American rapper Joseph Antonio Cartagena, better known by his stage moniker Fat Joe, was born in New York City on August 19, 1970. As a member of the hip-hop group Diggin’ in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C. ), he started his musical career. Later, he went solo and founded his own record company, Terror Squad, where he signed artists like Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, Cuban Link, Armageddon, Prospect, Triple Seis, and the then-unknown DJ Khaled. He also discovered the producers Cool & Dre.
Represent, Fat Joe’s first solo album, came out in 1993 and featured the hit “Flow Joe,” which peaked at the top of the Billboard Top Rap Songs list. Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001), his most commercially successful album to date, earned a platinum certification from the RIAA and a silver certification from the BPI in addition to peaking at number one on other music charts. The songs “Lean Back” (2004; with Terror Squad), “What’s Luv?” (2002; with Ashanti and Ja Rule), “Make It Rain” (2006; with Lil Wayne), and “All the Way Up” are among his best-known works (2016; with Remy Ma featuring French Montana and Dre).
In addition to Happy Feet and Scary Movie 3, Fat Joe has also made appearances in Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It. In 2018, he started a podcast on Tidal called Coke Vision where he interviews guests about friendships, music, and pop culture. In December 2019, he released his album Family Connections.