Organized Rhyme

If there’s one major lesson from Fat Joe’s decades-long career, it’s that there’s strength in numbers. When he first came in the rap game in the early ’90s, he rolled with Diggin’ in the Crates, the hallowed crew that featured greats like Lord Finesse, Showbiz and Big L. He also co-founded Terror Squad, making history for Latinos in hip-hip by signing the late legend Big Pun and platforming Remy Ma, a star in her own right. Still, one of his most fruitful relationships has been with Cool & Dre, the Miami production duo behind his hits like “All the Way Up”, “Yes” with Cardi B and Anuel AA, and “Pullin” with Lil Wayne. (Dre also co-starred on a previous Fat Joe album, <i>Family Ties</i>.) Their chemistry is in full force on <i>Organized Rhyme</i>, with Cool & Dre’s Miami-harnessed mix of polish and ruggedness a fitting backdrop for Joe’s Bronx-perfected shit-talking. Fat Joe goes bar for bar with Jadakiss and Pusha T on coke-rap salvos <b>“The Aroma”</b> and <b>“Set of Keys”</b>, respectively; he triumphantly recounts how he bested the odds on <b>“2 Plots”</b>; and he turns up over a flip of Puff Daddy & The Family’s iconic “Victory” on <b>“Victory Lap (HIM)”</b>. He's been telling his larger-than-life tales on podcast mics just as much as on wax these days, but he’s charismatic and clever regardless of the medium—and when it comes to social media doubters of his truth, he’s not having it. “They say I’m capping, but my life a caption,” he says on “2 Plots”.