Fat Joe

Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, he then embarked on a solo career a year later with his debut album Represent (1993). Joe formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s, to which he would sign fellow New York artists including Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, and Cuban Link, as well as then-unknown producers DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre. Represent spawned the single "Flow Joe", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. It was followed up with the albums Jealous One's Envy (1995), Don Cartagena (1998), and Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001); the latter contained the hit song, "What's Luv?" (featuring Ja Rule and Ashanti) and received platinum by the RIAA. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the 2004 single "Lean Back" with his group Terror Squad, reached number 1 and became his most successful record to date. In the following years, Joe would also release the noteworthy singles "Make It Rain" (featuring Lil Wayne) in 2006, and "All the Way Up" (with Remy Ma featuring French Montana and Infared) a decade later. Fat Joe has appeared in several films, including Scary Movie 3 and Happy Feet, as well as Spike Lee's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It. In 2018 he began hosting a podcast on Tidal, Coca Vision, where he discusses music, friendships, and pop culture with various guests. His album Family Ties was released in December 2019.