by Ran
Big L and Fat Joe
Big L, Diamond D, Lord Finesse and Fat Joe
O.C., Lord Finesse, Fat Joe, Diamond D and Showbiz & AG
Lord Finesse and Fat Joe
Fat Joe and Big Pun
Terror Squad
Canibus, Big L and Fat Joe
Fat Joe and KRS-One
Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and Big Pun
Doug E. Fresh, Kid Capri and Fat Joe
JuJu, Kid, Greg Nice, Smooth B, Q-Tip and Fat Joe
Guru, Big Pun and Fat Joe
Big Pun, Nas, Fat Joe, Raekwon, Mack 10 and Jadakiss
Nas, Steve Lobel, Fat Joe, L.E.S. and Common
Nas, Shaq and Fat Joe in 1995
Fat Joe and Ice-T
Pete Rock, Raekwon (bottom step)
Fat Joe, Funkmaster Flex and Big Pun (top step)
Fat Joe and Kanye West
Fat Joe and Anthony Mason
Fat Joe and Stephon Marbury
Fat Joe and Jay-Z
Represent
Jealous One's Envy
Don Cartegena
Terror Squad: The Album
Jealous One's Still Envy
Cartegena transitioned from a target for bullies while in junior high, getting jumped repeatedly, to a high school bully leading a gang of teenagers known as the Terror Squad. TS indulged in petty crimes as well, including selling drugs and committing robberies. Cartegena's interest turned from crime to rap music when his old friend, Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland, whom he met at a local block party, convinced him to join his hip hop collective, Diggin' in the Crates.
In 1991, Cartegena won a talent competition held at the Apollo Theater for four consecutive weeks, which brought him to the attention of influential New York radio station 98.7 Kiss-FM on-air personality Frederick "Kool DJ Red Alert" Crute. Crute played Cartegena's demo tapes during his radio show, which in turn attracted the attention of his former protege-turned-executive Chris Lighty. Before long, Lighty secured Cartegena a recording contract with now-defunct indi label Relativity Records, which he signed "in the middle of the street" and without consulting an attorney.
Cartegena's debut single, "Flow Joe", was released on May 20, 1993 and was followed two months later by his debut album Represent, which was heavily produced by D.I.T.C. members Kirkland, Robert "Lord Finesse" Hall and Showbiz. Production group The Beatnuts handled production on the track "The Shit is Real".
After meeting fellow Bronx-native Christopher "Big Moon Dawg" Rios in a local bodega in 1995, Cartegena listened to Rios rap for him right there in the store and impressed by what he heard, recruited him to his inner circle.
Cartegena's sophomore album, Jealous One's Envy, was released on October 3, 1995. JOE features guest appearances by Wu-Tang Clan's Corey "Raekwon the Chef" Woods and Lawrence "KRS-One" Parker, as well as Rios', now known as Big Pun, debut record appearance. Cartegena's old friend Kirkland once again contributed production. That same year, Cartegena appeared alongside rappers Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, Keith Murray and Inga "Foxy Brown" Marchand on rapper James "LL Cool J" Smith's song "I Shot Ya".
In 1996, Cartegena opened Fat Joe's Halftime, a clothing store, and Fat Joe's Hip Hop Barbershop in the Bronx.
Following JOE's release, Cartegena formed the rap collective Terror Squad, featuring Rios and his friends Felix "Cuban Link" Delgado, Triple Seis and Prospect; and Cartegena's discovery Armageddon. Rios' debut album, Capital Punishment, featuring numerous appearances by Cartegena, was released on April 28, 1998 and went on to sell over 1 million copies. The members of Terror Squad would appear on Cartegena's third -- and first gold -- album, Don Cartegena, released on September 1, 1998. (1) The album's standout track, "John Blaze", features guest verses from Rios, Nasir "Nas" Jones, Woods and Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips. On September 8, Cartegena and Rios were arrested at an in-store appearance at the HMV store in Manhattan and charged with assault and robbery for attacking a man with a baseball bat and stealing his gold chain on June 14. Cartegena performed at his album release party on September 11 in front of 3,000 fans at Carbon nightclub.
In 1999, both Cartegena and Rios appeared on Jennifer Lopez's song "Feelin' So Good", from her debut album On the 6. Terror Squad's debut, The Album, was released on September 21, 1999 but failed to live up to the success of Capital Punishment and Don Cartegena. Rios recruited his proteges rapper Reminisce "Remy Ma" Mackie and singer Antonio "Tony Sunshine" Cruz to strengthen the group's roster. Following Rios' death from heart and respiratory failure in February of 2000, Cartegena fell into a deep depression and moved to Miami, Florida with wife Lorena.
Cartegena's fourth solo album, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), was released on December 1, 2001 and went on to become his first platinum-seller. The album's biggest hit, "What's Luv?", features production by rapper Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins, who was engaged in a bitter feud with rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Jackson, who opposed the idea of other rappers collaborating with Atkins, consequently initiated a war of words with Cartegena. (1) Meanwhile, Cartegena wasted little time releasing his follow-up, Loyalty, which hit stores November 12, 2002.
Terror Squad's biggest hit, "Lean Back", a collaboration between Cartegena and new member Reminisce "Remy Ma" Smith, produced by Sott Storch, was released on June 8, 2004. (1) The accompanying music video features cameos by Khaled "DJ Khaled" Khaled, N.O.R.E., Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith, production team Cool & Dre and comedian Kevin Hart. The remix features rappers Mason "Mase" Betha and Marshall "Eminem" Mathers. The song appears on Terror Squad's second album True Story, released the following month. Cartegena appeared alongside Phillips on Atkin's song "New York", released on October 27. Atkin's verse is filled with insults directed at Jackson, who attacked all three in numerous songs released subsequently.
In 2006, Cartegena appeared on Smith's debut solo album There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, which he also helped to oversee. The album's failure to catch on, however, caused a rift between Smith and Cartegena. Conversely, Cartegena's 2006 album, Me, Myself & I, features the hit "Make It Rain", a collaboration between the former and New Orleans rapper Dwayne "Lil' Wayne" Carter. The song's remix also features Khaled, singer Robert "R. Kelly" Kelly; and rappers Clifford "T.I." Smith, William "Rick Ross" Roberts, Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ace Mac.
On November 8, 2007, Cartegena released the Nahum "J. Holiday" Grymes collaboration "I Won't Tell" on his MySpace page. The song would prove to be the standout on his 2008 album, The Elephant in the Room.
Cartegena released his ninth solo album, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) 2 on October 6, 2009, followed up by The Darkside Vol. 1 on July 27, 2010.
On October 12, 2011, Cartegena released the single "Another Round", a collaboration with singer Chris Brown, which samples Troop's 1989 song "I Will Always Love You".
In 2012, Cartegena and Jackson settled their differences and performed together at a tribute to memorialize Lighty, who served as manager for both. In December, Cartegena pleaded guilty to tax evasion for failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million from 2007-2010. On June 24, 2013, he was sentenced to four months in federal prison. He was released on November 28, 2013.
Following Smith's 2014 release from prison for assault and weapons convictions, she reunited with Cartegena and the two resumed recording together.
On March 2, 2016, Cartegena released "All the Way Up", a collaboration with Smith and Karim "French Montana" Kharbouch. On November 11, he released the song "Money Showers", featuring Smith and Tyrone "Ty Dolla Sign" Griffin. The song heavily samples New Edition-frontman Ralph Tresvant's song "Do What I Gotta Do". Both songs appear on Cartegena and Smith's joint-album Plata O Plomo, released on February 17, 2017.
The Immortals: Big L
The Immortals: Big Pun
No comments:
Post a Comment