Terror Squad founder and ‘Lean Back’ rapper Fat Joe was once in a long-running feud with 50 Cent. However, during a recent appearance on BET’s Diggin’ in the Crates show, he praised his former nemesis’ debut album, labelling it “One of the greatest albums of all time.”
In conversation with the host, Unique Chapman, Fat Joe presented several hip-hop albums that he considers classics. One of those projects was the 1993 LP Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest. Speaking about his love for it, Fat Joe explained, “This is the most clarity, most professional album at this time. Not only that! They didn’t fit the stereotype.”
He continued, “Everybody, even Run-DMC had the big rope chains and the blazers, but [Tribe Called Quest] were like the backpack kids, the underground kids so advanced on production, it didn’t make sense.”
Fat Joe (real name Jose Cartagena) picked out many classics, including Straight Outta Compton, Illmatic, Moment Of Truth by Gang Starr, College Dropout and Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. However, many viewers were taken aback when he pulled out the 2003 classic Get Rich Or Die Tryin.
Explaining to Chapman why he loves it so much, Cartagena expressed, “One of the greatest albums of all time. And it’s crazy ’cause I had beef with him, and I wouldn’t allow myself to hear it, wouldn’t let DJs play it. But I knew that it was G-Unit. [Even] Nas came out and said, ‘Yo this changed the game.’ And it’s a fact.”
He continued, “His flows, his melodies, his beats, the energy hip-hop music had never felt. That energy that he was coming with, it was like yo, this is that — you got that dangerous thing to it. He makes everything crystal clear. He just gives you that professionalism like you on a podium or something.”
Although the two were in a feud at the time, Cartagena still couldn’t deny its greatness. The pair eventually buried the hatchet at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, with the tragic death of their mutual friend, music executive Chris Lighty. You can hear Fat Joe speak about his favourite albums in the video below.
