Fat Joe

Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper.

Cartegena formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s, through which he signed 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 his debut single "Flow Joe", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Hot Rap Songs chart.

Under stage name Fat Joe da Gangsta and part of the rap group D.I.T.C., Cartagena was signed to Relativity Records in the early 1990s, recording material and working with many artists whom he would later sign to his own label.

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 the following year with his debut studio album, Represent (1993).

In 1993, his debut album Represent was released, featuring production from The Beatnuts, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, and others.

Its lead single, "Flow Joe" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart; other minor singles from the album included "Watch the Sound" and "This Shit Is Real".

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 received platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and contained the hit single, "What's Luv?" (featuring Ja Rule and Ashanti).

In 1995, Fat Joe released his second studio album, Jealous One's Envy, which peaked at No. 71 on The Billboard 200 and at No. 7 on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums.

The album featured a guest appearance from KRS-One and production from Diamond D. The lead single was "Success", which did not chart, but his second single, "Envy" peaked at No. 8 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

One day while writing for the album at Chung King Studios, Fat Joe happened to find that his rap idol, LL Cool J was in another room with Trackmasters, working on the remix version of LL's single "I Shot Ya".

After being welcomed to contribute a verse, Joe appeared on the record and in its accompanying video along with Foxy Brown, Keith Murray, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

The track is considered by Joe to be one of his career highlights.

During the recording of Jealous One's Envy, Joe discovered fellow Latino rapper Big Pun, who was featured on the song "Watch Out".

Joe later explained the rapper's influence on him: "Latinos before us who had the opportunity to do it just didn't know how to do it. They came in trying to do this black music, waving flags. [But] we're trying to kick in the doors for other Latinos and represent our people, and it shows."

In 1997, Fat Joe signed with Mystic Entertainment Group and The Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records through Craig Kallman's Big Beat Records.

Under the deal, he was granted his own label, Terror Squad Productions.

He subsequently began recording his third studio album.

His third studio album, Don Cartagena was released on September 1, 1998.

It was released in conjunction with his own label Terror Squad Productions.

It peaked on the Billboard 200 at No. 7 and #2 on Top R&B/Hip Hop albums, eventually being certified gold by the RIAA.

The album featured three singles with accompanying music videos, "Bet Ya Man Can't Triz", "John Blaze", and "Don Cartagena".

Guest appearances included Nas, Puff Daddy, Big Pun, Raekwon, Jadakiss, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

On the album, Fat Joe debuted his own group Terror Squad consisting of the late Big Pun, as well as Cuban Link, Triple Seis, Prospect, Armageddon, and later Remy Ma.

Former Terror Squad member Triple Seis also went on record when asked who had written Fat Joe's lyrics, stating that he and Pun were Joe's ghostwriters for Don Cartagena, and asserts that Joe continues to hire ghostwriters.

Fat Joe executive produced and was featured on Big Pun's 1998 album ''Capital Punishment.

In 1999, he appeared on Jennifer Lopez's single "Feelin' So Good" from her On the 6 album with late rapper Big Pun.

Fat Joe released his fourth album Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, with Fat Joe executive producing the album.

The album featured a star-studded lineup from the likes of Ashanti, Ja Rule, N.O.R.E., Busta Rhymes, Petey Pablo, M.O.P., Ludacris, R. Kelly, Buju Banton, and artists from his Terror Squad label.

The lead single "We Thuggin'" featuring R. Kelly was a big hit in late 2001, but would not reach the level of his hit single "What's Luv?".

At the time of the album's release, Fat Joe switched management from Mick Bentson to The Squad Music.

The album was Fat Joe's biggest album commercially, being certified Platinum in America for shipping and selling over a million copies.

However, Fat Joe's fifth album Loyalty, released later in 2002, was not as successful.

The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while his 2004 single "Lean Back" (with Terror Squad) reached number one on the chart, becoming his most successful record to date.

In the following years, Cartagena released the notable 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.

Cartagena 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 created and hosted the Coca Vision poscast on Tidal, where he discusses music, friendships, and pop culture with various celebrity guests.

Fat Joe was born Joseph Antonio Cartagena in the Bronx borough of New York City, where he was raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent.

Living in the Forest Houses, a public housing project in the South Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania, Fat Joe began stealing at a young age to support his family.

He also admits that he was a bully in his childhood.

His brother introduced him to hip hop music.