Fat Joe
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
ap 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 Billboards Hot Rap Singles chart). Two years later, Fat Joe issued his sophomore effort, Jealous Ones Envy, which included a cameo appearance by KRS-One as well as production contributions by the likes of DJ Premier, L.E.S., and Domingo. Around the same time, Fat Joe appeared on LL Cool Js big hit I Shot Ya (along with Foxy Brown and Keith Murray) and collaborated with Wu-Tang Clans 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 Joes 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 ran with a partner named Big Greg). 1998 saw the release of Fat Joes debut for Atlantic, Don Cartagena, which featured cameo appearances by the likes of Puff Daddy, Nas, Raekwon, Big Pun, and Jadakiss (the LOX), 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. The raw Me, Myself and I from 2006 found the rapper on his own Terror Squad imprint, which was distributed by EMI.
