell me that right before I went on TV. I think that was that was big man and I never told him because I haven't seen him, but I appreciate that. I think that was big. When when Joe gets Puff on the show for she coun tell him, yeah, I get

him on the show, He'll do it, no problem. What you gotta understand is when I remember when I was going to jail, right, and they drove me to the to the jail. It's just a couple of months, but I was. I was walking in It's very different being the celebrity going in jail in famous. You got animals in there, guys who like to kill, rape still, and you're walking in there like a bag of money. You're walking in there like a UFO. Right, the more famous,

the worst. But I remember walking in there similar to you. My phone rang and it was Little Wayne. I had to go in at eight o'clock in the morning, maybe at seven fifty nine. Little Wayne. Don't never call me yo, bro Listen. I was like, yo, ship was that way, and I listen, this is how I got through it. Boo boo. And he's not a man of a lot

of words. So the fact that he called me at seven fifty nine, knowing I was walking in there eight that ship was like the same type of ship, like the legendary Like I was like, all right, now, I know what I gotta do. Ended up Earlier you mentioned Big was hyping Jup. Talked about when you met j his growth and hungriness and transition to the person he is today. Man. Uh, Jay's the true Uh, He's the proof of you could be born poor, but you're really

a genius. And sometimes guys don't got money and they got the greatest ideas in the world. But we never listened to him because they don't got money, they don't look they don't look the part. And you know, you're a guy my brother Raoul, you know Raoul who was the first guy before anybody ever had a fucking water in the world. He used to tell me, Yo, let's get water and we can sell it in the stores. I'm like water, Who's gonna buy water? Water is free?

I'm telling your waters what I had a time. But I didn't listen to Raoul. So Jay Z it's a genius. Not just musically. I'm not talking about musically. I'm talking about what he's done as a businessman, who he has around him to support him. Uh, his ideas. You know, this guy's plots and he's a genius. There's no way around it. So whether you black, white, Muslim to you you have to respect the man from what he's been able to do. And we've been taught his historically that we

can't do that. So he is the perfect specimen that you could die sect and say, Yo, this genius is in the hood. He comes from the projects and and and look what he's been able to do. And he's been able to think freely and make different moves that when he does it, the smartest people in the world of Warren Buffett's be like, wow, it's amazing, amazing move. He's the proof. Talk about day the artist a man, Jay Z. You know, I'm from the hood where the

bullets the following man so much. Yeah, let me tell you something. The boy has been amazing his whole career. He's been a ration, uh for us, musically, lyrically, um him with with with Easy. You know, Easy has been my favorite rapper for the last ten twelve years. But Jay brought Easy in the game. He made me like him, you know, because Easy was like backpack rapper. Let's let's say the truth, right, The truth is, you know how Easy was the backpack rappers. Now, thugs don't really listen

to backpack rappers like that. But when he got co sign and he got that rock chain, you know what I'm saying, we was like, oh no, we funk with him. He opened the doors right. Same thing with Drake. Drake was like a smart guy, you know what I'm saying. Rapper similar And then once he once my man with all the tattoos in his face little way and said, oh no, and Burdman was like this, oh no, we fun. We fun with this guy, right. So uh as a rapper,

sky's the limit for him. Man, He's he's always been one of the greatest, you know, he's he's a god in this game him Nas, I gotta say that, Nas and musically, you know those two in the my era that considered you know, gods. You know what I'm saying. Talk to us about how you got got the idea of Tero Squad came about. Well, that's crazy, you asked, because we talked about things. I bought a present from my brother Stevie. He'd be all shout out Christine Juelers.

Cut it out, man, he all deserves cut it out right. You feel guilty that it's taken this long before you even opened it. He was just saying, this ship, Bro, when he was going over the rundown, he told me he's gonna finish it. Hold up, man, he was talking about this ship earlier. Bro. He was just now he he deserves it. He told me he was going to get me one. He's like, oh man, that's love. Crag. I appreciate you. You'll be on deserve that because I know,

I know, I know what you've done for me. Besides this, though, like I was telling them my rookie year, I was traveling, I remember going out one day. I can't I can't wait to find a chain to put this on. But look, um, I gotta look at I want to look at that ship too. That's the real deal, Pristine, Pristine. I come to see you, boy, I'm gonna see Pristine right after this is getting me a chain to put it on right now. Suppose me leaving here. It should be free.

Since you get all this promotion he I got about tear rats to spend on the Chaine, Pristine, come to look. I remember. That means a lot to me, bro, because I still have I remember when you took your ap Rex black aby Rex jacket off and they got Terroft Squad on the back. I still have that jacket. But when I was here in my rookie year after I met you, I was going from I was you know, like I said, I was wild and and I was

going out every night. I was going into the hood clubs everywhere around the New York and everywhere I was. I've seen two the Reacons everywhere I went. I'm like, man, I think these dudes following me everywhere. They followed me like next thing, you know. Come to find out that was his people following me around and make sure I was straight my whole time here. And I never told you thank you, but I appreciate that, man, because because because I ain't gonna lie, I was pushing the line.

I was pushing the line back then. I was jeopardizing my career out there, and your habitual love pushed. I was pushing. Let me tell you, I'll tell you a crazy story, right, Um is hard, bro, that's right, boy. You got that big boy too. That's it? Yeah boy, yeah yeah yeah, that ain't no regular, that's that. No, no, that's that. But get it. But let let me tell you something. My brother you remember the time they put a prank on him. He came to my house in Jersey,

my first house. I was in my room for some reason, and one of the guys would be told them, Yo, you know the next store neighbors racist. He took Joe's dog because he's black, and he killed Joe's dog. Jack kill. Jack ran to the next door and there ran banging on this door, right, so they laughing on the floor and they opened it to your Joe. Yo, check this out what I did. He said, Yeah, we told Steve Jack the neighbor killed your dog. I'm running out there. Cha.

They're lying, they're lying. It's not true. They're lying. He ready to go funk up the neighbor because but that was all because of the love, the genuine love you show me. I was in your home at the time. That was it. I was at your house, so you know you opened the doors to me and treating me like a brother like they won. Man. So I've ever ride for you always. We love you, love you. But back to the question, I mean, beautiful piece, welcome to the squad. Well he's been the squad. Yeah, the world

no lead it over. Talked to us how the terrost Car came about. But we you know, we're from the street, started in the projects and we started out a graffiti crew, so we write graffiti. Now, the two guys who invented Terror squadl with graffiti artists. They graduated into robbing banks and so they started getting big money. My man Cosmo and uh, he was like, yo, I'm not writing graffiti

no more. You know, he started getting deferent. They were robbing banks like, and so he was like, I'm gonna give you t S and you're gonna be the new president. He say, I never forget. I was like, I'm gonna take this to another love. I ain't know rap, It's gonna be the biggest thing you've ever seen in your life. I gotta And then immediately, you know, we formed TS the crew, and then when we started rapping, we wasn't

even gonna be TS. When we started rapping, we was thinking of names and Pump was like, yo, let's just wrap TS we TS. I was like, all right, we did Terror Squawd. What kind of successful when that kind of took off? What was I mean? Obviously, like you said, you're always taking ideas from Puff or not taking ideas, but just watching kind of picking up game for that for you what was the next move after that? Oh? Man? You know, we did it. You know what I'm saying.

We signed major record label deals with Atlantic. You know what I'm saying. I'm like twenty something. They're giving me ten million to run my own company. You know, we we we did it. We made the dream come true. We stayed its course. You know, TS a lifestyle man. It's doctors in TS. You know what I'm saying. It's it's bothers and TS. It's you know what I'm saying. We we got a large family, man, and we love each other. And you know how many people asked me to buy a TS and we tell them no. People

ask me yo, jo yo, it's time. Can I buy my own? T'm like, na, we can't, like not now, I gotta talk to the guys. Really, it's like you can't get the TS bro like you know what I'm saying. And if you see somebody with it, if they really down, oh no, they family, yeah, you know, you know they family. And so we got billionaires wearing TS change you know whoever really really really family? They t S and it's

like a lifestyle man. Extensive career. Tell me what was if you could pick, If you can your favorite album, My favorite album was my second album, Jealous. Ones. Every when I was that that last one, it was just like, you know, like Biggie said, Yo, you came up. You know, because my first album it was a height. You know what I'm saying. I wasn't really you know, practice makes perfect. So I've always looked at my career as a marathon,

never like overnight success. So I kept practicing to get better, to get better all the summers. Even if I was hot and I was on fire and everybody were in the street enjoying my hits, I was still in the lab trying to get better, trying to get better, trying to get better. That's what it means to me. You know, that's my favorite album. Jealous was still Envy, That's my favorite album. That's my favorite album. Where did the inspiration from lean Back come from? That inspiration came a couple

of places. Uh, Missy Elliott. She always had that shout. She would always come with a new style, she would always come with a new flow as she would always come with her I didn't know that lean Back taught me a repetitive hooker. Is that your man? But man, man man, is that your technic? And I never knew that that's the hit formula when the people senior hook continuous, you know what I'm saying, continuously, so that she inspired

that hook. Also, the Jamaicans were doing big like a rock Away, a rock Away sig new to play sew to place. I was like, yo, we gotta we gotta do some ship to agents could funk with. So then it was like my people don't dance, We just full up a pants in and do the think about success you experience with that. Imagine if there's a social media movement at that time, crazy right, be the most disrespectful ship I have seen. I'm trying to tell my daughters,

my daughter sleep something to anybody with social media. Social media is a younger man's game. We we we do our think respect for me. We got We're still relevant, but no, it's for that age group. If that was out When Lea was I had many nine million followers, Like I said, you know, I know, you know what I'm saying. It's like we was the magic Johnson's of this ship. You know, Maggie Johnson. Everybody praising we got a million dollars for his one year. That one year.

Now you got the guy, the fifteenth guy on the bench getting two hundred million, right, So he paved the way. So I know what it is. I'm not crazy. I'm like, damn if I was eighteen nineteen leaving back right now. I have followers. You know, Summer of oh three was supposed to be the legendary Rucker Park match up. I was. I wasn't there at that game, but I've represented the team. We bought some masks when the tea. When we played one game in Dykeman Park, not to take away from Rucker,

and Steve went so crazy and they cheated us. And that one game we knew not to never come back to dyke because Steve was about to beat up some players and not. But I knew all these people ain't gonna let us win here. I knew it immediately, and my uncle helped create that league, Ralphie d I was like, yo, I said, your Ralph, Ralph tried to gas. We did to go to Dykemand. We played one game. Steve might have had fifty points on him right after he won

that chip. He was doing them dirty. They jerked us. I was like, oh no, I can't come back, never again again. No, because it's not fars. But at the Rucker we want seven chips. And uh, you know that that Blackout game? Uh you know I was just talking to Maverick about it. You know, you know that Blackout game, Matt, we was gonna win. Tell us your did shock speak on this? Who was on your team? He was on the bus or something waiting to come out? Talk to U?

Who was on your team? Listen? We had Stephen Maulberry when he was the highest paid player in the N giving them that work right. We had Al Harrington's front and center. We had Zack Randolph z Boat. We had Carmelo Anthony, We had Jermaine O'Neil. Not Carmelo Anthony wanted to come because Lebron was on jay Z's two. They both Lebrons fresh at high school. Carmelo won that chip with Syracuse, so they want to get at it now. They had Sebastian Telfair, who was Stefan's little cousin. We

used to buy the guy to get over Chinese. I could not believe this thing. If anybody heard us in that series with Sebastian Telfair. We knew him. Were seating this guy. You know what I'm saying. Oh no, he was gonna get the business. Was gonna kill him. Now a surprise that that they don't know that I really did have a Damn. I don't want to miss out somebody else. I think Shawn Marian was there with us too.

But the surprise I did have. Okay waiting in fifty seven Street, you know they were playing spades, was Mike Bibbie and Alan Novison when they were paying for the US team and all that waiting. So I was gonna go. The game was gonna go by the first quarter. I was gonna drive down and go get him to come back to the halftime. AI, Mike Baby, I was about to be a movie. We I mean you know this that Ai? This that you know that's who I had

for sure. You're confirmed with everybody they said they had shock. If they had shock, I say, they win. I'm not dizzy, I'm not crazy. You got should kill O'Neill at that time you're winning. Nobody's going to stop him, right, But no one what they say in court, no one process the evidence. Nobody showed me should kill O'Neil right in this room as he really wasn't here. No, he was there. He told us. He said he was sitting around the corner on the bus. White to play this thing would

have been crazy. So that you know of who was on the other team. We know Lebron was on the other day. Bron was on the other teaen Jamal Crawford was drawing. That's his, that's his disrespectful. They had a young Lament owed him. They had a young Lamar oldam who else they had out there? I mean they had several players, but the one I could confirm is they

had Sebastan Telfair. They had Lebron for sure. Uh, they had um who they had, They had Jamal Crawford and all them, and they had shot now the only thing that could have because like everybody else is getting X out with the squad, your men, Uh, shock is different. Yeah, I'm gonna tell your story, right because this like a sports show or whatever. I'm in Miami, I go to the studio, work in my studio, all right, I'm walking there.

One night, I'm supposed to be in the studio and it's pitch black dog, no lights on whatever, I walk in there there's a shadow of a human being, this big in the dark, and I said, holy, they came to kill me. No, No, that's it. This is it. This is like, this is what people must feel like when they're about to die, Like you know, she's gonna kill like hello, yeah, I've seen the like Shot, turn on the light. She killed on there. No, he said,

they just traded me the Phoenix. Nigella. I wanted you to be the first to know I was going to die like the shadow of Shot. That's the big motherfucker, man, he say. He wants me to be the person to know what. I know it. I'm dead. I know what. I'm dead. They said, the biggest guy in this guy's gonna kill me. I turned on the light and Shock, the old big fellow just wanted you to know, man, they traded me to Phoenix something. Where were you in Miami,

Miami when he was in Miami. I tell you another thing I used to tell you and Shock, don't kill me. But you know me, Hey, I used to be together every day and it's prompt every day. And when he played them in the championship, I kept trying to gas Hey, I kept saying Yo, don't call Shack. It's gonna be legendary, right said, when you think you know the legendary, it's

real good. But let's sen let's say all right. So I'm just telling them I said, yo, don't don't right because a I at that time, he had them hop stoopid, and I was like dunt. One day he looked at me, he said, he's gonna throw me in the stad He's gonna pay me up. Stop telling to me that I see your shock muster abused people. I was gonna say, don't confuse joking, laughing, playing running around naked Shock with

game time, Shocker told me he's two bodies. If some let him drive, if someone say our guard is cooking, he said, let him come on in here and shock a lamb out. And now him, Joe Shock is different. This is my story of Shack, and I told us all the time. But we're beenna playing. He's in things we've been to play, and you know, that's like a big brother to me. I talked to him just as

much as you talked to him every day. He actually texts me two days ago and uh, tell me how proud he was with everything I'm doing in the community. But I know him to go up to the game and run up and chest bumping. Right, what's up, big bro? He catches me mid air with two hands, like, man, put me down. Why would you do that that? Tek just catches me mid air like I'm five pounds on man,

put me down. Bro, don't do that. And they made a new if they would have made uh this era the Bruce Lee movie when Kareem was fighting saving about a hundred times. You don't want to smoke with shat. I heard you. I don't recall what interview it was, but obviously in the music game, in life in general, beefts happen, beasts happened. You've had you know, you have one with Fifty, you have one with Jay. I heard you say that. You know, you just had a place to put, you know, let the beasts go and see

what kind of doors open speak to us about. Obviously I love the positive side of that, but in the moment, it's some ship. I mean, you and fifty had a real beef. I mean you and Jay had you know, you and Jay had to beef. What what is it like because you come from the streets, you know, and I'm not saying that other people don't but from from the rucker. No that yeah, but just before that, like we had beef like before that. You know what I'm saying. It was all my fault to be honest with you

and just being correct, just being crazy. And after you tell us a story, I want to know how you out the name crack, but tell us the story. It's a funny story. Well, you know, the beef does not work. It don't work because you go from right right now, you go from safe fat Joe, I'm walking around with rich uh if I got into some rap beef for let's say, now we're on high alert, I gotta bring twenty guys with me wherever I go. I mean across

the country. I mean, if we're in the A T L four seasons, it's twenty seats and twenty sweets in the four seasons. If we on this and we got two buses, were on two private planes were on this all of a sudden, you gotta move different. You wake up everyone and thinking is today to day we're about to go at it, you know, and all that energy it does nothing for you, bro Like it never benefited a thing to me. I never made a dollar out of it. If anything made me spend more money and

waste more frustration and stress. You know me, I come from a serious place, like serious place like where where where? Where I came up. I was in the streets going to war with animals like people you read about the Bibles and ship like guys were three heads, you know, the worst people you ever seen. So when I get a hip hop and people start missing me on like internet, and I didn't know how to deal with that myself. I was like, oh my god, like like what is this?

Like I was almost like dinosaur in the New Age, And so they did to me. I'm like, my god, I would when I cast these guys, Oh my god, I didn't. Like That's all I had in my head, Like, yo, I gotta show these guys what this thing is like for real. So it was gonna be bad, you know what I'm saying. So thank God, you know, time heals all wounds. And we got older and we got bigger, and now I'm great friends with fifty Cents. I'm great

friends with Jay z Uh. These are brothers. And I just think if there's anything, like I told you, my life is transparent. You could see my wins and you can see my failures. But I want you to learn from it. I want the youth. I want to the young rappers to know, Yo, it ain't nothing in that. It don't make you holler that you be from with somebody. It just makes it more likely that you and your friends are gonna go to jail. And somebody just said no all the time, but somebody always says that the

new thing. Somebody said, I think it was my band Big Bank from the a T I love this guy. Big Bank says, Uh, if you against the rapper and you want to still be gangster, you're gonna get locked up. It's it's it's it's it's simple as that, like if you want to be you even want to be a rapper, artist and a businessman to live your life beautifully, or if you still want to be in that street like that,

you're gonna get locked up. And historically we've been watching this, so we try to show the youth, the up and coming youth, like, yo, you ain't gotta beef. You can leave that alone. You could have their differences, but keep it moving, move on, because at the end of the day, when you start being a young kid, dribbling the basketball and you start dribbling and I started rapping. We're trying to get about this ship and not go back, not

go back. And then some people they sipped the juice once they get on and they forget, and then you know, they're like and they're like, damn, bro, Like what the funk man? It makes sense to meet you're trying to get out to me, it just never made sense to want to go back to it. I mean, obviously you come from it. But yesterday me and Rich was driving in the car. We talked about something. Something happened. I don't know what it was, let's just say it was

something happened. And normally ten years ago we got out and beat the ship out of a dude and dragged them in the middle of But we were were talking and I said, you're Rich. We would be assholes if the mayor of New York City wants Fat Joe to endorse it, because you know, you know, I'm becoming an elder statesman in the city. We would be assholes on the news, jumping out this truck, beating somebody up on

the street court. Did you get what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, you gotta you gotta grown man and show to youth. You know that ain't net boy, luck, don't don't don't, don't be away. I don't want to be a walking contradiction, you know That's what I said. Like, even when I have beef with people, I try to I even go to the point where publicly apologize, because that's not where I'm at. I know where I used to be. You know how I would react. You know how I used to be to where I am where I'm at today.

I love this person I am, so I wouldn't. I wouldn't dad play myself out the street or some petty uh Instagram beef or some bullshit like that. Ever, And I don't know if that's some older ship because I feel the same way. I love where I'm at. Yeah, I'm happy, I'm cool. You know I'm doing great. I of where I'm at. I don't never feel less of a man that I don't jump out and do the same. That's dumb ship, because we really come from it. It's a big difference when you really come from it. You

know what I'm saying. You don't want to go back there. We spoke to this earlier. But when you and fifty squashed your beef. If there were viral moments back, it would have went crazy. Talk to us about how that happened and just kind of the energy ironic the only way they explained it to you. I gotta get this stored out real quick, because it was like the wicked Wich to the West is Dad, you know, the Wizard

of Oz is ah. Chris Litty unfortunately discovered me in fifty and uh so we did a tribute to him at the BT Awards. They asked us to go Stephen Hill. I didn't know. I brought my biggest shooters. I ain't gonna lie to you. Were beyond strap at the awards, and we were, you know, we didn't know, but we're gonna come. And then we do the rehearsal and somehow fifth he ends up right here, right next to me, and he stands there and he puts his hands out

and he was like yo piece for Chris Ldy. My man, I just saw all the craziest ship the fifty said about me and what he did. It was like racing. My life was racing. Like I was looking at him. I was like peace, It's like yo piece for Chris Ley. That's what he wanted. So when I shook his hand, you gotta understand this is a rehearsal for the BET Awards, that the whole industry is there. They were everybody was

jumping up and down, hugging each other. They were like, yeah, it's christ It's all like they're running up like yeah because they're like, yo, they're in the same building now because the whole time we beat and we never see seeing each other. So people, men, women, child, everybody was dancing in the stands. The my god, it's over. You'll holy you know, people start running up. Before you had phones with the cameras, they're running up like yo, let's

take a picture. Yea, yeah, Like it was just crazy. Yeah. I'm just thinking, like now that someone have been behind the scenes kind of filming the whole thing and to kind of see that ship going down like magic. We didn't have that time. But you know what I wish, especially some of these young motherfucker's, I wish they could have seen that, what I'm saying, because it was powering. That's a power in that moment, you know what I'm saying. The day it's not worth especially with these I mean,

these young kids. I mean kind of out there, just wilding. But don't you know when you're young. You know, when you're young, you're crazy. You don't think about tomorrow, right, and so you're young, you will. Steve is the same way you're young, you while you're impulsive and you're thinking, I'm young, I might go to jail for ten fifteen years, I'll still come out there. They're gonna let me when I come home. The most ignorant ship you ever seen, you know, And and so we gotta let them know.

You know, you're gonna live past that. We want you to live out here. We don't want you to be in jail. We want you to live out here. Man, live a righteous life. A lot of people die before they even live. How how did the hip hop in Miami grow when you arrived? Well, grow ship. We grew that motherfucker all the way right. So it's uh, you know, Miami has always been U a place that embraced me, show me love, made me happy. You know. I come from the concrete jungle New York City, no disrespect, but

it's just a big giant ghetto. Let's see, when you were landing in the plain, you don't see no palm trees and no ship. You just see a big metallic ghetto and bricks. And so when I when I got to experienced Miami and how the people are, how nice they were, you know what I'm saying New York hip hop. You know, when I grew up, I came up at

a time where we was in each other's videos. Everybody was celebrating each other and had got into like a bad time where dip Set was arguing with Nas and I'm beefing with fifty and this one is just New York rappers. It was just out of control. And so that's around the time I had met Cool and Dre and I fell in love with Dom and Khalid, and I said, yo, I'm moving to Miami. And then when I got there, I noticed that everybody I wanted to work with each other. You know, we had Little Wayne

in one studio, We had Ross in one studio. You got pit Buller in another studio. You had Kalid in the studio. You had Me in the studio, and everybody running and everybody's stuff helping them, helping each other. Yo, yo, you should say this crack, Yo, you should say that, yo, yo. I get on that song this and and I was like, holy sh it, this is what hip hop's about, man, Everybody working with each other, helping each other out, and

we had lost that for a very long time. In New York, Cool and Drake talked to us about your your experience meeting Calin and working with Kali. Man. I met Kali here New York and uh, one of these uh seminars, I want to say it was Jack the Rapp. I said whatever one they had new music seminar in New York something. It was Clark Kent was having a battle and I'm waiting online to go in there to see him have a DJ battle and uh, this is

like nine one or something, and Kalid was in there No. No. Two, and Kali had my album before anybody was like, Yo, could you sign this? And I was like signed this? Like how do fu you get my album? This is one boot Legan was real and it was like, no fan I wanted to so I signed it and uh he was with DJ Nasty out of Orlando, and I just fell in love with calib and everything that everybody finally figured out now, I learned it from the first day and I was just like, Yo, this is my

brother and I love him. Pun loved him. You know, Pun would go down to Miami to playing all this music. I had a time caliber of A and Arsons forever. Big Pun used to drive down there be like, Yo, Kelley, what you think and play for him. It's just an infectious energy um that he has of of love. He's you know people, when you get to know him, you're just like, wow, I love this guy, you know what I'm saying. And I fell in love with him. So

that helped me move down there as well. Not too many people that have that talent to cut you off, that have that talent of being able to bring all these thoughts together and not have an ego in the room. You know this guy, he turned out to be a jokester, a funny guy that was dead serious, right, So when you met him, the Jamaicans matter and it was like, Yo, man, I was with buld you last week, Me, Buojo and Kalet was on vacation together in the Bahamas, and I

was like, yo, well why are you? Like Kelly said none. He was the Arab guy and I couldn't believe the Arab DJ and he and Jamaica, he and the King Town and and it just something that everybody was like the Arab, the Arab like he was in Jamaica, like trying to get dumbs from Bound to Kill know, all of Cableton and all him. And then and then Bouji was like, yo, it was just something to bottom is

the same ship I'm saying. And then, you know, we used to laugh at this guy, and then he became the biggest DJ out there, and the same thing with us. You know, with me, he was always my little brother. He was always with us. And then he turned around and he was like, yo, bro, I want to get in the game. I want to make my own music. I was like, make your own music. It's like, no, I'm serious, brother, I want to make my own music. Like it's time DJ Kalabs. So I came up here

and I got him to deal. You know what I'm saying that they was trying to front because they were they didn't know what time it was with DJ Call and I forget. You know, it's first deal. You know we you know, Terroft squad on him first seven albums, you know what I'm saying. So and then it turned into we the best we can and that's what it's about all of us went and all of us growing, you know what I'm saying. So he never looked back.

He dropped. His first song was a hit, the second was a hit, the third was it hit the fun I've never seen a guy just drop here here are you? The ship won't stop? Were the best, the best, my brother, all the way up. That was it. It was triumph. That was you know, you know, I got in trouble for some ship. I ain't do accountant didn't pay my taxes. He robbed me. Uh he was a Ponzi scheme guy

and I didn't know. And so the government that even though we proved that he robbed me, they said, we believe that it's your You as the employer, you are responsible for the people to work for you. So after I gave him the money, I had to pay that money again at the pay for all. Right, if you steal this cup and the state wants you to regular cops, a lawyer, of course you five thousand, ten thousand. Do you still this same cup? And the fedgs charging for

this cup? Your lawyer charges you two hundred thousand dollars. So you could imagine what the lawyers was doing to me that the forensics, Like, man, these guys they tried to finish me, man, and they left me. Damn, they're broke. And I paid everything before I went to court to Centers and I paid them back the money. I paid everything, the penalties, everything you could think of. And so they

still put me in jail for four months. And I remember in jail, I had this plan, but you have to get hot, like in your sense, you would have to get that. Jeremy Lyndon running to go get it right, Like Jeremy Lynden was like, So I'm sitting in there, I'm making the whole plan. Yo. Once this is I'm gonna open some sneaky stores. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna invest in that. But I need to heat. So I didn't know all the way up was coming. So we went in the studio and we kept cooking and

cooking and cooking, and we caught it. I was like, oh no, this is it. And it was big for my sister Remy because Remy had just did seven years in jail. So she came out. She was getting back in the thing. They told her every day when she was in jail that she would never be shipped that her fans ain't gonna believe in her, that she couldn't be nothing. And so we get together, we do all the way up, and the motherfucker just explodes and we never looked back. Nominated for a Grammy, we should have

won that. I forget who who beat us? Black Eyed Peace, chance to rapper, like you know, you know, we y'all love a chance to wrapper, but that all the way up and the story behind it, you know, the story of people coming back from nothing and making it like we should have had that. Definitely, you've talked about, you know, sided or having big one of the biggest first shows,

helping Calie. You've been very instrumental even you were now you're an o G. But in the process, throughout your whole career, you've always tried to put other people on. How important is that to you? It's just like you said, we all, we all even we got an obligation. Man. I think I'm just a vessel of hip hop culture. And if you hear somebody, whether it has financial gain

or it doesn't. If I if I heard an artist right now, who's the next eminem and outside and he said, yeah, but I don't want to sign a youth fatial, I will probably give him three people's numbers that will sign them immediately, because it's just hip hop culture. You know, hip hop culture, man, you know, we gotta keep elevating, we gotta keep bringing the truth. We gotta you know,

and and that's what it's about. For me. I've always wanted everybody to shine, you know, and my concept has always been, you know, the more of us that's winning, and the better position will be because if one of us stumble a four, we could pick him up. Somebody got to stay in position. And that's what I always say. If you're not out bringing somebody up and helping your brother get ahead, what we are here doing at this point in life. First of all, you're trying to save yourself.

It's like that the airplane goes, throw the mask on yourself. Now you in position, you saved yourself, try to help of its you know what I'm saying that that's been my you know, that's one of my biggest things that I'm proud of is that, you know, I come from Bronx leving On the hospital. I grew up dead, bro poor. I might have singlehandedly help twenty different human beings that were poor to become millionaires and then trickle down effect they got everybody got jobs. My hundreds of jobs coming

from putting these people on. And that that's the thing I'm probably most proud of at the end of the day, is the family tree and how everybody has succeeded, you know. And I don't want nothing from nobody, you know. I make my own money. I work hard for myself. Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn't take it, you know what I'm saying. But I love of that. I could walk in Kalid's house and the fucking ceilings is to the moon and this white marble all over.

I could walk in Cool and jameson. I could walk in Dmi's house and she gotta fucking pool in the middle of the house indoor. Man, she just ship and I'm sitting there and I'm like this, and they make me my little you know, my little bee friends, just shipping some rice and peas, and I sit down and then when the ladies acts, well, who's that? Why are you treating him like that? Yo? He didn't want to put him on. I'm telling you, I said, let me tell you something. I'm on vacation with Kalid and uh,

this is crazy because he's gonna watch this right. But one of the ladies that worked for him, she was like, I know who you are. I was like, no, who are because you know I'm nice to everybody. You're the guy. You're the guy put them on and that that felt great to me because I'm like, damn when I'm not here. They talked like that, like, oh, you know, it's the guy, and I you know, I love that. You know what I'm saying. That's what it's all. That's why it's so

important for us to get you on the shop. I mean, obviously you injext relationship and amazing we've we've met him passing if we've seen you at the fight, but just who you are and what you stand for, I mean we respecting this. I mean it's to be what you've gone through and came out alive and made it, like you said, helping people, just sending that positive energy out especially and in these days, it's it's so we needed to appreciate it. Man, So we want to thank you.

We're not done, but I'm just you know, it's harder though. It's harder though, meth to touch on. What's it's harder when you known, you're so publicly known and you're so praise for the bullshit you know what I'm saying, for for for being that that dawn that you know what I'm saying, and to be able to switch and and to change for the better knowing that's that's the betterment for you and your whole family. It's not easy, bro, because you getting praised. You know what I'm saying. You

get praise for what supp us to put the bullshit long. Yeah, you're known from that, you know what I'm saying. And to switch up for the betterment of yourself and not worried about the praise from it. That says a lot. Well, that's what it's all about, man blisting our people. You know, you out streets, you know what I'm saying. So it's it's all about the uplifting of people. And show these kids.

You know, I have clothing stores in the middle of the hood about to open up another one, and you know, just to show these kids that you could make it about the hood, but you don't got to leave the hood. You could come back and pull people up or show them when I wear these jury it ain't to show you that I'm better than you is to inspire you to say, Dan, that's Joey from the Projects, he got it. I can get it. Why can I get it? Why do we have to live under these misconceptions that we

can't get it, that we're not great? And when I say, I sit down with my guys, who they all rich, I'm not gonna lie to you. They're all doing well, right, And I sit down with them and I say, you know why, I'm gonna do this and this and this and this. Now after all the ship we talked about, I'm gonna do this and this and this and this and this and watch. They'd be like, yo, you're crazy crack like you. I'm like, no, man, we got motherfucker's going to the fucking space. Now. Anything we do now,

we're like not really doing it right. Like they flex the biggest They went to space. Motherfucker's in space flexing. Like we're like, yo, anything we do that, Oh you got another store? So what this guy with the space? But generate generation? That generating that wealth in our own neighborhoods, you know what, And that's what you're doing. And that's what a lot of people don't talk about you. Ain't

like you can be from the hood. But bring that money back to your hood and start creating generational wealth in your own neighborhoods. The big power. And what I tell my employees is this is yours too. You're an owner. I don't want you working for me forever. I want to be able to help you get your own business. I want to be able to help you become a boss yourself. Shout shout out to our inherentson. Do it to oherentson killing them with the week? How special was

the dog damn X? The dog you know DMX and pure soul? Uh? And through his whole life he was legend. Is so crazy man. Last night, I'm watching Rolling Loud right and and it's not shots at the Youth because I don't want I don't never want it to be shots. But I'm watching with my daughter Rolling Loud and uh, we're blasting it. We're watching it, and one of the biggest rappers in the world now, uh says, everybody, get ready, it's about to go down. I want you all to

act up. It's gonna be crazy. And then he throws on this ship and he at the time and said even see tell even that, and I'm like, well, asked right there. In my day, that would have been a guy named DMX who said that. He would have said, stopped,

show him down up. Motherfucker's would have hung off this died like, uh, you know you did that ship like you know you want a real mass fit, you want people when you want, you want My fucker's going crazy, honest with have said, shut him down, over honest with all thats HiT's trying to get alive. Fide you eat. Motherfucker's said, get ready for the most hardcore ship and they start singing ship, I don't want you want men due. I support the youth, support the ticket. I go with

my daughter. I support the youth. I don't know what you know. So you asked me about DMX, it would have went down. It would have went down, like you know, I don't know, but rest in peace the dog the greatest I don't know if you pick this up, but the greatest funeral I ever seen. DMXS shout out to Swiss, the whole family, um, the city of New York for allowing d M actually drove his his call from from Yonker's to Brooklyn. If you're not from New York City.

This was this was big like this, this was huge for them, locking down this whole city doing that. He had his funeral in Barkley's. Kanye West designed the ship like you know, they sent them out like nobody want to die, but we're all gonna die. But he died, and boy, they gave it up to him, you know, so shout out the dog man, Rest in peace. We

also lost somebody just recently. Uh, Bis instrumental to the game, and that hurts big time because you know, when I was coming up like me and Stevie Business like me, you know what I'm saying. So Bis believed in me before I believed in me. And you know, he would come to my hood and and and and show me love and and I did the Apolo Biz came and and he's always been like a mentor man and Biz

he just loved everybody. And my favorite hip hop song of all time is the Vapors because I grew up so poor, I wanted people to catch the vapors and I gave him the Vapors. And you know, with Biz, you know, I don't know nobody who has a bad story about this. I've never seen a more perfect human being. And uh this ship that that that that that that man.

I did some little kids ship man. When they told me he died, man, I just said, got up, started crying in the bathroom, and ship came back trying to come like I couldn't believe it, you know, and shout out to his wife. You know, I checked up on Biz. You know, you know while he as soon as he got sick last year, they said he was really really sick.

I kept check calling his wife. Every time I called his wife, she was sitting right next to him in the hospital to COVID through everything, like Joe Biscuit, hear you, I'm right here, like you could randomly call up and she just right next to So Biz Biz died where his wife right next soon with the love I mean, we all don't want to die, but we at least we know he died loved, you know what I mean, with a woman that held him down and kept him

one thousand with you know what I'm saying, but business, you know, uh, for my era as a fan, you know, it's just hard man, and we we don't want to let him go, you know what I'm saying. That's the b ir Z and I said to him, I called him. We did uh hip hop squares in the l A and I called him and I was like, yo, bis A trapped him in the room after big him up legendary, It's like yo. It was was like, why do you show me love? Why you showed me love? And he was like, I just knew you was special. I knew

you was gonna blow. I knew it was something about you, no, I'm saying. And then that that's when I thought of our brother, because you know everything Street sixty, you know, I think about French Montana. When French Montana was trying to get on how I took his music to High ninety seven because I knew he deserved it the funk flex. They started playing it. A couple of months later, he was a superstar. You know what I'm saying. I guess

Bids saw that same thing and me. He was like, y'all, Joe gonna be you know when I didn't know, well, I didn't see it. You know. There's something that they do to me that bugs me out is every time I come out with it all the way up or crack. I knew you had it. I knew you was gonna give him another one. You always come. I'm like shit, how you know, because I ain't know, like I was busting my bubble praying for this joint, right, you know,

and you know it's like that. I saw I saw an article and she said that when he his first got six and said Joe Carden checked on him almost every week and I would go back on deal Mix. I never met d M Mix but two weeks before he died. H I was an ice box jewelry and he walked in there and I got a tattoo, had a tattoo on him that says, my life ain't long. I thank God with my last breath, so my life

ain't wrong. And I got that from him in two weeks and I never met him in two weeks now to get a chance because I was I was like a little kid, you know what I'm saying. When he walked up to me, knew I was not just sugar his hand, like what's up? Man? Say man, I'm a big fan. And I couldn't even what you want. I couldn't even think to say it to it right. But in two weeks later he died and I knew that would number God give me a chance to meet somebody

who I looked up. Happens all the time. That happens all the time. You made several transitions from the streets to music, to family, to father to entrepreneur, businessman. What have you learned about this journey? It is never over, um, and we got to play this all the way out. And you only get one life and make it a special one. You know, some people settled when they live visible lives and they want they settled from mediocracy. That's not me, you know what I mean. I'm I said

it to my brothers all the time. I am bugsy segue. I would have went to I would have went to the desert in Las Vegas and said, Yo, I can make a casino here. What is it? Man? What we do? We came already under doors, We came already not to supposed to win. What's what's wrong with trying? What what's wrong? We're going for it? Like you know what I'm saying? Like like what are we doing? You know what I'm saying? And so with life. You know, when it comes to fatherhood,

kids are all different. They're different dna s, they're different parenting. I don't think nobody teaches you at a parent. You know what I'm saying. I think we just judge what our mothers and fathers did right or wrong, and we try to do the best we can. And so, uh, you know that's what that is. What's up coming towards the end, Um talk to us about you you had a little acting bug. Talk to us about getting on the big screen. What's that been like for you? Man?

I did She's Gotta Have It two seasons. Shout out to Spike Lee for saving my life. Uh, I always knew he would. Um. You know, I like to act my whole life. I tell people I've been acting my whole life. I remember the time I walked into Relativity Records. I was a nineteen year old kid. They sat me down with ten Jewish guys around the table and I had to convince them why they should give me a dollar. And I'm from the Bronx. I was acting my assholes. I was sitting in there, well you know this this

this So we always been acting. Now we just do it on the screen. You know, Night School, the movie Empire, a couple of nice school was crazy and that was nice school, believe it or not. Was hard. Work man, because yeah, because I really ain't have no juice there, you know, like him, I show up, I'm fat Joe the rapper. Right when you show up there, you're a worker. And and we was getting up at six in the morning, right, and we was outset and they will call me to

do my scene at ten o'clock at night. So were in there for like fourteen hours doing not Wow. Then we do our seen when we're tired and everything where you gotta win, just you gotta yeah, you gotta use this jection, you gotta use this joint. Hey, you know, right, And then by the time you finish that, they take you to the hotel one two in the morning, you take a quick shower, they wake you back up at six. Let's row. We kept doing this shift for like two

months every day. Then I couldn't complain. It's similar to y'all, if y'all play basketball now, you can't complain that Kobe's putting in the work. So I can't complain if Kevin Hart the biggest superstar in the world, it's doing the same for twenty hours every day. Hey, y'all, what's up? Oh you thought the movies was a joke? You want to go wrap. You want to go test the town. No, that's not what we're doing here. We're here, man. He

had the flu, not the COVID. This is four years ago, right, rich You had the flu in the in the trailer killing him. He was in the trailer. And then I caught it at the end when when we finished that ship was crazy. Let me this, the outtakes and the jokes on set during the movie set was better than the set. Yeah yeah, yeah. Then they bucked out. They made it a PG thirteen movie and made a hunted million.

So I understand the business concept, but had they let the curses and the real shift, that would have been one of the greatest movies. An I got a chance to work with Kevin Hard I think like a man, So all the outtakes and ships and ship, he just normally like he is. It took us like two and a half hour to shoot like a two minute basketball

to thirty second basketball scene. Like he was talking joke, he could really play two can shift there everyone jumping on people just being crazy, Like the energy was crazy the whole entire time. So you said, you know, the social media is a young man's game. You started your product your your show kind of based off just going on I g Live every night and talking and you know, I was tuning in and then now you turn that into the Fat Joe Show. Talked to us just about

your thought process of getting that started. What has been like for you. Let's started with my boss was behind the cameras. She's always is my daughter as he as. We were scared to death because of COVID. I'm telling you the truth. I'm one of the guys that was really scared to death. The epicenter was in New York City. People were dying. People I grew up when we were dying every day for them. I'm in no disrespect the cameraman's I knew from New York. They were dying like everybody.

The security at the clubs, they were all dying, like just dying and dying. We see people every day, but we don't know they got underlying conditions. In my line, like the security, everybody they coming yo shahn, this one died, this one, this one every day. So I'm in the house terrified because fat guys were done. So I'm sitting there like this and said, damn, they're gonna finish me.

They're finishing me. No, not real talk. I said, they found the way, bro, I said, damn, and the God got me out of the invisible, the invisible uh enemy right. And then uh, my daughter was like, why don't you go on live? I had never really went on live before. I was like, what you mean? She was like, YO, just talked to the fans. So I went on live and everybody, just thousands of fans came and they was

asking for We was talking. And then the next day, at eight o'clock at night, Dre was like, yo, what's up? No fat Joe char I said, what you're talking about? He was like, yesterday that ship was dope. So the next day I go on there eight o'clock, same time, and then more of our friends start jumping on it and more. This ship was just getting out of control. One day I had Mike Tyson. The ship was like ad but everybody was stuck home and they wanted to uh,

they wanted to talk or something. So it was like, who's that, Oh Joe got something? Everybody you could think of, what Patti Labell, whoever you want? Was up all that month just coming boom boom boom, and it turned into the big, big, show, and then we we wanted to make sure, uh it was always about positive about up lift man about you know, we we didn't had the King of Domestic Violence on there, that everything, doctors, everybody who can help you with what was going on because

none of us knew this happened. Your man Andrew Yang's up there and going to Corey book and they're going for president. Tolkd about vote for me on the show. One night, Michelle Obama was in the comments. I almost fainted. She's like, hey, fat Joe, how are you guys? And I'm like, oh, ship, like this is going down. I've been on that ye, yes, even even I've been on ye hey man, quick hitters. First thing to come to mind. Let us know five top five in your opinion New

York artists, New York artists horrible. I should have did the Bronx non no, but that the hard is a horrible question. World have been easier. But top five New York rappers. Man, that's hard, that's that's rock Kim, that's nas As, Jay is Biggie And I'm gonna put punt in there. Now, give me five your top five all time, all time? What would be? What would big l be in that big girls in there. You know that's my man.

He's you know, people don't understand. It's so crazy. Fat Joe's digging in the crates with Big Al and I'm Terror Squad with Big Punt. This is not easy to be rapping with these guys on songs like. These guys are like the elite level, Big Yellow be there like uh top I say, from ten to fifteen. To be honest with you, you know what I'm saying, because he died too young. I mean lyrically he was. He was a beast beast beast beast peace. But we're talking about

the whole thing. I mean, I'll stick with my same um at the same five. I told you that's how I feel today. If you could have one message on the billboard, what would it be? Believe in yourself. That's something. Believe in yourself. I believe in yourself. Man, who else gonna believe me? If you don't top five New York athletes the grades of the grades. Uh listen, man, somebody was gets a bad rapper was incredible with step On more Berry. Step On was one of the greatest stories

in New York history. Starberry, Starberry, we got Starberry. Uh, we got Carmelo, We got Starberry, we got Karmelo, Mark Jackson, Roder Strickland. Um. I want to say say Kwan Barkley, but he didn't really do much because he's been hurt. That's one thing I hate man injuries in sports, right, great, Like that's actually a part of it, right, Like when you signed up, you know I'm gonna get hurt. Somebody's get hurt. Not you, but somebody. It's horrible, like like

Richards into football. Every game I see four guys break their knees. I want to know how the hell this happens? Like, what's gonna happen? Like there is normal to the coach. Gotta keep coaching. You see a guy for you know, I was in San Antonio. I don't think he was there. I was there and I went to see Tony Parker, and I forget what was that player When he went up to dull he fell on his back. I'm not sure he made it. He played for sant Antonio. Y'all

don't remember who I'm talking about. There was a player from San Antonio. I was at the game courtside. He went for dunk. He felt like on his neck head that they took him out of the stretcher and the coach gotta still coach like, hey, all right, go ahead, Matt Barnes like like that ship is crazy to be Like the injuries they mess up the game man, right, It's like you'd be like, wow, the other team, like you gotta take advantage of it. No, no, no, that's

that's a goal. Like you see all I want to see P three to win the chip the o g you know, and then remember he had the COVID ship of stuff. I hate that ship, man. I hate when when when players get injuries. Man, I don't know why, but it is. I realized it's a part of the game, Like they pay them to get hurt. Like that's part of it. You know you're gonna get hurt and you gotta sit down. There's nothing you can do. You're sitting there,

you're inside, and everybody goes through it. Top five Top five favorite NY films Bronx, Tail the Warriors, Uh, Bronze, tell the Warriors, I'm gonna go. Uh, I'm going real old school. Um oh, don't forget one. Do the right thing. Spright Lee, King of New York and New Jack City to nah, an honorary mention because we watch it every night in the studio. Belly Belly was an underrated movie.

Belly was an underrated movie that years later you're like, yo, this ship was five Yeah, five dinner guests that are alive, five dinner that are a lot well, you know, whenever you give me a dinner that or a lot of I'm gonna mention part I'm gonna mention Biggie might as well have pop up in that motherfucker. Uh. Luther Van Joys, you know, uh, and Michael Jackson right there right probably want the best answers we even had. Yeah, that's a good one. If we can have one game, you can

have one guest on All the Smoke? Who would it be? But you have to help us get your answer on the show you mentioned you mentioned like three a great gimmick. Yeah, I got a great gimmick. I don't know this guy, but it would be amazing to have Dr dre on there. I don't I know him like you, I can't really

hook you up. But if you add Dr Drake, you know, there's certain guys who have kept this mystique to him where we hear about them, the stories the game might say or stories that a cube, but somebody might say, but Dr Dre himself, I don't think I've ever seen that in depth. I haven't either interview with Dr Dre talking about what he met eminem for the first time when he met Nick Lamart easy. I never heard Dr Dre say it himself. Dog. And we've got a lot

of shows, Joe. We're coming up on our Hunters show pretty soon. But I have to say this is hands down, been one of the best ones man. So of course it was early birthday too. We're looking good. God shining on them, man. Thank You's wrap fat Joe, all the smoke. Don't forget you for the beautiful man in your life. Pretty boy, missed. I got something. I got something for you too. I got some talking. You're fucking with us

talking breaking brad Man. We love you, talko man. Thank you guys for finding this on Showtime Basketball YouTube and the Heart platform Black Effects. We'll see y'all next time. This is all a Smoke, a production of The Black Effect and Our Heart Radio in partnership with Showtime