Credit: Alamy

Fat Joe is an iconic figure in New York hip-hop and, as one of the first Latino rappers to gain commercial success, changed the face of East Coast rap music and has some hits under his belt.

The Terror Squad founder is a legend, but he is not a highly decorated emcee in terms of awards. The Bronx lyricist doesn’t have a Grammy to his name, but awards have never been his focus. Akin to 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe is fully aware of the politics of the music industry that contributed to the outcome.

However, the ‘Lean Back’ artist broke his silence about the Grammys in 2017 after a loss that genuinely outraged him. That year, Fat Joe, alongside Remy Ma and French Montana, released the platinum hit ‘All The Way Up’ and, as a result, was nominated for a Grammy.

Still, it was Joe’s first platinum record in over a decade and the lead single of his collaborative album with Remy Ma Plato O Plomo, which was received poorly. As such, not many in the industry thought Fat Joe would earn a Grammy for a track bolstered by French Montana.

Unfortunately, after the loss, let them know that the ‘What’s Luv?’ emcee was more than happy to get candid with people and let them know that, in his opinion, he should’ve won instead of Chance The Rapper.

During an interview with GQ journalist Elliott Wilson, the lyricist explained how he felt losing to Chance’s ‘No Problem’ or the Best Rap Performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards and detailed why he felt ‘All the Way Up’ was the obvious choice.

During his rant, Fat Joe insisted that the Academy wasn’t in touch with the culture and rudely asserted that he couldn’t even remember the name of Chance The Rapper’s record that beat him.

Bluntly telling Wilson his opinion, Fat Joe stated, “I should have won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance 2017. Chance is a cool guy. But the Grammy should have come my way. ‘All the Way Up’ was bigger!” He continued, “Not only that, if people understood the culture, Remy and I were like Robin Hood and Cinderella. They could have done the ‘hood a favour and given ‘All the Way Up,’ the f**kin’ Grammy. They gave it to Chance the Rapper—and for what? I’m not going to be disrespectful, but they gave it to him for a record I don’t even know no more.”

Fat Joe even recalled when he and the Terror Squad lost to the Black Eyed Peas at the 2005 Grammys when ‘Let’s Get It Started’ beat ‘Lean Back’. Reviving the mid-2000s ceremony, Joe continued, “This is my point. I don’t even know what he beat us with. Do you understand? Same thing happened to us with ‘Lean Back.’ We lost Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group in 2005 to, what’s these guys? What’s the guy with the girl, Fergie?”

Although it’s understandable why Fat Joe was angry, his attack upon Chance The Rapper was in extremely bad taste and wasn’t looked upon well in the culture.