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Latino rapper Fat Joe (aka Fat Joe da Gangsta, Joey Crack, and his real name
Joe Cartagena) was raised in the South Bronx area of New York. It was
through an older brother that Cartagena learned the ways of the street, as
well as discovering rap music via the sounds of such groundbreaking artists
as Theodore, Funky 4 + 1, and the Furious Five. Eventually going by the name
of Fat Joe, the rapper secured a recording contract with the Relativity
label in the early '90s, resulting in the release of his full-length debut,
Represent, in 1993 (which spawned the single "Flow Joe," peaking at the
number one spot on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart).
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Two years later, Fat Joe issued his sophomore effort, Jealous One's Envy,
which included a cameo appearance by KRS-One as well as production
contributions by the likes of DJ Premier, LES, and Domingo. Around the same
time, Fat Joe appeared on LL Cool J's big hit "I Shot Ya" (along with Foxy
Brown and Keith Murray) and collaborated with the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon on
a track from the "Envy" single, called "Firewater." By the late '90s, Fat
Joe had switched record labels (signing on with Atlantic) and tried his hand
at other non-musical career ventures such as opening a clothing store called
Fat Joe's Halftime, a barber shop, and a fashion line, FJ560. In addition,
he signed a production and distribution deal with Atlantic Records and
Mystic Entertainment (which he runs along with a partner named Big Greg).
1998 saw the release of Fat Joe's debut for Atlantic, Don Cartagena, which
featured cameo appearances by the likes of Puff Daddy, Nas, Raekwon, Big Pun,
and Jadakiss (L.O.X.), following it up in 2001 with Jealous Ones Still Envy
(J.O.S.E.), which included contributions from Ludacris, Petey Pablo, M.O.P.,
R. Kelly, and Remy. Loyalty followed in 2002, and All or Nothing arrived
three years after that. |
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