Monster Music & Movies

Reviews:

Fat Joe doesn't lead a boring life. But like a lot of moneyed MCs, he lacks the ability to translate that life into interesting songs. So he turns to his old life, or the life he says he once led. Last summer's club relaxant "Lean Back" delivered a dance move even your grandpa could manage, but Joe couldn't stay on topic: before excusing hard men from the embarrassment of exertion ("my n****z don't dance, we just pull up our pants"), the guy who calls himself Cook Coke Crack every 30 seconds had to explain that his nickname could as easily have been Robbery, Extortion, "or maybe Grand Larceny." Imagine a Bronx b-boy whose parents were born in Cuba and Puerto Rico, rapping from his adopted South Miami in the home studio of a Palestinian-American (DJ Khaled) with a Jewish producer (Scott Storch) and thinking: "What people really need to know about me is that I've used a gun." What an American original!

Like his Terror Squad hit, most of Fat Joe's sixth solo album was recorded in Miami, with Nelly's guest spot ("Get It Poppin'") paying homage to the South Beach nightclub Prive. But by and large, Big Pun's old pal is mentally stuck in New York. Against claims to the contrary, Joe's kiss-the-ring lyrics are emphatic nonfiction. ("N****z won't be thinkin' that it's rap when it goes down," he threatens on one gangster track.) The lame answer-dis to 50 Cent ("My Fofo") complains that this rival only leaves the house surrounded by cops. But Joe closes with this ambiguous sentiment: "One thing I will promise you, if I won't get you, I'm going to get your-" and the last word is edited out. So who is Fat Joe going to "get"? Fitty's son? His best friend? He sure can't mean his audience.

Fat Joe doesn't lead a boring life. But like a lot of moneyed MCs, he lacks the ability to translate that life into interesting songs. So he turns to his old life, or the life he says he once led. Last summer's club relaxant "Lean Back" delivered a dance move even your grandpa could manage, but Joe couldn't stay on topic: before excusing hard men from the embarrassment of exertion ("my n****z don't dance, we just pull up our pants"), the guy who calls himself Cook Coke Crack every 30 seconds had to explain that his nickname could as easily have been Robbery, Extortion, "or maybe Grand Larceny." Imagine a Bronx b-boy whose parents were born in Cuba and Puerto Rico, rapping from his adopted South Miami in the home studio of a Palestinian-American (DJ Khaled) with a Jewish producer (Scott Storch) and thinking: "What people really need to know about me is that I've used a gun." What an American original!

Like his Terror Squad hit, most of Fat Joe's sixth solo album was recorded in Miami, with Nelly's guest spot ("Get It Poppin'") paying homage to the South Beach nightclub Prive. But by and large, Big Pun's old pal is mentally stuck in New York. Against claims to the contrary, Joe's kiss-the-ring lyrics are emphatic nonfiction. ("N****z won't be thinkin' that it's rap when it goes down," he threatens on one gangster track.) The lame answer-dis to 50 Cent ("My Fofo") complains that this rival only leaves the house surrounded by cops. But Joe closes with this ambiguous sentiment: "One thing I will promise you, if I won't get you, I'm going to get your-" and the last word is edited out. So who is Fat Joe going to "get"? Fitty's son? His best friend? He sure can't mean his audience.