Fat Joe has been around since the early 1990’s and been killing it every step of the way. With classic albums under his belt and anthems ringing off clubs, stadiums and your favorite music venue every decade, Joe is undoubtedly one of the kings of the game.
Today, Joe’s brand is composed of various entities to make him one of the most prominent figures and best representatives of Hip-Hop. The New York City emcee will star alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish in Night School, which is set to hit theaters this Friday (Sept 28), still cracking hit singles and more. But if you ask Fat Joe, one of his biggest loves in life is what is on his feet while he is impacting the culture.
Fat Joe is known as one of Hip-Hop’s biggest sneakerheads, so much so that he has opened his own shop titled Up NYC, housed in his hometown. The love of sneakers has led Fat Joe to link with Nike and Foot Locker to celebrate iconic 90s style and his favorite sneakers that are included in the new Nike Air “Frequency” Pack.
Fat Joe linked with the source show love to the sneaker culture and reflect on an iconic decade for both Hip-Hop and sneaker style.
What can you say you have seen in the evolution of the genre, style and sneaker culture?
Well, now its the technology. You get different designs, different everything and it’s about figuring it out. I think that is a plus for the sneakerheads. Sneakers have become way more comfortable.
What is a key moment from your time in the 90s that you can associate with a sneaker?
Man, really my whole life. Everything we did was with sneakers. Jordans, Nike, my whole life has been around getting money so I can get me a pair of sneakers and its everything to me.
You are one of the key sneaker and style flag bearers that we have in the culture, what does that mean for you?
That means I really love sneakers and the sneaker culture. I never thought it would turn into a phenomenon or fandemonium where you got Sneakercons and stuff like that literally based on sneakers. Then how these kids stay overnight outside the stores to get sneakers. I could never see it growing to that level.
You get to connect with figures of the new generation for this, LGP, Sheck Wes, Haha Davis. How does it feel to be able to be a cultural bridge for your generation and the one that is emerging?
They’re great people and it was a lot of fun. You know, we did a 90s karaoke hip-hop and we had “Mass Appeal” from Gang Starr, some Naughty by Nature, some “Flow Joe” Fat Joe and they had to say the words. It’s a whole different flow from 2018 compared to the 90s and these guys, a lot of them were struggling. They were like, damn, they was trying to keep on me and was hard. Even 2018, Fat Joe can’t do Treach from Naughty by Nature!
Since you are talking about that car ride. What songs from that era you know that nobody can beat you in with karaoke?
Oh man, you give me anything Biz Markie – “You, you got what I need” – like that. Biz Markie is one of my favorite rappers. I got a bunch of them. He was one of my favorites, you know, growing up in the 90s.
You are keeping your own brand of Hip-Hop going with the new releases, what can people expect from you on the next album?
Man, the next album is two songs away from being a classic. I mean it. It’s going to be incredible.
To wrap with sneaker talk, what’s your favorite Nike or some that people should pay attention to?
The new retro Nikes man. The Air Max Plus to nine, seven (Air Max 97) to nine, five (Air Max 95). I’m personally a Air Max nine, five guy. All of those are real fun and real authentic.
