The two rappers who inspired Fat Joe most: “My biggest inspiration”
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. However, there is one lyricist from his city that he insists is the best in the world.
Fat Joe grew up in the Bronx and was one of the most prominent Puerto Rican rappers of the early 1990s. That said, he wasn’t considered a big name until he managed to sign a young, budding new emcee from Castle Hill.
Like other members of Fat Joe’s Terror Squad, Big Pun grew up in the inner-city projects of Castle Hill. As an adolescent, he was inspired by other artists from the Bronx, and this shaped him greatly.
The New York borough is home to the South Bronx, specifically where Fat Joe is from. The South Bronx is considered the birthplace of hip-hop. From DJ Kool Herc to Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore, and Afrika Bambaattaa, the pillars of the culture all hail from Fat Joe’s neighbourhood.
That said, the culture spread all across New York within a few years, and in an interview with DJ Felli Fel on Power 106, the ‘Lean Back’ emcee spoke about two of his favourite rappers growing up as a youngster in the Big Apple. Opening up about his 1980s inspirations, Joe told the host, “My two idols were LL Cool J and Heavy D!”
Elaborating on this, Fat Joe explained to Felli Fel, “Heavy D made me feel good to be a big man and dress fly and make that kind of music for the ladies. LL Cool J was probably my biggest inspiration in the rap game ever.”
Heavy D was raised in the suburban Mount Vernon neighbourhood of New York on the outskirts of the Bronx and, akin to the Terror Squad founder, was large in size but gave him confidence.
speaking about his earliest record purchase, fat Joe brought it back to The Bronx, detailing, “The first record I ever bought was for a birthday; one of my cousins and I went and bought the vinyl of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and it was that record, ‘Happy Birthday’ [The Birthday Party] and we was breakdancing to the shit!”
Fat Joe was strictly focused on East Coast rap music growing up and didn’t begin listening to West Coast artists until the mid-1990s when he was a member of the Diggin’ In The Crates crew.