Is Joe as Fat as he makes out? Sian Anderson listens closely...

Fat Joe
Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E 2)
RSK Entertainment.

First off, where on earth is he going with an album name like that? Fat Joe, CEO of Hip Hip crew Terror Squad, is supposed to be a rapper. In my eyes, that means he should have the ability to play with words a bit better than than this poor excuse for a title.

Fat Joe is  also said to be one of the worlds most influential rap artists of our time but after listening to the first track on J.O.S.E, 'Winding On Me' (about the flirty behaviour of a female), the second 'Joey Don't Do It' (guns) and the third 'One' featuring Akon (which mentions having one girlfriend instead of three), I can see why Joe has been such a great rap influence. Afterall, this fits with what everyone else talks about in hop hop.

But I love this from Joe, I expect it from Joe, I wouldn't want to hear anything else from Joe.

The crazy production leaves seven out of the 12 tunes complete... "What's missing from the other four?", I hear you ask. It's not what's missing, it's what's there. Joe has taken on the devil aka auto tune on 'Put Ya In The Game' featuring T Pain and 'Winding On Me' featuring Lil Wayne. To be fair, it's not actually my man Joe using the auto tune, but when you're as Fat as Joe you shouldn't need auto tune anywhere near you. Unfortunately I love the more predictable tracks that have the electronic over-used-by-Kanye-West sound. So he wins and fails at the same time really.

What's lacking is him talking about the realness of life (his old life, not his I'm-so-rich-one). But it's understandable that he can only rap about what he now knows. I think he's also clocked that the days of his and Ashanti's 'What's Luv' are over and that he needs to move with the times - I just wish he hadn't moved with the so obvious Akon, T-Pain and Lil Kim times. (SA)

If you like this...

Think about the starving yoots of Haiti. They ain't fat like Joe. It's a country where 80% of people earn less than £1 a day. No joke. In fact, Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. As well as going hungry and resorting to eating mud cakes, the people of Haiti also suffer from heavy storms every year thanks to climate change. One partner we work with in Haiti is APROSIFA who provide basic education, run health clinics and work towards an end to gang fighting (if you've got the answer, holla).

We also recommend checking out some hip hop straight outta Haiti. Find out what's popping with the current favourites Sosyete X here or join them on Facebook.