Family Ties!

Fat Joe releases another album.

Fat Joe and rap producer Dre collaborate for a new album. The album titled Family Ties is out and it's a certified banger. The album has production from Cool & Dre, Boi-1da, Hitmaka, Ty Dolla $ign and others.



Besides Dre on the album, there's features from Ty Dolla $ign, Cardi B, Bryson Tiller, Jeremiah, Anuel AA, Lil Wayne and Remy Ma. But the breakout single, "Lord Above" has two major features.

Looks like Eminem finally answered Nick Cannon. A few months ago, Cannon called the Detroit legend, "Elvis on crack," and said his music doesn't appeal to Black audiences. Em got word of that and decided to hop on this track along with Mary J. Blige. The single has the elements of a throwback and it surely aims at Cannon, Lord Jamar and Joe Budden.

Here's the lyrics from Lord Above.

[Verse 1: Dre]
Yeah
We cop new timepieces when these fools deny Jesus
Hate is a sin, dog, be real, I got my hand on the pump
You on Twitter in your feels, throwin' subs, arguin’ with chicks
I pray for these niggas, same hands that I hustle with
Passin' the offering plates, I'm the preacher in foreign whips
Sermons and politics, miracles come with each and every flip
That dinero from zero, so heaven-sent
Immaculate, blessings from Mary, I reminisce
On days we was broke, all we had was some common sense
Last night, I had a nightmare I was at the stove
I woke up in Paris cookin’ up for Hov
That's why I thank the Lord for givin' me this life
And even when I'm gone the music keepin' us alive
Yeah, it's called forever-ever
Ever-ever, ever-ever, family ties

[Chorus: Mary J. Blige]
Oh, oh
Yeah, yeah, oh
I'm so grateful, all I need is love
To the Lord above

[Verse 2: Fat Joe]
G6 globals, who'da thunk it, from the projects
Eight balls, some poppy, went and dunked it in the Pyrex
Mischievous thoughts ’fore seein’ the sauce
Told Montana in the G, chicky poo in the Porsche, uh
The Frank Sinatra of the Spanish mobsters
We the Jimmy's Cafe, ain’t no need for operas
Had the fiends scream, "Hallelujah," fuck the prosecutor
Gave my nigga fifty years and he was not the shooter
When they see us, solitar' confinement
Dig deep in your mind, no pressure, no diamonds
So we live a life, drop a hundred at the ferry, yeah
My chick's from San Fran', but stay out my bay area
You salute the cross, or you rebuke the cross
Either way you meet the Lord when you get moved across
Death knockin’ at your door got you squeezin' handle
And you ain't seen God 'til you starin down a barrel

[Chorus: Mary J. Blige]
And I've been good, oh
All I need is love
To the Lord above

[Verse 3: Eminem]
I'm sittin' here reminiscin'
Think I just got a lightbulb
Somethin' I'd like to mention, this is just on a side note
Word to the Terror Squad, Joe, this is all puns aside though
I know me and Mariah didn't end on a high note
But that other dude's whipped—that pussy got him neutered
Tried to tell him this chick's a nutjob 'fore he got his jewels clipped
Almost got my caboose kicked
Fool, quit, you not gon' do shit
I let her chop my balls off too 'fore I lost to you, Nick
I should quit watchin' news clips, yeah
My balls are too big, I should be talkin' pool 'cause I got scratch
So my pocket fall when I'm takin' shots at you
Fuck it, lemme drop the cue stick
I'm over the top, like cool whip
And I promise you the day I fall off or lose it
I will stop and cut off the music
Opportunist, wanna kill shit every chance that I got to do this
Stackin' my guap, savage, I'm not to fool with
Like a handgun, you could say I'm like a gat when it's cocked
I keep it a (Buck, buck), your ass'll get shot
If rap was an actual Glock
You'd act like you strapped when you're not
Only cap that you pop is the top on the can of your pop
You the man 'til I pop your top
You ain't Jack in a Box and I ain't talkin' a hamburger spot
Cracker with the barrel, armed to the teeth, Anderson .Paak (Yeah)
Rest in peace to Afeni and her son Pac
You sent me that plaque with his rhyme sheet, I haven't forgot (Nah)
Blow 30 million in a month, call it Brewster's Millions
Just hope I don't lose the feelin', from soldier to civilian
Got everything I need
But I don't even see myself in the future chillin'
Only thing I don't have in the booth's a ceiling
Just call me The Roofless Villain
They tellin' me sky's the limit, so I got my head in the clouds
Unicorn in human form, saw a gift horse
Looked him dead in the mouth
And Lord, good lookin' out
For sendin' me Edna and Charles
Whenever Mom kicked me out of the house
They were the bomb, then you sent me LL
All the times that I hated myself, since eleven or twelve
Only way that I knew how to better myself
Is when I'm bet against by everyone else
So, Joe hit the head on the nail
You ain't seen God 'til you starin' down a barrel
I was gun-shy, but now like a snail
The slug's comin' out of its shell

[Outro: Mary J. Blige]
Oh, there's no hate in this world
That can make me give up
That can keep me stuck
Lord, I thank you (Lord, I thank you)
I thank you, I'm so grateful, so thankful, so thankful (So thankful)
Oh, oh, oh, oh, mm
I thank the Lord above
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, woo

Fun fact: Eminem said that he send a demo tape to Fat Joe back in 1998. Back then, Big Pun was blowing up and Terror Squad was having a great year. Pun died in February 2000 of a heart attack and it put a big dent in the growth of the Squad.

Fat Joe and Dre release their first collaborate album.

Joey Crack said that he regrets not giving Eminem that deal. Still, Em regards Fat Joe as one of his influences and collaborated with him before. Em had rapped a verse on the remix of Lean Back with Mase.

While speaking at a live event for Miami's 99 Jamz radio station, Fat Joe claimed that Eminem gave him his demo tape six times and he never listened to it. "Eminem out here in Miami, he gave me his demo like six different times," Crack recalled. "Everywhere I went was this little white boy and he kept giving me his demo. He was like, 'Yo, listen to my music, I'm telling you, I’m nice, I’m nice, I’m nice.’... I didn’t do it and now he’s the biggest guy in the universe."

Joseph Antonio Cartagena was born in the South Bronx area of New York City, where he was raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. He lived in public housing at the Forest Houses and began stealing at a young age to support his family.

He also admits that he was a bully in his childhood.

His brother introduced him to hip hop music.

Eminem answers Nick Cannon after the media mogul called him "Elvis on Crack."

Fat Joe's debut solo album, Represent, was released in 1993 and spawned the single "Flow Joe", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs. His most commercially successful album to date was Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001); it was certified platinum by the RIAA and internationally certified silver by the BPI, as well as reaching the top 100 on multiple music charts.

He is best known for the songs "Lean Back" with Terror Squad, "What's Luv?" featuring Ashanti & Ja Rule, "Make It Rain" featuring Lil Wayne and "All the Way Up" with Remy Ma featuring French Montana and Dre.

Fat Joe has appeared in several films, including Scary Movie 3 and Happy Feet, as well as Spike Lee's Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It.

In 2018 he began hosting a podcast on Tidal, Coca Vision, where he discusses music, friendships, and pop culture with some of the industry's most entertaining voices.

Under stage name Fat Joe da Gangsta and part of the rap group D.I.T.C., Cartagena was signed to Relativity Records in the early 1990s, recording material and working with many artists who he would later sign to his own label. In 1993, his debut album, Represent, was released, featuring production from The Beatnuts, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, and others. Its lead single, "Flow Joe" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart; other minor singles from the album included "Watch the Sound" and "This Shit is Real".

In 1995, Fat Joe released his second studio album, Jealous One's Envy, which peaked at #71 on The Billboard 200 and at #7 on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums. The album featured a guest appearance from KRS-One and production from Diamond D. The lead single was Success, which did not chart, but his second single, "Envy" peaked at #8 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The success of this album led Joe to be featured on the remix of LL Cool J's single "I Shot Ya" along with Foxy Brown, Keith Murray, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

During the recording of Jealous One's Envy, Joe discovered fellow Latino rapper Big Pun, who was featured on the song "Watch Out". Joe later explained the rapper's influence on him: "Latinos before us who had the opportunity to do it just didn't know how to do it. They came in trying to do this black music, waving flags. [But] we're trying to kick in the doors for other Latinos and represent our people, and it shows."