fat-joe-featuring-trey-songz-if-it-aint-about-money
CNN featuring Raekwon & Fat Joe – 1st Degree Murder
Much has changed since Fat Joe first came on the scene as a hard core, East Coast, boom bap enthusiast with the legendary “Digging in the Crates” (DITC) crew in the mid 90s. Since the rotund MC dropped his first album “Represent” in 1993 and more notably his seminal “Jealous Ones Envy” in 1995 hip hop has seen the death of its two largest icons in Tupac and Biggie, his crew member Big L as well as his friend and protégé Big Pun. Violence and death alone is enough to disillusion any hip hop enthusiast but changing styles and fickle fans tastes have pushed many artists into unwilling early retirement. Fat Joe has been able to stand as a shining example of perseverance in a culture that disposes of its artists on almost a daily basis. He has been able to collect different approaches to recording, flow patterns, beats and allegiances as often as he does sneakers in his massive collection.
Critically some have lambasted his later career as “trend jumping”, and as of late his record sales have dwindled significantly. But, the fact that people still care and that he’s still talked about speaks volumes. From his recent exchange of lyrical jabs with 50 cent and physical jabs with Papoose it doesn’t seem that he’s going anywhere soon. The latest remix of his song “Ain’t Sayin’ Nuthin” from his album “The Elephant in the Room” shows how he has persevered so long. Sonically the song is dramatic mesh of synthesizers, piano chimes and rapid fire drums. Joe wisely teams up with possibly the biggest mainstream forces on the west and south in Lil Wayne and The Game in an end to end brag fest with each artists attempting to outdo the other in a test of bravado and swagger.
Listen to the track [HERE]
