Top 10 Fat Joe Songs

Photo: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

Our top 10 Fat Joe songs introduce us to an artist best known for his impeccable rap songs. Born in 1970, Fat Joe started his music career in 1992 under the stage name Fat Joe da Gangsta as a member of the hip hop group Diggin’ in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C). A year later, he released his debut album, Represent (1993). The album was produced by Lord Finesse, The Beatnuts, and Diamond D. Represent’s lead single “Flow Joe” was a massive hit, ranking at the top of the Billboard Hot Rap Singles Chart.

Fat Joe was motivated by the success of songs from his debut album, prompting him to release a sophomore studio album, Jealous One’s Envy (1995). The album peaked at number seventy-one on the Billboard 200. Jealous One’s Envy (1995) was produced by Diamond D and featured American rapper KRS-One. Fat Joe would eventually meet his rap idol LL Cool J at Chung King Studios with Trackmasters working on the remix of “I Shot Ya.” Rapper Fat Joe was welcomed to contribute to a verse having him also tagged in its accompanying video alongside Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Foxy Brown, and Keith Murray.

A third album Don Cartagena (1998), was released under Atlantic Records, having it peak at number seven on the Billboard 200. The album featured guest appearances, including Raekwon, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nas, Jadakiss, Big Pun, and Puff Daddy. Fat Joe featured his group Terror Squad in the album. Terror Squad consisted of Armageddon, Triple Seis, Cuban Link, Prospect, Big Pun, and later Remy Ma. Triple Seis revealed that he and Big Pun used to ghostwrite lyrics for Fat Joe.

Fat Joe released his fourth studio album, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001). The album featured big names, including Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Buju Banton, R. Kelly, Ashanti, Ja Rule, and Petey Pablo. “We Thuggin’” and “What’s Luv?” were the greatest Fat Joe songs from the album. The 2001 album was Fat Joe’s most successful release by the time.

While the album featured successful releases, 50 Cent dissed Fat Joe for including Ja Rule in “What’s Luv?” Fat Joe responded to 50 Cent through “My Fofo,” a popular diss track on his album All or Nothing (2005). The album also featured collaborations with Nelly and guest appearances from Eminem, Remy Ma, R. Kelly, Mashonda, and Mase. Throughout his career, Fat Joe has released ten solo studio albums and five collaboration albums. Other artists to have worked with Fat Joe include Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Dre, T.I., Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled, Akon, T-Pain, and Fabolous. The rapper has been nominated for many awards winning quite a number of them. Here are the top 10 Fat Joe songs that make him worth a mention in the top-tier artists in the rap game.

#10 – Deep

Ushering us to the top 10 Fat Joe songs is the hit “Deep.” The song is featured on Family Ties (2019), a collaborative album by Fat Joe and Dre. “Deep” finds Fat Joe and Dre taking its listeners through an emotional roller-coaster. Its ten-minute accompanying music video alludes to a fictional sour relationship between Fat Joe and his wife. Everything seems well until the relationship is plagued by infidelity. Dre plays the role of a trusty spy, helping Fat Joe find out that his wife went behind his back to cheat with his best friend.

#9 – Money Showers ft. Ty Dollar $ign

“Money Showers” is a single by Fat Joe and Remy Ma, featuring Ty Dolla $ign. The song is featured on Plata O Plomo (2017), a collaborative studio album by Fat Joe and Remy Ma. “Money Showers” samples “Do What I Gotta Do” by Ralph Tresvant and “Rock Wit’cha” by Bobby Brown. Remy Ma revealed that the song alludes to being bestowed with too much of everything great. The song is delivered in a slowed-down tempo compared to other releases from the album, such as “Cookin” and “All The Way Up.”

#8 – Hands On You ft. Bryson Tiller and Jeremih

Legends in the rap game Fat Joe and Dre collaborated for the release of the song “Hands On” on their collaborative album Family Ties (2019). The song featured Bryson Tiller, Jeremih and guest appearances from Cardi B, Remy Ma, Eminem, Ty Dolla Sign, Mary J. Blige, and Anuel AA. “Hands On” was produced by Boi-1da and Jahaan Sweet, while mogul Irv Gotti directed the music video. The accompanying music video is all about fast cars, money, women, and nightlife.

#7 – So Excited ft. Dre

“So Excited” is a 2017 release by Fat Joe featuring Dre. The song samples “Don’t Look Any Further” by Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett. Fat Joe was inspired to release the song by a visit he made to an LL Cool J concert where the DJ impeccably transitioned from “Doin’ It” to “Don’t Look Any further.” The song has Fat Joe recall about good days of old-school rap. “So Excited” has its accompanying music video pay homage to the extravagant “Hypnotize” video by The Notorious B.I.G.

#6 – Make It Rain ft. Lil Wayne

Number six on our top 10 Fat Joe songs is the hit “Make It Rain.” Fat Joe featured Lil Wayne on this song released on is album Me, Myself & I (2006). Lil Wayne added glamour to the song by singing its chorus. However, the remix version of the song has Lil Wayne contribute a verse to the song too. “Make It Rain” peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. However, the song lost to “Southside” by Common & Kanye West.

#5 – Attention ft. Dre and Chris Brown

“Attention” was initially recommended to be the lead single of Fat Joe and Dre’s album Family Ties (2019). However, the song ended up not featuring on the album at all. The mid-tempo hit was later released as a stand-alone single featuring Chris Brown, with whom Fat Joe had worked together on “Another Round.” The song’s chorus finds Chris Brown calling out all females who crave attention to solely boast about their clout. Fat Joe raps about women looking for a second chance after things have already gone sour.

#4 – Another Round ft. Chris Brown

Fat Joe featured R&B Chris Brown on the song “Another Round.” The song sampled Troop’s “I Will Always Love You.” Its accompanying music video featured a dedication to the late Jamaican rapper Heavy D. Fat Joe released an official remix to this hit featuring Chris Brown, Fabolous, Mary J. Blige, and Kirko Bangz. The song peaked at number eighty on the Billboard Hot 100.

#3 – YES ft. Cardi B and Anuel AA

Rapper Fat Joe stormed back with a surprise song, “YES,” featuring Cardi B and Annual AA. The powerful hip hop ballad samples “Aguanile” by Willy Colón and Héctor Lavoe. “YES” finds the trio bragging about their earnings while giving a sneak-peek of how they would deal with any opposition on their way. Anuel AA spices up the song with his Spanish bad boy style, which rhymes with the song’s theme.

#2- What’s Luv? ft. Ashanti

“What’s Luv?” is a song by Fat Joe featuring Ashanti and additional vocals by Ja Rule in the remix. The song is featured on Fat Joe’s album Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001). “What’s Luv?” has its lyrics based on the refrain to Tina Turner’s song “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The song also has some of its lyrics reference Big Pun’s hit “Still Not a Player.” “What’s Luv?” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also topped the UK R&B Chart and Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.

#1- All The Way Up ft. Remy Ma, French Montana, and Infrared.

Number one on our top 10 Fat Joe songs list is the braggadocious hit “All The Way Up.” The song was featured on Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s collaborative album Plata O Plomo (2017). This triumphant uptown hit reunited Fat Joe and Remy Ma, who had earlier topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lean Back” at Terror Squad. The song peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Grammy Awards in two categories. In the Best Rap Song category, the song lost to “Hotline Bling” by Drake. The song also lost the Best Rap Performance award to “No Problem” by Chance the Rapper ft. Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz.