This morning, Fat Joe has been in the news in response to something he shared on Peter Rosenberg’s Open Late podcast. The report has quickly circulated across music sites, resulting in a response from Fat Joe himself, who seems to think things have been misrepresented.

The original story, which we’ve also shared, finds Fat Joe explaining that Drake could have been on the remix to “All the Way Up.” Joe explained that Jay-Z said to him in response to a remix: “[Jay-Z] said ‘Look, Joe. It means so much to the history between us, let’s not put no one else on the song,'” said Joe. He added in the clip “It definitely could have been Jay-Z and Drake.” But alas, it wasn’t, and that’s not because of Jay-Z’s ill will or directive necessarily, it was simply that Hov didn’t know who wanted to get on the remix in the first place.

It sounds like perhaps there was just a disconnect between the collaborators– Drake reached out to Hov to be on the remix and asked for the instrumental, but ultimately Joe decided to follow Hov’s heed and keep it between the two.

Joe responded quickly on twitter to the news story: “Fake news jay z did not keep drake off atwu he never knew who would be on the remix he wanted just me him and remy.”

We’ll keep you posted if any other details come to light.

The “All The Way Up” remix marked a major turning point in the sour relationship between Fat Joe and Jay-Z. The two rappers put their differences to the side and collaborated on the hit record, putting on for New York City. During a conversation with Peter Rosenberg, Joey Crack revealed that everybody was trying to hop on the remix, including one of the most iconic rappers of all time, but it was ultimately only the original artists and Jay-Z on it because Hov wanted the moment to be special.

“I got a FaceTime call maybe three times while ‘All the Way Up’ was out,” said Fat Joe on Open Late. “And it was your man, the 6 God, Drake.”

The rapper explains that Drake was asking him to send over the instrumental so that he could record a verse for the remix. However, his part of the song was never released because Jay-Z ultimately decided he didn’t want any extra artists on the record.

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“[Jay-Z] said ‘Look, Joe. It means so much to the history between us, let’s not put no one else on the song,'” said Joe. “He’s not referring to Drake. … Everyone wanted to get on the remix.”

He even went so far as to say that the remix is “supposed to be” with Drake and Hov. Here’s hoping that we get to hear that one day.

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The recent death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers has become the straw that has broken the camel's back. Irate citizens are destroying their own cities to show their anger at seeing another black person lose their life due to police brutality and murder, and Lil Wayne addressed the controversy while speaking with Fat Joe on Instagram Live. 

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"I think when we see these situations, I think we also have to understand that we have to get very specific," he said. "And what I mean by that is we have to stop viewing it with such a broad view, meaning we have to stop placing the blame on the whole force and the whole everybody or a certain race or everybody with a badge." He added, "We have to actually get into who that person is. And if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we're doing."

Lil Wayne has been criticized in the past for not coming forward and speaking out when instances of police brutality make headlines. He spoke on that as well, saying that people tweet and wear t-shirts, but they don't help the families or protest in the streets. "So, if I ain't about to do all that, then I ain't about to do nothing. I'll pray for ya."

The rapper's remarks were met with heavy criticism, including actor Lakeith Stanfield who shared a vintage black and white image with the caption: "Wayne stfu." Listen to Lil Wayne, check out Lakeith Stanfield's post, and read through some scathing reactions to Weezy's comments below.

The murder of George Floyd has sparked debates, protests, and more across the country as we continue to hear and see disturbing instances of racism in the United States. Multiple protests are taking place today, including a large one in Atlanta, following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. 

Many celebrities have issued their thoughts on the killing of Floyd this week and Lil Wayne is the most recent person to speak his mind, explaining that if we want to place blame on anybody for what happened, it should be on ourselves.

Having a virtual chat with Fat Joe, Weezy noted that he thinks we could all be blamed for what happened to George Floyd.

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“I think when we see these situations, I think we also have to understand that we have to get very specific,” he said. “And what I mean by that is we have to stop viewing it with such a broad view, meaning we have to stop placing the blame on the whole force and the whole everybody or a certain race or everybody with a badge.”

He further explained his comments, which could be viewed as controversial.

“We have to actually get into who that person is. And if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing,” said Wayne.

He also told Fat Joe about why he hasn’t made a public statement about this.

“What else am I gonna do after that?” he said. “Some people put a tweet out and they think they did something. Some people wear a shirt and they think they did something. What you gonna do after that? Did you actually help the person? Did you actually help the family? Did you actually go out there and do something? So, if I ain’t about to do all that, then I ain’t about to do nothing. I’ll pray for ya.”

What do you think of his view on this?  

We may not know who DMX will go up against in a Verzuz battle, but the rapper certainly is ready for his moment to shine. The beloved rap icon has been vying for his spot on the increasingly popular Instagram Live series, and there has been much conversation about who will share a split-screen with the New York emcee. We know that DMX wants to take on Jay-Z, but there were rumors that Eminem was a contender after N.O.R.E. teased that a battle with the Detroit legend may have been in the making. However, Fat Joe doesn’t think that Eminem can be touched, and he told Noreaga just that on a recent episode of Drink Champs.

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“I don’t know who wanna battle Eminem,” Fat Joe said flatly. “I don’t think nobody can f*ck with Eminem. Nobody.” N.O.R.E. said that he believed DMX and Eminem “have the same crowd,” but Fat Joe still wasn’t swayed. “DMX got the biggest hits in the world, one of the greatest rappers of all time. Legendary, iconic, superhero, and everything I’m saying is understating him, he’s bigger than that,” Joe stated. “But there’s something about that white boy and his fans. Nah, bro. You want to see something cracking the internet? That n*gga David Koresh, n*gga. That n*gga different, bro!”

“Eminem was hot when we came out,” Fat Joe continued, adding that some of his fans are in their mid-forties as they’ve followed Eminem’s career from the beginning. “These white people teach their kids that are 10-years-old that Eminem’s the greatest. You go to the airports and 10-year-olds are playing his sh*t like 45-year-olds. Like it just came out right now. There’s a big difference with his boy….When you say generational wealth, they keep teaching their kids that he’s the man to the ultimate science.” Watch them debate Eminem’s reign a little after the 20-minute mark below.

There’s a simple charm in hearing Fat Joe reflect on hip-hop culture, as the Terror Squad emcee’s love for the craft is as wholesome as they come. Most recently, Joe has opened up and shared a few stories about his experience navigating the game, and he recently connected with the Drink Champs crew to reflect on the possibility of an Eminem Vezuz battle — as well as his predicted outcome.

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“I don’t know who want to battle Eminem,” warns Joe, after EFN suggests Busta Rhymes would be a worthy opponent. “I don’t think nobody can fuck with Eminem.” When NORE counters with DMX, who was recently offered that exact battle by Swizz Beatz, Joe doubles down. “DMX got the biggest hits in the world, one of the greatest rappers of all time. Legendary, iconic, superhero. And everything I’m saying is understating, he’s bigger than that. But there’s something about that white boy and his fans — nah bro, you want to see something cracking the internet? That n***a David Koresh, that n***a different!”

“Eminem was hot when we came out,” continues Joe. “His fans from day one are forty, forty-five years old. These white people teach their kids that Eminem is the greatest. You go to the airports and ten-year-olds are playing his shit…There’s a big difference with his boy. When you say generational wealth, they keep teaching their kids that he’s the man to the ultimate science.”

He also takes a moment to marvel at Em’s work ethic, which he experienced first hand. “Eminem’s the only guy that sent me the ‘Lean Back’ remix, he sent me that same verse thirty times. Saying it with a different tone, a lighter tone. He wouldn’t make up his mind — thirty different takes and verses! The same verse! Different flows, different highs, lows. I don’t know what to tell you, this guy is such a perfectionist!” 

Fat Joe joined R&B legend Ashanti on Instagram Live, Saturday, and revealed that Irv Gotti and Ja Rule originally wanted to swap out Ashanti for Jennifer Lopez, because they wanted “the Latinos on this.”

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“Irv and Ja had called me, and they woke me up [at] like 3 in the morning, and they say, ‘Yo, come down, we made a song for you,” he recalls. “I go to the studio, it was like 4 in the morning. They played ‘What’s Luv?’ and you on it. And they was telling me, ‘Yo, this is for you and J. Lo. We want the Latinos on this.”

Joe says he was taken away by Ashanti’s vocals and said she deserved to be there: “I was like, yo, J. Lo? She [Ashanti] sound amazing on here. I was like, ‘Nah, we leaving her there.'”

The story was news to Ashanti as much as it was news to any of the listeners. She reacted with an emphatic “What?,” after Joe finished.

“What’s Luv?,” featuring Ashanti’s vocals, went to peak at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained on the charts for 20 weeks. It remains one of the most popular tracks on both artist’s discographies.

[Via]

They may seem like an unlikely couple to some, but Adrienne Houghton will tell you that her husband, gospel great Israel Houghton, is her match made in heaven. She dated Rob Kardashian for two years in the late 2000s and later, she was engaged Roc Nation executive Lenny Santiago after dating for six years. Israel Houghton was a friend and less than a year after breaking off her engagement to Lenny, Adrienne and Israel were married after only dating for six months.

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Adrienne chatted with Fat Joe on Instagram Live about her marriage, and during the discussion, the 36-year-old revealed what attracted her to her 48-year-old husband. “He’s so funny. If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything,” said Adrienne. “So, he was funny, he let me be me, and I think there’s something about a man who lets you be genuinely who you are.”

She also said that she can be rather abrasive and sometimes she needs a man who knows how to put his foot down, albeit lovingly. “I have a reckless mouth, everybody knows it. I can be somewhat alpha female like, this is what we’re doing, and kind of bossy,” Adrienne added. “I love that he lets me be that. He lets me be that and I almost love when he becomes that because I need that in my life. I need a man sometimes to check me or be like, ‘That’s not what we’re doing.’ So it goes both ways. I think women that are successful in business, they need a man sometimes to take control. So I love that he allows me to be the woman I am on the business side and run my stuff and talk my ish on The Real, and then I come home and he lets me be who I am. He celebrates that.”

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When it comes to bragging about their romance, Jeezy and Jeannie Mai are unapologetic. When they first came forward to share that they were in a committed relationship, some people thought that they were an unconventional pair. However, they’ve never hesitated to give details about their growing love, and recently, the happy couple became engaged.

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Fat Joe continues to hang out with his famous friends on Instagram Live as he pegs them with questions about their careers and personal lives. The “Lean Back” rapper couldn’t help but ask Jeezy about his relationship with The Real talk show host, asking Jeezy how he knew that Jeannie was “the one” for him.

“I just saw something that you had with Puff when he was saying that, when you get the one, you can’t play with it,” Jeezy responded, referencing the recent chat Fat Joe had with Diddy where the Bad Boy mogul told the “players” not to miss out on a good woman. “You just know. You can’t even play, bro. When you locked in mentally, that’s the battle. You want to build. You want to grow. You want to learn.” The rapper added that he didn’t even have to think twice about whether or not Jeannie Mai was the right woman for him.

“Like Puff say, you find the one, you can’t play,” Jeezy continued. Watch Fat Joe and Jeezy chop it up about settling down below.

Twenty-two years ago, one of the greatest technical achievements in hip-hop history arrived — Big Pun‘s debut album Capital Punishment. Boasting an onslaught of standout tracks like “Beware,” the Black Thought-assisted “Super Lyrical,” “Twinz,” “Still Not A Player,” and countless more, Pun’s instant classic immediately captured attention thanks to a confident and unparalleled level of emceeing.

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Despite his heavyset appearance, Pun stood among the most verbally dexterous rappers of his generation, discovering pockets that lesser wordsmiths might have easily overlooked. Fueled by gritty production from Rockwilder, Domingo, Young Lord, a remixed Dr. Dre classic, RZA, and more, Pun came through with relentless flows, all but strongarming his way into the GOAT conversation — one that was cut tragically short when he passed away from a heart attack at the age of twenty-eight.

To this day, Capital Punishment remains his surviving masterpiece, the only album Pun delivered while still breathing. Though it often feels overlooked when the classics of the canon are discussed, it should be noted that the project is historical in a sense, preserved in time as being the first album from a solo rapper to go platinum. On its twenty-second birthday, the legendary DJ Premier — himself having become synonymous with hip-hop history — took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion. “THIS CLASSIC IS 22 YEARS OLD TODAY,” he captions, alongside the iconic cover. “1st SOLO EMCEE TO GO PLATINUM…SALUTE TO BIG PUN (R.I.P.) Peace To @fatjoe and #TS..”

Rest in peace Big Punisher, and should you be interested to hear a true beast on the microphone, look no further than Capital Punishment. What’s your favorite track?