Skip to main content

Fat Joe Deserved a Mention




Joe, the rap artist, has been stomping around Hip-Hop since the early 90’s and the years haven’t been perfect. But, gotdamnit, Fat Joe deserves a mention. Since his debut in 1993, the rapper seems to be hitting his stride again in 2010 with The Darkside Vol. 1. The album truly is a coming home for Joe, who took his art down South, saw the Terror Squad fall to pieces and duked it out with 50 Cent.

Lets start the album from the ending. This is where you get some of the most potent and sincere raps from the one know as Joey Crack. The Darkside goes in on “Heavenly Father” when he reveals the inner issues Big Pun faced before dying in 2000. “Cheated with his brother, got damn this b**ch is ill probably the reason my n***a never left a will,” he says talking about Pun’s widow Liza Rios. The whole song is one of regrets and the shedding of the dead skin of the past. “I’m Gone” is another gem that’s produced by the great DJ Premiere. The song certainly evokes an era of purity and doubles as an ode to the late Guru. The album ends with a truly dark song called “At Last Supremacy” where the godbody Busta Rhymes sounds quite demonic and “How Did We Get Here” presents R. Kelly in a refreshingly supporting role. But, Darkside ends so strong with Joe’s newfound penchant for heartfelt, earnest songs.

The middle of The Darkside isn’t so dark. In fact, its quite bright with club joints like “If It Ain't About Money” with Trey Songz. The party continues with “(Ha Ha) Slow Down” (featuring Young Jeezy) and “Mo Problems” which evokes old Public Enemy. “Money Over Bitches” with Too Short & TA is definitely a tired cliché and sticks out in this section of The Darkside. Misogyny is so 90’s, one of the facets this composition could have done without.

The other aspect The Darkside could have been lighter on was the crack content. But on the beginning of The Darkside, Fat Joe keeps it ultra street. On “I Am Crack” Joe lyrically personifies the 80’s era drug when it was really ravaging the nation. Well, the beat knocks, even though this trail is well traveled. The same applies to “Kilo” with Clipse and Cam’ron. A hot beat with well-worn lyrics from rappers that have rapped about drugs ad nauseam. The whole album starts off with “Intro,” “Valley of Death” and “Rappers Are In Danger,” which set the tone for this crack-rock solid album. “And we gonna throw the biggest party with Curtis dies...b***h a** n***as,” Joe says spitefully in the intro rap. The tone is set.

Yes, Fat Joe deserves a mention as one of the greats.

Sure, he’s still talking about the streets, the crack and the beats that remind us of a "golden" era that’s pretty much dead. But, he also offers lyricism only a 90’s aficionado will appreciate. He’s got beats with hard drums and scratches on hooks. His songs don’t pretend everything is sweet. He's getting better even if he hasn't evolved as some of his peers. So, Joe may not pop up in the latest Top 5 Dead or Alive, he definitely pops up in the legends of longevity and linguistics. The Darkside ensures there is more to come from Fat Joe Cartagena and the future is actually quite bright.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thousands of protesters clash with police in Chicago: Chaos in the Windy City as 45 activists arrested and one cop stabbed after demonstrators target NATO

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Thousands of demonstrators upset with the war in Afghanistan, climate change and the erosion of union rights have raised the intensity of a march in downtown Chicago on Sunday as world leaders assembled for a NATO summit. The protest, one of the city's largest in years, turned violent at the end of an anti-NATO march, where demonstrators confronted Chicago police, pushing against a line of officers several blocks from the lakefront convention center where President Obama hosted a gathering of world leaders. Authorities were seen making arrests one by one and leading individual demonstrators away in handcuffs. After a clash near McCormick Place, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said at a news conference that the protests resulted in 45 people being arrested and four officers suffering injuries - one from a stab wound in the leg. Scroll down for video Clash: Demonstrators try to flee the police as they are move in on them ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MBINU ZA KUMFIKISHA MWANAMKE MWENYE MAKALIO MAKUBWA KILELENI KWA HARAKA

Kwa kawaida wanawake wanafikia kilele (mwisho wa utamu wa ngono) kati ya dakika ishirini na saa moja, yaani kwa kifupi inawachukua muda mrefu sana hali inayopelekea mpenzi mvivu kuchoka na ufanyaji wake utakuwa wa “ovyo” hali itakayo kufanya wewe kuishiwa na hamu ya kuendelea. Pamoja na kuchelewa huko ambako kunatokana na utofauti wetu kati ya mwanaume na mwanamke lakini nakumbuka hapo nyuma nilikutana na wanawake 2 waliokuwa ndani ya ndoa na wamezaa lakini hawajawahi kabisa kujua utamu wa tendo hilo alimaharufu kama “kufanya mapenzi”. Natambua kuwa ni ngumu au niseme si wanawake wote ambao wamejaaliwa kimaumbile kwamba wanafanikiwa kufika kileleni zaidi ya mara mbili kila wanapofanya mapenzi/ngono (kumbuka ni kati ya dakika 15 na saa moja hivyo Jibaba hapa awe na uwezo wa kujizuia kwa zaidi ya dk 45) na ikiwa jamaa ni “mzamiaji” basi unaweza ukaondoka na goli 3 ktk mzunguuko mmoja. Lakini kwa nini basi baadhi yao tu ndio wafike kileleni na wengine was...
Post a Comment
Read more

LEO NI BUNGE LA BAJETI

Waziri wa Fedha na Uchumi, Mustafa Mkulo. -WANANCHI WATAKA IPUNGUZE UKALI WA MAISHA MACHO na masikio ya mamilioni ya Watanzania na wadau wa nje, leo yanaelekezwa Dodoma ambako Bajeti ya Serikali kwa mwaka wa fedha 2011/12 itasomwa.Wananchi wengi wamekuwa na shauku ya kujua mwelekeo wa bajeti hiyo hasa katika kipindi hiki ambacho wanakabiliwa na hali ngumu ya maisha iliyotokana na kupanda kwa bei vyakula na bidhaa za mafuta. Kwa takriban wiki nzima iliyopita, baadhi ya wananchi wamekuwa wakituma ujumbe mfupi wa maandishi kwa simu katika vyombo vya habari, wakiisihi serikali kuhakikisha kuwa bajeti ya mwaka huu inawaondoa katika hali ngumu ya maisha. Bajeti hiyo itakayosomwa bungeni na Waziri wa Fedha na Uchumi, Mustafa Mkulo itatangazwa kwa wakati mmoja na bajeti za serikali za nchi zote za Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki (EAC), katika mtazamo wa kuimarisha mshimakano na umoja wa nchi hizo. Kwa kawaida na mazoea ya muda mrefu, baj...
Post a Comment
Read more