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Podcast Summary: On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Episode Featuring Fat Joe
Episode Overview Title: Fat Joe: How To Be Successful After Hitting Rock Bottom & Stop Letting Failures Define You Description: In this episode, Jay Shetty interviews renowned American rapper and music executive Fat Joe, exploring themes of resilience, success after adversity, mental health, and community support.
Key Themes and Concepts
Fat Joe's Background
- Early Life: Fat Joe shares his journey from the streets of the Bronx to becoming a successful artist, detailing the hardships he faced, including hustling for money and navigating dangerous environments.
- Hip Hop Culture: He discusses how the aggressive nature of hip hop shaped his early persona, forcing him to hide his true self behind a tough exterior.
Overcoming Adversity
- Personal Losses: Fat Joe recounts the death of his sister, friend Big Pun, and his grandfather, all within a short timeframe, which plunged him into depression.
- Mental Health: He emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health issues and seeking therapy. Fat Joe underwent therapy for two years, which played a significant role in his healing process.
Resilience and Growth
- Turning Negatives into Positives: Fat Joe discusses how he learned to turn negative experiences into opportunities for growth, and the importance of building a resilient mindset.
- Community Support: He highlights the responsibility that comes with success, focusing on giving back to the community and supporting those who are less fortunate.
Financial Literacy
- Wealth Management: Fat Joe reflects on his past financial mismanagement and the importance of financial literacy, advocating for young artists to invest wisely and avoid common pitfalls.
Lessons Learned
- Family and Values: He stresses the significance of family, integrity, and staying true to oneself amidst the challenges faced in life.
- Giving Back: Fat Joe highlights his commitment to community service, sharing stories of helping others and raising funds for those in need.
Key Takeaways
- Mental Health Awareness: The episode underscores the importance of mental health and encourages listeners to seek help when overwhelmed.
- Resilience: Fat Joe’s story serves as a testament that despite hitting rock bottom, it is possible to rise again through determination and support.
- Financial Wisdom: The need for financial education is emphasized, especially for young artists who suddenly find success.
- Generosity: Fat Joe encourages listeners to contribute positively to their communities and spread kindness.
Interview Highlights
- Childhood Memories: Fat Joe’s experiences with bullying and the journey toward resilience.
- Life Choices: Decisions that could have led to dangerous outcomes and how he navigated through them.
- The Impact of Loss: Deep reflections on personal losses and their effect on his mental health.
- Community Efforts: His ongoing involvement in charitable activities, including raising funds for disaster relief.
Episode Resources
- Fat Joe on Instagram: [@fatjoe](https://www.instagram.com/fatjoe)
- Fat Joe on TikTok: [@realfatjoe](https://www.tiktok.com/@realfatjoe)
- Jay Shetty's Podcast: Available on all major platforms, focusing on mental health and personal development.
Conclusion This episode of *On Purpose with Jay Shetty* is a compelling narrative about resilience, the importance of mental health, and the impact of community support. Fat Joe’s journey from adversity to success serves as an inspiration, reminding listeners that it is possible to redefine oneself and give back to the community after overcoming life's challenges.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is an iHeart Podcast.
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1:16Details at lowes.com slash terms. Subject to change. Mental health is now talked about more than ever, which is awesome. I mean, I don't have to tell you that it's a primary focus of on purpose. But on a day-to-day basis, many people don't know where to turn or which tools can help. Over the past couple of years, I've been working with Calm to make mental wellness accessible and enjoyable. Or as I like to say, fun and easy. Calm has all sorts of content to help you reduce anxiety and stress, build mindful habits, improve sleep, and generally feel better in your daily life. So many bite-sized options from the most knowledgeable experts in the world, along with renowned meditation teachers.
1:57You can also check out my 7-minute daily series to help you live more mindfully each and every day. Right now, listeners of On Purpose get 40 % off a subscription to Calm Premium at calm.com forward slash j. That's c-a-l-m dot com forward slash j-a-y for 40 % off. Calm your mind, change your life. I got shot at maybe 30, 40 times in my life. I might be scared of a gun. I might be scared of a bazooka. But men, I've never been afraid of men. I'm afraid to fly. So, you know, every day I fly, I'm like... We got a special guest in the building. The icon living. Fat Joe. We had to see where we were going to put the money at.
2:40My other brother turned around and told my brother, why are we even talking in front of Joey? He's a half-brother. And that devastated me. Hey everyone, I've got some huge news to share with you. In the last 90 days, 79.4 % of our audience came from viewers and listeners that are not subscribed to this channel. There's research that shows that if you want to create a habit, make it easy to access. By hitting the subscribe button, you're creating a habit of learning how to be happier, healthier and more healed. This would also mean the absolute world to me and help us make better, bigger, brighter content for you and the world.
3:22Subscribe right now. The number one health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay Shetty. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier and more healed. Today's guest is someone I've been listening to since I was a kid. Very, very grateful to have on the show the one, the only, someone who needs no introduction, Fat Joe. Joe, welcome to On Purpose. I'm grateful that you're here. You've been a long time coming, huh? I know. This has been a long time coming. We did a short get-together connection during the pandemic. Somehow I feel like we always knew we was going to do this sooner or later, but it's an honor to be here.
4:02No, I'm very grateful to have you here. Honestly, I grew up listening to you. I was listening to you this morning getting ready for the show just to prepare my mindset. But that's a different Fat Joe than Fat Joe 2024 Sometimes I listen to my music I'm like, yo, I can't even believe I was saying Really? Yeah, it was a different time What's your earliest childhood memory That has defined who you are today? Wow Just always being charismatic Always being, you know, from the class clown to people always loved me. I always told great stories. And so when you're growing up in hip hop, you know, we used to always have this like mean bravado.
4:51Nobody talked to nobody, everybody, right? And so recently I started telling stories in the last couple of years and everybody's like, yo, wow, he's a great storyteller. But I always was this person. But unfortunately, hip hop will have you put on this facade to where you can't even show people your true personality. So I think that's what I think coincides. I've always been this person since I was a kid, and the world is just getting revealed to the world. Yeah. Why do you think that is? Why did you have to hide yourself? What was the reason for the mask? Well, just hip-hop was just really tough, man.
5:31When I grew up, we lost Biggie, we lost Pac. You know, you were punk if you had security. Like, you know, they wanted to see you go through it. Unfortunately, there was a big stigma in hip hop. Like, if you didn't live it, then we didn't respect you. And so you had to live this thing out. And the last thing you want to show people is that you're a cool, funny dude that gets along with everybody, actually loves everybody. so you had to keep that tucked away just for your family and your friends. But even when you were younger, you were bullied, right? You went through bullying and then I believe there were even some...
6:14Then I became a bully. So it's like you become a product of the product. And so, you know, when I was young, I was getting bullied because, you know, I've never been a punk. I've never been, you know, so 20 guys confronted me. I fight all 20 of them. They'll beat the crap out of me, but I always was that. What were they bullying you for at that time? Man, it was just too much. So I grew up in a 90 % black neighborhood. So the way they explain this to you is the only thing not black about me is my skin color. So my family were there 40 years before me. So when they brought me home, it was like that was Joey.
6:54And so I grew up in that neighborhood my whole life. And so, you know, that's how I grew up. And then I went to my grandmother's neighborhood that's like 99 % black, but they'd never seen a Latino like that, looking like the Beatles with blonde hair and green eyes and acting like, and saying, you know, just coming like, that was a problem. Like, they had a real problem with that over there. They were like, yo, we're not going for that over here. But I am who I am. So I've always been me. I've always been true to who I am. So I had a lot of problems, you know. and so you know bullies you know when one gets away with it you know then another guy tries it's not necessarily that they're tough it's just to say oh they beat them up oh we could beat them up and then you know you're just the guy they beat up and I kept telling them I'm not a punk I kept telling them every time they beat me up I was like yo I'm not a punk I'm letting y 'all know y 'all just got the numbers right now you know and so I used to get beat up for a lot of things I used to lie a lot when I was a kid.
7:59So I would say stuff like, yo, I was with that girl. Her brother would come with five guys and be like, oh, you with my sister? Beat me up. So I remember I had a time I had to look in the mirror when I was teenager and just be like, yo, you lie a lot. Oh, you got to stop. Like, you got to keep it real because you getting beat up because of this. So, you know, life, journey. It's a journey. This the journey. Everything leads to the next chapter in life. Yeah, it's amazing wherever you grow up just how much bullying is the norm for kids. Like, even where I grew up, I was bullied for the color of my skin because there weren't that many Indian people in the area that I grew up in.
8:40And I was bullied for my weight because I was overweight growing up. So I was bullied for that. It's amazing how, like, kids find a way to make other kids' life hell, even though we hope that kids... You know what's crazy is not criticizing the youth of today. but uh when I see stuff like bullying and they you know kids kill themselves and uh because they're getting body shamed or whatever I just don't understand like do you know what levels of bullying I've been through and I never once thought of killing myself I never once you know I just knew it was something we had to work our way through um and so uh you know I don't think there's never a time where you kill yourself.
9:23You know, I don't think there's never a time where you just say, yo, I want to kill myself. I don't know how that comes about. And so, you know, with bullying, it was, you know, we've been getting bullied in the house, you know, from my father, from my family, from, you know, we've been dealing with a lot of pressure and trauma and, you know, you know, your father comes home, he lost all his money gambling, drinking. and he's going to treat you like shit that day. You know what I'm saying? But we don't know that. And so we had to work through all that. We had to learn all that. So now when I see my kids or other people's kids complaining about something, you know, I got beat up by 20 guys every single day for two years straight.
10:05So, you know, and I never once went home and told my mother, I can't do it. You know, so I don't really... Why do you think that is? Why do you think that you had that tough skin, that resilience? No, it was hard. Oh, it was hard. But, you know, it was something you had to deal with. You know, you had to go to school the next day. You had to go outside the next day. You had to, like, this is where you at. You're in this environment. You're either going to be predator or prey. And so, you know, I was always the loving, nice person I am. And then, you know, my skin got thick. Then I was like, all right, I'm going to be the tough guy.
10:46I'm going to be the bully. I'm going to show them I'm not going to care. And then things changed. And thankfully, hip-hop came and saved my life. You said you had to, in those early days, make some life and death choices. No, I got shot at maybe 30, 40 times in my life. And I know somebody like you or some of my friends, they can't even understand that. No, for sure. And so, you know, I tell people these stories now, and now they think I'm just lying. I just make it up. The truth is the truth. And so you could imagine, I was one of the toughest kids in the neighborhood. I was always into something, and I was very aggressive at getting money.
11:25You know, I'm very aggressive at getting money. I was in six states this week alone. So I'm like, you know, I've been like that since I was a kid. So, you know, in any neighborhood, you know, if you hear about dangerous places, it always has to do with money or with drugs or with, you know. And so that's what you say. You say, yo, that place is so safe, yeah, but, you know, they're killing people. Why? The drug game, the this, the that. So I've always was aggressive, you know. And once you show people you want money and you want bigger things and you're willing to do whatever for it, it becomes more dangerous, you know.
12:09What were you doing for money at that time? Well, I was hustling. You know, I was really, I was no different than the movies you see. Like, I was a guy they were hired to go beat people up. Like, that's how I started in the game. And so it'd be like, yo, Joe, you know. And how did they recruit you for something? Like, what genuinely won't be through that? They know that these guys are bad guys, and you can pick them up. So you're a jerk kingpin. You're not necessarily tough like that. But you know, Fat Joey and them, they get busy no matter what. And so, you know, you come and you say, you're Fat Joey, I got three pairs of sneakers for you.
12:45You know, a jacket. You know, I need you to go beat my competition up. So I would just jump out of van and, you know, and just, you know, apply the pressure. Were you ever scared? No. That's one thing God never made me was scared of men. Right? I might be scared of a gun. I might be scared of a bazooka. but men, I've never been afraid of men, you know, physically, whether it was one, 20, 30, 40. I've just never been afraid of men, you know, of violence, of physical, you know, yet and still I ain't get grabbed by the cartel or some shit like that, you know, that's it. But I've never been afraid of men, you know what I'm saying?
13:27I'm afraid of fly. So, you know, every day I fly, I'm like, I'm grabbing the old lady next to me. I take all three air conditions when I'm flying. I grab all the three that I got it on. I'm breathing. I'm doing breathing exercises. I'm terrified of flying. And I fly all the time. And I just tell God, I say, God, thank you for letting me face my fear. You know what I mean? Because I'm able to, I don't think if I flew, I would be as successful as I am. So, and I love going places. I love, I would love to go to India, Africa, this, this, that. I just don't like the journey. The plane flight. After all these years.
14:13I'm like, no, this is it. After all these years. Still. Still, yeah. Every day. I fly maybe every other day. And it could be the best. I remember one time I get on a flight with Khaled. And Khaled got this plane. like you know Cali does everything another level you know so his private plane it was white everything the ceiling the floors the couches the ladies the flight attendants they were so polite it was the best flight you could ever take we went up we felt a little I was like it could have been it could have been American Airlines it could have been any other plane I was like all the white all the fancy food everything went out the window I was like terrified and so it's something I can't get over yeah with with going back to that time that you're they're giving you a jacket they're giving you three pairs of sneakers saying go and take care of this how long does that continue for and man that continues because I was uh we were really tough I won't say just me but we're really tough and um but I like I said I you know when I grew up in the Bronx, it looked like bombs exploded in the Bronx.
15:25It looked like Ukraine. No exaggeration. Look it up. 70s, 80s in the Bronx. And so, but I always had ambition to be successful, to have more. And I remember talking to a friend of mine. His name was Louis. We was like 12 years old. And I'm looking out at rubble. And I'm saying, yo, I'm not. This ain't for me. I gotta get money. I gotta I got to get me a Mercedes Benz. I got to get me a that. And he's like, what are you talking about? We've been so poor generational that he couldn't even fathom. You know, nobody in my family was rich like that or nothing like that. So he was like, what are you talking about?
16:06We straight. I was like, nah, I got to get it, you know. And so it was almost like a movie that, you know, you got these guys that, you know, you just come pick up when it's time. And so I would go and, you know, for me it was by any means necessary to get money. And so I would do whatever. But also knowing I want to be the kingpin, not the guy they come get to beat people up. And so one thing led to another. And, you know, we became big boys in the street, you know, before rap. So hip-hop saved my life, you know. Changed my whole life like a Cinderella movie. It was like the minute I got my record deal, I never hustled again.
16:50I never dealt with crime. I never went back there. It was like a Cinderella Robin Hood. The minute I got my deal, I was like, yo, I don't want nothing to do with this. I walked away from it, started rapping, telling my story through music. And here we are. I just knew when I got into hip hop and I got into the rap game, I said, all right, this is it. this is this this is the way out yeah and you know no different than any other business you know at one time I had the number one record Flojo in 1993 it was that it was the number one record in the country I was getting 500 a show so I was doing three shows a night do you know you know that wasn't no money you know what I'm saying but I had to do what I had to do to get my money And so, you know, so that wasn't even easy.
17:42So now you're in the game and you step in and it's almost like half the battle. And I was like, yo, how do we find the money in this business? Because at that time, it was no money in the business. Yeah, yeah. That's, I mean, yeah, that's crazy to think that in, what, 30 years it's changed so much financially. I think, I don't want to say for a fact, But I think LL Cool J was headlining arenas for like$10 ,000 a show. And this is arenas. This is like Madison Square Garden and all that. So it was like, you know, the money wasn't there. So, you know, back in the days, the only way to explain it to you, back in the days, Magic Johnson was the first player to get a million dollars a year.
18:28He made the cover of Times Magazine. He was in every match. It was the biggest talk. Now you got the 15th guy on the bench making$240 million. The disparity is crazy. You see a rapper now or a reggaeton artist or one of them now put out one hit and they're making$400 ,000 a show for one song, and you're like, yo, this is crazy. I done tore it. Forget a chitlin' circuit. I done went around the whole moon for$500. So, you know, it's a different time. Hey everyone, it's Jay here. My wife and I have had so much fun creating our own sparkling tea, Juni. And I've got big news for you. It's at Target and we'd love your support.
19:14If you can go out, grab a Juni, you'll be adding adaptogens and nootropics into your life with mood boosting properties aimed at promoting a balanced and happy mind. Through our commitment to our wellness journey and striving to fuel our bodies with the healthiest ingredients, it's been our purpose to make healthy choices accessible for all, which is why Junie is now on shelves at Target. So head to our store locator at drinkjunie.com and find Junie at a Target near you. Yeah. Going back to your movie analogy, I feel like in the movie, the streets always try and come back for the person who tried to move away.
19:52So when someone goes, like, I'm done with this business now, I'm going to go in. It's like a shadow. Yeah. And so with my life, it was like that too. And I made a lot of mistakes. you know uh i'm more successful now than ever but that's because i'm much more mature and so you know growing up in the ghetto you have survivor's guilt and so me my community you know took care of me the only reason why i'm still here is because of them so i had a very big obligation to try to bring everybody with me you know i got rich young and i would have 50 guys with me at every time. I would literally come to your interview right now with 50 guys, 50 trucks, 50 cars.
20:34That means 50 steaks, 50 champagne bottles, 50 hotel rooms, 50 plane tickets, this, you know, every day. How do you afford that? You don't. And so what happens is, you know, when you're young, if you look at the cartoons, they're telling kids, a million dollars! That's almost like you could capture a cloud, right? Like a million dollars is like you could take a cloud and put it in a bottle. A million dollars. And then when you get a million dollars, you think it's like this can't run out. But it runs out. And so for me, I remember going broke about three times in my life. Like literally broke.
21:17Being like a number one rapper, number one hit. Everybody's, what's the? But I'm like, and I'm just doing foolish things. and I'm just trying to take the whole neighborhood with me. And I remember that one time I tell this famous story, but I'll tell it to your audience. I remember one time I couldn't sleep. And now I know when I can't sleep, God has given me a message. So that's a fact. Like that, when I, I could sleep all the time, right? But when I can't sleep, there's something that I got to figure out, dissect or whatever. God is telling me, yo, hold up. Figure this out. You know, because us, you know, we in the public light.
21:58We got to watch what we say. We got to, you know, it's a very, you know, I don't get high. I don't use, I don't, everybody, I encourage you can smoke weed if you want, cannabis, you can drink whatever. I don't. And in my life, with everything that's been thrown at me, it's almost like the matrix. If I got high, I'd have been out of here a long time ago. So you never did it? No. Wow. So the way this thing comes to me is like, you know, I throw so much things at you, whether it's family, whether it's business, whether it's this, whether it's that. It's just to be successful in 2024 is like the matrix.
22:34You know, you're doing this. It's like, who dodged that one? What about this one? What about that? Imagine I'm high. I'm over here like this, doped up. I'm done. Right. And so that was back in the early days. The reason why I never got high was because I had so much violence and beef with other guys that, you know, I just, I knew they were going to kill me. Like if I was standing on a corner high, smoked out or something, I was done. And the thing is, nobody has a PhD or a master's in hip hop music. Yeah. It's actually whose crew is toughest. So every rapper you meet, they'll come out and be like, yo, hi.
23:17Let's just say I'm fabulous. Yo, this is my man. Just came on for 20 years. He did three murder. This, this, that. Oh, how you doing? Yo, this is Jadakus. Yo, what's up, Jadakus? Yo, this is my man, Johnny the Button. Just came on for 25 years for killing five people. I mean, that's what it is. And so I don't care. We got to do it with Drake. We can do it with all of them, right? And so you don't need a PhD or master's to get in hip hop. So I'm leaving the streets trying to come in here to change my life. And then when I come in here to change my life, I realize the streets come back, the shadows, you know, and then everybody want to know, are you really tough?
24:02Are you really that guy, Fat Joe, do you talk loud? Do you just like prove to us that you really get busy? And so the streets is always with you. You know, now it's more like, you know, now we totally, you know, talk to my security, argue with my security. He's an ex-cop. Deal with him. I don't even, I don't even, stuff doesn't even bother me no more. Yeah. So you got to get to that place. Spiritually, you got to get to that place where you feel like you know what your job is in life. You know what you're trying to do. You want to live righteous. You want to help the people. You want to help your family.
24:44But all that outside noise doesn't even bother me no more. You know, I've had some of my friends that I have for years go on YouTubes and blogs and talk bad about me and this and this. I'd be like, oh, him too? Like, it just rubs off me now. It's not, doesn't even affect me. Yeah. When you were younger, one of the things that did affect you, I believe, was your half-brother. you're realizing that you weren't biologically family. No, it wasn't my problem. It was like we grew up together. So I have two brothers and a sister, and I grew up. My father came from Cuba, and my father got with my moms after she had a husband and had three kids.
25:30So I'm the last kid, but he raised my brothers and sisters, and we were raised as brothers and sisters to this day. Brother, not half. We never heard the word half. We had a brother. So me and my brother, we were, you know, partners in the streets, right? So, you know, me and my brother Angel. And then my other brother, Raymond, was supposed to be a lawyer or whatever the case may be. He was going to school for that. And then when we was hustling, we had a choice to make, right? And so the choice to make was that we had made all this money. We still lived in the projects. Like we had tons of money in the closet, right?
26:11In the affordable housing projects. So we had to see where we were going to put the money at. We wasn't that smart. We wasn't sophisticated. We didn't know about buying businesses. We didn't have accountants. We didn't have nothing. The most we had was cars and jewelry. And so my one brother said, yo, leave the money with me. And I said, and I didn't think nothing of it. He's my brother. I told my brother Angel, I said, why don't we leave half the money with him and you go to Orlando to my aunt, who's like 90 years old. She wouldn't even know. She had millions of dollars in her attic. Right? And I said, split it up.
26:53You don't want all your eggs. Not saying that this. And so my brother, my other brother, turned around and told my brother, why are we even talking in front of Joey? He's a half brother. And that devastated me. The tears just came. I never heard that before. So my brother Angel argued with him. He was like, you crazy, Joey's my brother. You know, the irony to that story is that day was Thanksgiving. The whole family, you know, we never had much or whatever, but what we always had was love and family to this day. So I got in the car. I had a Mustang 5.0 at that time. I went to, it's in the book, Jose.
27:29I went to a place in the Bronx called City Island. So it is one way in, one way out. And so I was just driving like 100 miles per hour, and I just felt like I was going to run into a wall or something. And then at the last minute, you know, I spun out. I was actually thinking of killing myself. I spun out, you know, and said, f*** that. Then I went and ate me a nice steak. You ever ate at the Seville, Rich? No. There was a... Oh, my God. They had the best steaks with the best onions. No, I had the best meal that night, right? Like, old school joint, man. And so eventually, I wrote it in a book, but didn't really actually say it, that my brother, the feds, came and locked everybody up, like 40 of us.
28:18Not me. I was rapping already. Thank God rap saved my life. But when they did that, my brother was on the run, and he was calling my other brother, yo, send me money. He was in, like, Dominican Republic, and my brother wouldn't respond. So my brother flies back, And the brother who called me the half-brother spent the millions of dollars. We didn't know. So he came and said, yo, what's up? I'm on the run. I need the money. And he's like, yo, I spent the money. We're like, you spent the money? Millions of dollars? Like, you spent the money? It wasn't, like, lavish. You ain't seen no Lamborghini out there or nothing.
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28:51It's like, how you spent the money? And so the concept of us growing up was always if my brother had it, I had it. So my brother was the boss. I made some dollars, but he made the real money. But I knew if my brother had it, I had it. It's the same concept we have with Terror Squad today. If Joe got it, you got it. You can't take advantage of it, but he'll help you at any given time. You know, if I got it, you got it. And so my brother stole the money. I never talked to him for 25, 30 years. I never talked to him again because my brother, Not only did he steal the money, my other brother Angel started using drugs because he went from being rich to being broke.
29:38And I used to tell him all the time, you're Angel, I'm rapping. I'm going to take care of us. Don't worry, I got us. But he just fell in deep depression and started using drugs and using drugs. And, you know, to this day, my brother, he'll be looking around the room and he'll be like, I used to have money. I used to have it. You know, these people kill themselves in Wall Street. They jump off the roof. They jump off of bridges. They hang themselves when they lose all their money. When you're used to that type of money, millions of dollars, your own brother, your own blood steals that from you.
30:10So he had a lot to deal with, and I kept putting him in drug programs. I kept begging him, like, June, come on. I'm good. Like, come on. We're going to be good. But he couldn't get over that, even to this day. But he's not using drugs no more, thank God. but uh you know if i had him you know mind sound you know he's smarter than me so if i had him with me through my whole career through my whole you know we'd have been better off than we are now you know because he was really the leader he was really the smart one and so but he couldn't snap himself out of that yeah how how hard is that watching someone you love someone that you trust someone that you know could have been this and had this potential and then not seeing them be there with you through it all?
30:55How do you deal with that? Well, you know, my best friend on earth is in jail. He's doing 48 years. He's been in jail for 33 years. And I often think about, like, tonight I'm going to the Nick game. I know for a fact they're going to put me on TV. God bless. I'm on courtside sitting next to Spike Lee, high-fiving Spike Lee. My brother got to see that in jail, in the feds. But how do you think he feels that he's in jail, my best friend, and he knows that if he comes out, Fat Joe got him. He's right here with Jay Shetty. He's driving the best car. He's living the best life. That's what you call suffering, when you can't do nothing for it.
31:34And the same thing with my brother. You know, my brother had a chance. And so what I can tell you is that drugs is an illness. It's highly addictive. That's why I never tried it, because I might like it. And so that's why I've always stayed away from drugs. I looked at my brother and said, damn, man, he's smarter than me. He could have been way more than me. And, you know, he couldn't shake the drugs. I don't even want to try that. You know, I had, I'll tell you a story for your audience. I had a girl I used to chase for maybe 10 years. I used to chase this girl. Hey, what's up? Yo, yo, beautiful girl, right?
32:14And one day she said, tonight's your night. And I said, oh, wow. Really? I'm going to get it? Like, you know, I've been after you. Yes, yes. But you know, Joe, I know you don't use drugs. But tonight, to make it special, we're going to take these pills together. And I said, huh? She was like, we're going to take these pills. I said, I'm not taking them pills. She was like, no, but this is going to be amazing. You don't understand sex with these pills? I said, and I was after this girl. And I was like, you ain't getting me to take the pills. And so nothing happened. So you walked out. Nothing happened, brother.
32:49Oh my gosh, she must have felt that rejection. I don't care about rejection. It's just I know, you know, too many stories. You know, a good friend of mine, not to put his business out there, but he talks about it, Scott Storch, one of the most talented people in the world. Like, I owe him a lot of my career to Scott Storch, but he tried it one time, and that was it. Wow. He tried. He was with two girls, real famous girls, if you know the real story. The best movie ever made that hasn't been made is the Scott Storch story. If he lays the goods out, it's, you know, we need Leonardo DiCaprio to play him.
33:30Like, there's going to be one. But, you know, he had two famous girls, and they were like, yo, you want to be with us? You got to sniff this cocaine off of, you know, and he did it. He said that he literally told me the minute he sniffed it, he was like, euphoria. Like, this is the game, you know. this whole life up messing with that now he's doing better but uh you know he ran through like 90 million dollars getting high you know wow yeah because he was the guy then i remember he was producing for everyone yeah like 85 percent of number one songs of one year yeah beyonce fat joe 50 cent this this he was sean paul this everything was him yeah i remember and so uh you know he took a hard fall you know i love scott man i wouldn't be where i'm at if it wasn't for Scott.
34:16Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 % and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. This week on a very special episode of Health Discovered, we're taking a closer look at a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of men each year, prostate cancer. I first found out about my cancer at the age of 45. Anything with cancer, you just think death sentence. In this episode, we'll explore the science behind detection, along with the practical steps men can take to protect their health.
34:58Listen to Health Discovered on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app, search Health Discovered, and start listening. This is Doug Gottlieb for The Doug Gottlieb Show. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are designed to outlast and outlive backed by Toyota's legendary reputation for reliability. Get into Tundra with available i-Force Max hybrid engine delivering exceptional torque and towing capacity or check out a Tacoma with available off-road features like crawl control. It can take you beyond the trails. Toyota trucks are built to last year after year, mile after mile, so don't wait.
35:33Get yours today. Visit buyatoyota.com for deals and more. Toyota, let's go places. Yeah, no, it's and And that's the hard part, right? I tried with him. I tried to get him on drugs. Oh, yeah. You know, in many places, I'm considered the fun killer. You know, because I would come and they can't get high. Scott Storch, I'll tell you, he used to sniff kilos of cocaine, but around me, he never sniffed coke in his life. He had that level of respect. So I would go there every day and just sit there like a thorn on his side, you know, for months, and just be like, you know, making sure he don't get high.
36:11They said the minute I walked out the door, they were like, bring it out! They hated me in the place, but, you know, I tried, you know? Wow. I mean, we're talking about losing people while they're still alive, and that is a real loss. And then you've lost people who have actually lost their life, who are no longer here. You've lost three, I mean, I'm sure you've lost more than this, but three very significant people in your life. Can you tell us what was significant about the loss of each? Because I feel like there are different types of losses, but they're all in the same year. First of all, same, like, week.
36:48Same week? I thought it was months. I didn't realize. Like, two, three weeks apart, everything. I'll start with my sister. My sister was, like, my best friend. She was supposed to be the one to be there for me, you know. we love our wives and we want them to always be there but one person I do know you know O.J. Simpson died you know recently and they said the only people who used to go see him every day was his sisters you know that's when the whole world turns off the lights on you your sisters will be there for you so I lost my sister she was giving childbirth and so they gave her an epidural instead of numbing her from the waist down kind of numbed up from the waist up, lack of oxygen to the brain.
37:36So she was in a coma for eight months. And that was killing me to see my mother and father every day there, and we was there. And that's horrible. I wish nobody gets to see someone they love like that. And when I got the call, she died. It was almost a relief. And I don't want to say I'm happy my sister died because that's not true, but she was suffering too much. And so my sister passes away, right? So that's the number one. I used to think this guy was the number one because I love him so much. But really, over the years, really analyzing it, my sister really knocked me out the box just to not have her in this world.
38:16Then one of my best friends, my artist, one of the most loyal guys is Big Punt. We made history together. And together, being Latino in this music business, you know that we we stood for so much you know and even though I was on before him and I was on my way to success I took the back road for him because I knew he was so much more talented and I knew we needed a guy like that years later now 30 20 years later we still hear his music and feel that pride I knew that at the time and so he passed away young around the same time as my sister, maybe a week, two weeks apart. Now I'm young. I'm 27, 28 acting like I know about the world, but I'm still really, really young.
39:02And so, you know, how scared it is to lose a best friend, franchise player. You know, here you went from being this broke kid living in this danger zone into, you know, being successful, being rich. And now the guy you did it with his dad at 27, 28 years old. And then my grandfather. You know, and I analyzing my family tree, I'm more like my grandfather than anybody. Oh, wow. You know, I used to call him cowboy. He had a lot of respect in the hood. So my grandfather died. So all that together just, it was like a perfect storm. You know, and I never dealt with so much death like that. And so, you know, I was really in a dark place.
39:48I'm not talking about a regular dark place. you know, sleeping in the bathtub with no water running. If I looked outside and it was sunny, it looked dark. You know, if someone shoots you, I tell people all the time, you in a gang, say you in a gang in Chicago, and they trying to kill you. You do know you can move to Alabama and no one will know you. You could move to L.A. You could move to New York. You could move anywhere and they won't know you. The problem with depression is it comes with you wherever you go. So at the time I'm in depression, I'm going to Miami, I'm going to islands, I'm going to try to erase it, but I can't.
40:32It's with me everywhere I go. And now, you know, when people say let them mourn, that means like give them time, let them get their things together, their bearings together. But when your best friend who just died is the biggest rap star in the world, people think they're doing a good thing, a good deed. So they bring you your food. Yo, sorry about your brother, big pun, man. Yo, that was my man. Once again, it's back. And then I'm in a car waiting at the light. The next door, yo, pun. He was the man. They start blasting. So it was so hard, right? And I considered myself to be a bright person.
41:15And so the only way to put it is like the mind's like a super complex Rubik's Cube. And you just got to. And so I never thought of, I'm going to kill myself or this. I just was like, Joe, you got to get out of this. You got to get out of this. It's like a funk. And you wake up and it's a new day. Instead of just saying it's a new day, you know, you go back to, oh, you know this. So I went to therapy. Is that the first time you started going to therapy? That's the only time I went to therapy. But I went to therapy for like two years. I didn't tell nobody. And this lady, this woman, really, really helped me out.
41:54And her strategy, I guess therapists are all different. Her strategy is you figure it out. Like, tell me about you. And then you just go there all the time and you tell her about you. And then you figure it out. You figure out what happened. And then the one thing that happened to me was we would do this mural in the South Bronx for Big Punt. So, you know, I started out a graffiti artist and shout out the Tats crew. So every year they would do a new, they would change the mural for Punt, rest in peace Punt. So I'm out there, it's two years has gone by, two dudes walk by. I always say I owe these guys so much money.
42:35And one dude was like, yo, what they doing? He wasn't from the neighborhood. He was like, oh, that's a big pun, boy. They change it every year. He said, they change it every year? It's been that long? He was like, yeah, it's been two years. And I swear to God, in my brain, all I heard was two years, two years, two years, two years, two years, two years. And then something in my mind told myself, like, yo, Joe, you've been beating yourself up for two years. You got to snap out of it. That same night, boom, I was back to the way I am now. Wow. You know, just two years, Joe. You try to kill yourself.
43:10For two years, you've been beating yourself up. Maybe you could have did something. Maybe you could have lost weight. Maybe you could have helped your sister. Maybe you could have, you know. And so you go over beating yourself up. So, you know, it finally was done two years. And I run away from dark darts and depression. Like, now I don't even get in the area. If I ever feel something like that, I'm running the other way. See, people walk to it for some reason, you know, but me, I run away from any type of dark times, any type of dark moments. I move on. Your sister, if she could talk to you today, what do you think she'd say?
43:48She'd be proud. But she also was very supportive and simple, but, you know, she knew her brother had her back. She'd call me any time of the day, any time of the day. Bro, I need money. That car would be outside her window in five minutes. Like, yo, come down. Here you go. You know what I'm saying? So she know I always had her back. The only thing I would say, the only regret my sister had with me is I used to beat up her boyfriends. And so that was like a major problem, like for real though. if a guy came to visit my sister, I would sit there with a baseball bat while he's sitting on the couch with her.
44:35And I'm looking at him, and she always hated me for that. Yeah, that's fair. You know, I'm just telling you what she, you know, she wasn't feeling me on that tip right there. Because I'd be like, you know, you ain't going to do that to my sister. Yeah. And so, you know. Was that your younger sister? She was older. She was older. She was older, but I was always, you know, I'm young, but I'm the baby of the family, they say, but always the leader. I don't know It's just That was me I have a younger sister I'm very protective as well And I can I can relate to what You were saying about The love That you have For your sister It's different Yeah it's different The brother Sister love Is a whole different Because she really Got your back Yeah Yeah You know Nah she got your back Yeah yeah I can do no wrong In my sister's eyes Yeah She got your back So when it's all Said and done You know God forbid Hopefully you live With your wife Till you die together But if you know you ever go through something with your wife or something like that, the one woman that is going to hold you down is your sister.
45:36And what about Big Pun if he was to talk to you? I don't know. You know, Big Pun, man, you know, he was so good. Like, he was like a freak of nature, bro. He was a genius, you know, so I don't know. I know I try to impress him with moves I make musically. You know, I've always been a real man. I've always been a loyal man. I always stuck to the code no matter what. You know, I never let the, you know, Punk has this famous line in his record where he says, you know, I never, I wear the crown and never let it touch the ground. So we never let the crown touch the ground. You know, we always kept that same, you know, but I can't tell you because he was so much better than me.
46:26He was just like light years better than me. So he really actually taught me how to make hits, even though I discovered him. We were sitting there, so he would scream at me like, yo, you're limited. You're limited. Keep thinking. Switch it up. At the end, he was just so great that, you know, it was like I'm coming up and he's a Shakespeare or some shit. Like he was literally, he would be like, no, you got to do it like this. No, like that. So I don't know. You know, I've had some anthems. I've had hits. I don't know if it was to big pun standards. I'm telling you, he was asleep. He had that thing, what is it, narcolepsy or something?
47:08He would fall asleep right on you. There's a true story. He would wake up and be like, pass me the book. He would have a whole song. He would write it in his sleep. He would have a whole song to start writing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, this guy was phenomenal. From the first time I ever heard him, I knew, like, this guy's, like, the greatest. He's the best. Like, it was another level, yeah. Yeah. Well, I remember when we were coming up, listening to you, it was because of you that we got introduced to Big Pun. That's how we even discovered him. Yeah, but then he was like... Yeah.
47:44That's how we even discovered who he was, because we weren't aware in London. How was Big Pun in London? He was on fire out there. Because of you. Yeah, yeah, I know. That was the entry point for all of us. That's how we discovered his music. But it was for the people who were like listening. Like it was for a real listener. It wasn't for the masses. It was lyrics. It was for someone who was actually listening and was trying to understand the, you know. Beautiful time. I think my best time in hip hop music. You know what I mean? Just growing together, becoming the first soloist Latino to win, to sell 2 million records.
48:19Back in them days, you know, You had to go buy them records in the snowstorm. You know, it was physical. It wasn't just streaming. And so we were so proud of him. And, you know, he died so young. So that really devastated me. To this day, you know, the way the crew works, he's everywhere. So if you go in my house, you see Big Pond. You go in my businesses, you see Big Pond. You go in any one of the crew members' houses, Big Pond is up. you know we we we never forgot them you know what's crazy is i i throw this uh i'm gonna invite you this year i throw a birthday party every year that forget about it whoever you think of is is in there right every year we have fun so if you don't dance you're not invited we are dancing is i don't do drugs and alcohol so that's good but you gotta dance brother you gotta dance and so um and so So one year, a reporter snuck in the party.
49:18We didn't even know. And so the reporter wrote for the Post, I believe. She wrote, I was in the party. It was amazing. This one, that one was there. This. She said they kept mentioning, big pun, every 30 seconds like he was alive at the party. And so I think you would be proud of that, that we make sure that, you know, we represent him at the highest standard. Yeah. You know, as a rap guard, because that's what he is. That's beautiful. The party, and I'm waiting for my Terror Squad chain as well. Those are the two things I wanted as a kid. That's an expensive thing. That's an expensive thing. Everybody was waiting on that Terror Squad chain.
49:58You made us want it as kids, you know? That was like the thing. Still. I remember one day I had to give my chain to Drake off my neck. Yeah. Like I had it on my neck. He was like, yo, man, I always wanted that. You know, this is what I was like. Yo, man, here you go. But that's expensive. That's a heavy thing to give away. Oh, that's expensive to just, you know, everybody you imagine. How rich? Everybody wants a Terrasquad chain. We used to go get the cubic zirconia one down the road that they used to sell. No, but these ain't cubic zirconias. Yeah, I know, I know. And there'd be people I really love, and they'd be like, yo, I need that chain.
50:31I'm like, sheesh, man. You know what these chains cost? Yeah. Yeah, but it's beautiful, man, to have some, you know, Terrasquad started out as a graffiti crew. Yeah. The guys who started it passed away, but before they got off graffiti, they gave it to me. I'll never forget. I was in the back of my projects. I was maybe like 13 years old, and I remember I made a pledge. I didn't know it was going to be music, but Terror Squad is going to be the biggest crew you ever seen in your life. And then I had my sister and her friends was like Terror Squad ladies. And we did this our whole life. You know, and I hope when I'm gone, it'll stick around with all our family members and all our friends.
51:18You know, it means a lot to us. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 percent and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. This week on a very special episode of Health Discovered. We're taking a closer look at a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of men each year, prostate cancer. I first found out about my cancer at the age of 45. Anything with cancer, you just think death sentence. In this episode, we'll explore the science behind detection along with the practical steps men can take to protect their health.
52:02Listen to Health Discovered on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app, search health discovered, and start listening. This is Doug Gottlieb for the Doug Gottlieb Show. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are designed to outlast and outlive, backed by Toyota's legendary reputation for reliability. Get into Tundra with available iForce Max hybrid engine, delivering exceptional torque and towing capacity. Or check out a Tacoma with available off-road features like crawl control. It can take you beyond the trails. Toyota trucks are built to last year after year, mile after mile.
52:36so don't wait get yours today visit buyatoyota.com for deals and more toyota let's go places yeah it's amazing to see you so you know having gone through so much trauma loss and and i think people underestimate how what you said that journey of when you're from the streets and then you suddenly get a million dollars through a talent that you have and then it's like you don't know what to do with it you don't know how it works you know what to do with it but you mean that we need financial literacy yeah financial one million percent we didn't know what to do with it even today even today like now when influences tiktok instagram like people are coming into wealth so early in their life without what they say so that's a great question i don't know if it's a question it is it i don't know it's a question it's a question yeah i was just framing it up who are we this is the problem.
53:32So Fat Joe is always open for advice. Young artists, you know you do it all the time. You can still do it. You can hit me in the DM. I'll talk to you. I'll give you advice. My advice is free all the time. But who are we to tell a young guy or young girl who had nothing in life? Let's take a sexy red. Who are we to tell a sexy red who came from nothing and now she's making millions of dollars and she's enjoying it with her friends? Who are we to tell her that she's wrong? Who are we to tell her anything? She made it. It's a miracle. It's a miracle that she made it coming from where she's coming from.
54:18So I can't talk down on them or tell them, yo, don't do that or whatever. Now, if you want advice, I'll tell you what I did. And I blew a lot of money. You know, it's just now in life that I'm understanding, you know, investments and taking care of my money and taking care of my family on another level. And I still have a problem with Louis Vuitton and Gucci and Diamonds. And, you know, I'm still attracted to the stuff, you know, but still in all, you know, I look at all these young artists. I can't tell them. You know, now if they ask me, yo, gee, what you think I should do, then I'll sit down and be like, yo, go buy a bunch of Subway's franchise.
55:00Go buy some Wingstop's. Go buy some McDonald's. You know, something that you, because artists, the sad thing about hip-hop is you could go from one day being the biggest artist in the world getting$250 ,000 a show, and four years later, you're not hot and you're getting$15 ,000 a show. That's a big disparity. And so I don't know why. I don't know why it's like that, why they don't value the artists where the money value stays up. But that's how it is in hip hop. That's just a reality. And so so many of us artists are driven off of our performance money, our show, our touring. Then when something goes wrong, like covid, you in the house get the death because you can't go out there and make no money.
55:45So you got to diversify. You got to buy businesses. You got to investments. You got to do different things so that money could come in through all different angles. And so that's something I learned at an older age, you know, invest in sneaker stores, invest in that, invest in this, invest in that. And so that way money comes in from all over. Yeah, I think we have to learn from that hindsight because even for me, when I started out as a creator, I could see YouTubers who, and YouTube is the same, right? Like one year it's amazing and then the next year it's not. and I saw so many people who came before me that were paying off their parents' mortgages one year, but then the next year they didn't have money to pay their own rent because it switches up so fast.
56:28That's how it is. And you just see that happen to people overnight, and it's painful because their intention was good. They were trying to take care of their family. Of course. But now it's like long-term, they've lost out. It doesn't work. Well, you know, we have a thing in Territ's Grove. We always take care of family. Yeah. And always take care of mothers and dads. You know, if your mother and dad wasn't rich or didn't have to take care of you, we take care of them. And so it's a great honor to look at my brothers and know that each one of them take care of their mother, take care of their father.
56:59You know, because we at this age, you know, we 50 years old now. You know, they're 80 years old. So these times you got to really look out for them. And so I love a person that actually takes care of their mother, takes care of their father. Now, if they're wealthy or they have money at a time, great. Nothing wrong with that. But if they ain't got it, you know, I'm all for taking, you know, I went through a tax problem one time. It wasn't really my fault, but I did. And the biggest thing I got scared of when they told me, you didn't pay your mortgages, you didn't pay your car notes, you didn't this.
57:32I had an accountant. I'm sending him wire transfers and he's robbing me. He's not paying my bills. But my biggest fear at that moment was like, oh, my God, my mother's house? We didn't pay the mortgage for my mother's house. That would have been the worst thing that ever happened to me for somebody to show up to my mother's house and throw out my mother and father. I cared about their house, and they live in a modest house. I care about their house more than mine. That's just me. Yeah, what's that like when it feels like everyone's, like you're trying to take care of people with an accountant, friend, people stealing from you?
58:07I mean, that. Man, they stole from me a lot of times. What I realized is just not too many people can have access to money and not have the temptation of stealing. And so you learned, you know, I'm a very trusting person. You know, I'm a very trusting person. So but you learn that these guys, they can't handle that. And so catching your best friends stealing from you, catching managers, catching accounts. We just caught an accountant. Now we sued them with millions of dollars. And so now they got to pay back, you know, through the insurance or whatever the case may be. But we went through a lawsuit, forensic account.
58:44These people, you bring them to your house like they're family. You're around their kids, like, you know, and they're stealing your money. And so you're so busy working, trying to get to money, that you ain't busy watching, oh, I got$5 deposited in the bank. I got this and this and that. So it's like, you know, they prey on you when they figure out, oh, he ain't watching. Yeah, yeah. But everybody comes out in the wash. What don't come out in the wash comes out in the rinse. Yeah, yeah. How hard is it to stay trusting and soft-hearted and a good person when these things are happening? That's just who I am.
59:25Yeah, so you're going to carry on being that way because that's who you want to be. That's who I am. A lot of times, you know, people have done stuff to me, Not just still, but just where, you know, me and my wife have discussions and she's like, yo, don't change. You know, you are who you are. You can't let people change you. Because a lot of times we dread things and people do horrible stuff to us. And then you yourself could become that person, you know, and so we're not doing it. You know, I told you the story of I was bullied and then became the bully. And so we don't let people affect who our true morals and our true character is.
1:00:04You know, it happens, hurts you, move on. Yeah, I think that's true. Yeah, what we often judge in a person is who we become because you're thinking about that quality in them so much that all of a sudden that becomes your reality because you repeated that thought. You think like, yo, you know. Yeah. They did it to me. I'm going to do it to somebody else. Yeah. And it's just a cycle that you got to snap yourself out of. You know, and people, you don't, you know, you don't, you don't think that that's cool because you've seen somebody do that. You know, you got to, you got to say this is, this is weird.
1:00:40The story of my life is all about taking the negative and turning it into a positive and stopping the years of being poor, not being successful, not going to another level of my family tree. From here on, I want to pass it down to my sons, my daughters, my grandkids and give them that motivation to change that family tree. Because before me, everybody, you know, were hard workers, but they end up being, you know, poor, regular people. And so that's why I press on. That's why I'm in six cities in one week. That's why I'm like, you know, it's not greed. It's just taking it to another level so that generations behind me could follow that example.
1:01:31I don't know if it's, I'm not telling you I got money the last generations. I'm telling you that I've given them that motivation. Where they could say, my grandfather, you know, my great-grandfather, this guy, he worked six days out the week. He flew. He didn't like to fly. He flew. You know, just that, you know, to change the whole mindset. of our family tree before me. Yeah, yeah. And that's powerful and needed because I feel like if people are seeing, like, even you at your career, at this stage, you're still working that hard. And that's what I see when I look at people in the industry that come on the show that have been famous for three decades, you know, making money for three decades, and they're still working harder today.
1:02:13You know, it was guys like that. What's my man, Richard Simmons? Richard Simmons. It was guys that, I wish I knew their names, that they used to have something called... Was it Family Squares or back in the days? where they would take these squares, like it's like tic-tac-toe, and they all have your celebrity that's been around for 30 years. Oh, I don't know. Damn, that's very famous in America. Like now we got hip-hop squares, but Hollywood squares. So they would take Jay Shetty 20 years from now, and you'll be up there answering the question of this. So they've been doing this a long time. Okay.
1:02:53You know, there's been celebrities that held on. Yeah. You know, you'll always get a Danny DeVito, Jersey Subs commercial or something. Like, these guys have been sticking around a while. And so that's Fat Joe. You know, until I'm out of here, you know, I want to stick around. You know, I want to bump into you on the red carpet. I want to, you know, that's what I want to do. Yeah, I love that. I mean, you were talking about taking care of your parents. A big part for you is also taking care of, like you said, future generations. And I know that you're a father to a child who has Down syndrome, autism, and as far as I know, at least at the time, you were a single parent for a while or maybe even...
1:03:30Well, I'm a kid. I was a kid. He was like 19, you know, so me and his mother was together. Then we broke up and there was this one rainy day. She walked up. We had some, like, makeup sex. She comes back. She says she's pregnant. I tell her, I don't want to be with you, you know. And she's like, no, this is my baby, this, this, that. So thank God we didn't have an abortion, but But Joey's born in, it's crazy, he's born in the same hospital that my sister caught the coma in, Bronx, Lebanon Hospital. So if I get shot, I'm going to another hospital. I'm not going there, trust me. And so, you know, the doctor comes and says, listen, we got bad news.
1:04:20I never forget that. And he sat me down at her, and she was like, oh, I can't raise this baby. We got to give him a way for adoption. and then my mother and father just jumped in right at me. It was like, oh, no, this is our baby. We're not doing that. And so we've had full custody since he was born. I got to thank my mother and my father for pretty much raising Joey. You know, he's their kid. You know, he's my kid, you know, but he's their kid. You know, my father to this day sleeps next to Joey, you know, in the same bed, you know, And now my father's older and Joey watches him. So Joey, if my father sleeps too long, whatever, Joey's in his wheelchair, he's watching my father.
1:05:05You know, when my father's outside telling jokes, he's happy that he's telling jokes. You know, he's a very smart kid and we just say he's our biggest blessing. I feel like if I would have abandoned Joey, I would have never had the success I have. You know, I feel like, you know, it's hard to deal with a special needs kid, but they bring so much joy to the world. And, you know, me and you, we get sad, we get happy, we talking about depression. This guy's always happy. Like, he's in a state of happy, you know. Sure, we want to, you know, if he could have talked, if he could have walked, you know, but, you know, like I tell you, part of my process of not being depressed, not being mad, not blaming God, right, is always saying, all right, dealing with this is what it is, we did it, and we got to look forward towards the positive.
1:06:04And so I never, you know, blamed God. I never blamed nobody. I just said, yo, this is what it is. We love him. He's ours. We're going to take care of him forever. We're going to make sure he's great, he's loved, he's happy. and so that's how we deal with Joey um and another thing I never you know uh blame God for anything you know I accept the good and the bad you know my belief and my faith in God is just is legendary and I believe that all our blessings come from God you know that's my true belief in my heart and so just let your audience know that yeah no that's beautiful I mean with Joey specifically like what was the most challenging phase and because I know you do a lot to also empower communities raise awareness about this?
1:06:51Because, of course... Man, it's hard. And then going back to the hip-hop bravado, being tough. So for many years, I wouldn't let people see Joey or nothing like that because hip-hop was so beef, problems. I never wanted nobody to disrespect my son. But we always had this loving relationship. You know, the bottom line is, you know, in life, whatever God throws at you or whatever they throw at you, you got to deal with it. You got to man up, you know, and I'm proud of the job we've done with Joey. He's just a beautiful kid, you know, and, you know, he knows he's the Don. You know, when we go to dinner with my son and my daughter, you know, he sits at the corner of the table and looks at them like, this is my little brother.
1:07:44This is my little sister. You know, he knows that. So he's the biggest blessing. That's beautiful, man. It sounds like, you know, again, I'm going back to what you said at the start of the interview was that the guy who made the music, the fat Joe that made that music is very different to the Joe that I'm sitting with, 2024. What are the biggest differences in What's Love, Lean Back, like all the way up? Like what's the difference between that and... All I can tell you is that with every one of those songs, Coach, you described my back was to the wall. I was fighting for my life. The only way I knew how to make it was through music.
1:08:23And so I channeled this energy and this music. And thank God they became anthems and hits. But, you know, Fat Joe the person has always been different. You know, I've always been a family man. I've always been for my community. You know, before we had social media, before we had, you know, I've been raising money for people. I've been giving back to my community, computers to schools, libraries. You know, I have a business in the Bronx now, a sneaker store called UpNYC. We have a school in the store where the kids come after school, they eat, they learn computers, they get mentored. I mean, we don't stop.
1:09:07You know, just last week we gave to Haiti, right, Rich? My best friend, Rich, is Haitian. So the turmoil and everything that's going on in Haiti where kids are in famine, you know, and for some reason I feel like they don't get this awareness. I feel like they don't get this same love as anybody else. So we raised a bunch of food for Haiti and money. And so, you know, we've been doing this when the cameras is off, man. You know, I just feel so blessed that I'm able right now when I when I cut it with you, if I want to eat a steak or a lobster, I can eat it, whatever I want, I can get it. I'm not feeling bad about that.
1:09:47I worked for it, you know, but I do believe in, you know, what about them? You know what I'm saying? What about taking care of the less fortunate? What about providing for the people? So we've been like this forever. It's just now it's social media. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 % and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. This week on a very special episode of Health Discovered, we're taking a closer look at a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of men each year, prostate cancer.
1:10:27I first found out about my cancer on my birthday at the age of 45. I found out my cancer has spread to my pelvic bone. And from there, life just changed. About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. And the risk increases with age. Anything with cancer, you just think death sentence. And the only thing I could think about was, who's going to take care of my family? You have to go out there and build your support system. You got to build your team. In this episode, we'll explore the science behind detection along with the practical steps men can take to protect their health.
1:11:09Listen to Health Discovered on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app, search Health Discovered, and start listening.
1:11:20This is Jason Timp from Hoops Tonight. Toyota is moving forward to a more sustainable future by giving you the freedom to choose from an incredible lineup of trucks. now available in both gas and hybrid models, including the legendary Tacoma, the powerful Tundra, both available with the iForce Max hybrid powertrain and backed by Toyota's legendary reputation for reliability. More choices, less compromise. Visit buyatoyota.com for a great deal on an efficient Toyota today. Toyota, let's go places. Yeah, it's nice to be able to see it though, because I feel like we were talking about there are so many dark moments in your life.
1:11:58but even sitting with you for a few moments I'm like you have a light energy about you right like as in light in the sense of you know what's so crazy is there's this video going viral I don't know why something here is going viral I don't know what it is you can't put a camera on Fat Joe and it does just don't go viral it's going viral I love it there's no way around it I love it a lady loves a sign of that and so I did no it's going I don't know what to tell you it's something's gone right and so I did an interview maybe a year ago right And I remember I was tired, and the guy came up to me.
1:12:32I was in Vegas, and I wanted to get some sleep. I flew him. He was like, Fat Joe, man, I got a podcast. I want you to do it. And somehow I allowed him in my room, dead tired, and he interviewed me. And I said, I told the story about one time when I was young, you know, when I was in high school, I robbed my whole gym class. So I stuck up the gym class. It was like 70 students. He says, without a gun? I said, yeah, without a gun, you know, I robbed everybody. In fact, the guys I robbed helped me carry the jackets and the Walkmans and stuff outside the school. I couldn't even carry. It was 70, you know.
1:13:05But it was power tripping. It was like, see if I could do it, right? But in any case, I told this story, right? And now all of a sudden, I don't know, yesterday and today, it's been viral mania. And everybody's like, oh, this guy's a liar. Like, I can't believe it. Like, you know, it's that type of thing. But I looked at it today, this morning, when I got in the car and I said, man, this is crazy. You believe this guy who tells this story raises food and money for Haiti just last weekend and gets back to the community and this and that. It's just such a contradiction. Yeah. And so Puerto Rico, we send a million pounds of women's hygiene, food, water, when they had the hurricane.
1:13:57You know, it was four airplanes we sent over there. Just last year, some Muslims from the Bronx, 17 of them died in a fire. We raised over$2 million for them. And so we just constantly, but you know me, it's like to the point out there, be careful what you wish for because as soon as something happens, they're knocking on that door. And they're like, yo, Joe. And I'm like, all right, I'm with you guys. What we doing, man? How we raising the money? How we going to make this happen? But I love that. You know, I'll tell you a story. Yeah. One day I'm driving by myself, and I'm in the Rolls Royce, and I got to get gas, and I pull over in the Bronx.
1:14:40That's where I'm from. you let me tell it I'm the king of the Bronx. And so I go to the Bronx, I go to gas station. I go in the gas station to get me a water. When I'm coming out, there's a homeless guy there. Now, this guy ain't homeless by choice. He ain't one of these hobos. He's homeless. You know, all you want. He's real. I'm at wit's end, right? And so he comes up, he says, Fat Joe. And I said, could we curse on this? Yeah, yeah, of course. So he says, Fat Joe. and you fly, mother, you. You fly, mother, right? He's dead homeless. He says, I don't want no money. I don't want no money. So I'm like, yo, what's up?
1:15:24He's like, I just want you to know a homeless man is the closest to the street. We know what you do out here for us. We know how you take care of us. I got so emotional that day driving home. I was like, but that's what it's about. When you got a homeless dude talking about, yo, I don't want no money, but I know what you do for us. I know how you take care of us. I'm like, wow. That's what it's all about. You know what I'm saying? Absolutely, absolutely. And that's, I think doing good in silence is what real doing good is. Because, you know, then you're really doing it for the people. Then you're really doing it for the people that you're serving.
1:16:07I have a lot of friends, Muslim friends, And, you know, I'm Christian, right? But a lot of my best friends are Muslims. And they're very successful. But they have big hearts. And they give back so much. And they never brag. They never say, I gave this. I never gave that. I never gave this. You know, a whole different culture. And so, you know, I've seen them, the way they move. You know, I love how they move with how they give back to their community. You know, and they're not trying to shame their community by giving back. They just, you know, embrace them, give it, let's move on. Just thank God that we can give back.
1:16:56That's the whole thing. Yeah. You know, you got to thank God that he gave you an opportunity to give back. And I believe, you know, I went to a funeral one time and, you know, it hit me. Well, I knew this before that, but it was Reverend Al Sharpton. He was at a funeral and he said, you know, when you die, nobody cares what car you drive. Nobody cares what clothes you had. Nobody cares what this. What they want to know is what did you do for the people? and it resonated with me so much because it's like, what are you doing for the people? You know, we happy for you. You're successful. You're living a great life.
1:17:43But what did you do? How did you come back and give to the community? How did you come and change lives? How did you mentor people? How did you put people, give them jobs so that, you know, in my store, two of my three stores, I own two stores, two of my stores that manages the single parent mothers one of them just bought her first house and she called me one day i get it joe man i'm so happy i bought my first house i know what you mean now joe when you like yo you know you know we're doing this so you could change your life so these impactful stories uh they make they make the legacy yeah they make everything and that's how i look at it yeah do you think do you think hip-hop's changing slightly when you look at like j cole apologizing after uh you know he got involved in the beef and then he stepped back and he actually said oh you know what i was being an old version of me that's not me anymore i don't know if you saw that video i love well me you know the biggest thing is just yesterday you know i had one of the biggest most dangerous rap beats with 50 cent i was sitting next to him yeah the game having the best time in the world.
1:18:54We're brothers. I get that. But when you call down in hip-hop, you gotta respond. And so I'm a big fan of J. Cole, but it started from that. So I see he probably saw that it could get real messy and real ugly. And so he said, yo, you know what? This ain't me. I don't want no parts of it. But he definitely got a stripe off his, you know, whatever. He's a sergeant or whatever he is. The corporal, they took a stripe off for that because in hip hop, they call you out, you come out. You know, that's just what it is. That's the sport. That's the sport. You got to come out. And a guy like him, he was, you know, he was a king.
1:19:35Yeah, he's so talented. You know, he's so talented. He's a king. So it was like, wow, Cole, you did that? But I get it. I get all scenarios. He was mature enough to think past the lyrical beef and say, yo, this might turn physical. Yeah. And also it felt like he was kind of like, that's just not the energy he wants to play in anymore. Like, that's just not. I'm not mad at him. Yeah. I'm just saying from a real hip hop artist, you know, I've been called out and I got to step up, even if I think the artist is a million times better than me. You know, it's crazy because I remember one time a funny battle was Everlast.
1:20:14You remember I jump around, him and Eminem. Eminem I think called him out But he came out Like Everlast said his rhyme It was incredible And he moved You know you gotta come out You know hip hop You talking all this Somebody calls you out You gotta step out Yeah yeah Okay interesting So the sport is the sport I love J. Cole Yeah I'm a huge fan of him I get it from a mature standpoint But also you know hip hop You got to bring the sword out when it's time. Got it. That's what it's about. Yeah. Well, we were saying earlier that you were the, we were in the J-Lo movie together. You play this prominent role of being J-Lo.
1:20:57Therapist. Therapist. You're in the movie too. Yeah, I'm in the movie too. I play, what am I? I forgot, what is it? What is it? I got the big horns. A god or something, right? Yeah, yeah. I forgot which one. I forget which astrological side am I. I forgot. I'm in the big Aries, maybe. Anyway, yeah. I'm one of the astrological signs. And you play the therapist, but it sounds like you've been on, would you say you've been on somewhat of a spiritual journey, a healing journey across your life? Man, my whole life. Man, God has had his hand on me. I've been shot at maybe 30, 40 times. There's times I deserved it.
1:21:31There's times I seen the bullet go like this, and I knew God was there. And so that's why you say, Joe, why you helped the people? I mean, Jesus, man, this guy saved my life so many times. like stuff that I was supposed to go down for and I never did. And so I'm like, wow, I'm just so grateful to God that I got to help the people. I got to spread the message. I got to say I'm faithful to Jesus Christ. That's my God, my Lord and Savior. And so, you know, my whole life is a spiritual journey. And just me being a leader in my community, you know how many people's lives I saved? You know how many killers came to me and was like, yo, could I talk to you?
1:22:14Yeah, homeboy dissed me. I'm going to kill him. And I sat with him. And literally, I'll tell you I don't drink, sat with him all night and drank Hennessy with him to convince him not to kill that guy. And that guy never knew that I'm the guy who convinced this guy not to kill that guy. I don't even like that guy. But I don't want my friend to go to jail. So I'm like, yo, bro, here you go. Nah, that ain't it. Don't worry, God will deal with that guy, this, this, this. Usually, I'm serious. You know what I mean? It's a different world. I've been a therapist my whole life, talking people off the edge.
1:22:49I'm telling you, man. Like, yo, you know, it's like, forget about it. I got a friend now. He's fighting cancer. Shout out Pretty Lou. It came back. It went away. It came back. Now he just got the thing, thing, thing. And, you know, I got to go in there. You know, now I got to go to the, he says, you're on the list. Beside my wife, you're the only person in the world on the list. You got hundreds of friends, but I'm the one on the list. I'm the guy that got to go in there and pray with Pretty Lou and see him fighting the cancer and this. And so it's tough for me. People don't really realize. In all one day's work, I'll come do this.
1:23:27I'll go to an old lady I know's funeral after, pay for the funeral, then go and make a song later. And like, you know, my life is crazy. So it's almost like I'm a hip hop evangelist at all times though. Like this is every single day. You know what I mean? Where I gotta, you know, I can't just be Fat Joe the rapper. I gotta go and heal the people in a strange way. And you got a new business venture too, right? Like that's part of... Why fight the time when you can rewind the time? That's a great picture of you. Now listen, let me tell you something. You don't need it now, but one day you might need it.
1:24:09I'm going to be very happy about it. And if your wife tells you she loves the salt and pepper, she's lying. You got to stay in the game. Got it. Guys, why fight the time when you can rewind the time? It's rewind it. It's the number one product. We have it in Sally's Beauty. It's the number one product, man or female. and so we got rid of the stigma we got Travis Kelsey on the box we got Tyson Beckford one of the biggest supermodels in the world we got DJ Khaled I mean John Carlo Novella famous guy and so you know I've been uh the one thing you can bully me or clown me for is I hate white hair and so since I was 27 I was getting white hair and I've been using all these other products Some of them will burn my skin.
1:24:56Some of them, it ain't true to color. If I get a brown, it'll look purple. You know, they clown me on Twitter. Joe got the shoe polish on again. So I wanted to be, create a product along with my sister Carolyn Aronson and Jeff Aronson. They own It's a Tense. They own women's hair products. It's the billion-dollar company. So we're best friends. We've been on vacation with each other for 15, 16 years. My wife and her are best friends. and I was like, yo, Canada, let's make a product. And it's moving. It's gone. Let's stop, man. I think in another year, it'll be everywhere, you know? Yeah, no one wants to get bullied for having purple hair or like some orange color.
1:25:35We got to get rid of the stigma. Even me, when I used to go in there, I used to sneak in there almost like I was buying my wife some. When your wife tells you to buy some tampons, that's like recon, bro. You diving through the aisles, you rolling on the floor, you don't want nobody to see you. You go up to the counter at CVS, you like, Get me out of here. It's the same thing with hair coloring, with men's hair coloring. Nobody wants to know. But we getting rid of the stigma of it because men were really ashamed to say they were doing it. But I had some artists I stepped to to get on the box, and they were like, yeah, I don't do that.
1:26:09I'm like, bro, you fully rewind. You got to be kidding me, bro. You don't use the product. You know, you're 50-something, your lines are like this, this, this. Like, yo, bro, all right. You can tell. One million percent. Yeah, you can tell. I'm like a detective. One thing I can tell is not in a terrible way. You do what you want. It ain't my fault. But I can tell Botox, and I can tell men's hair coloring. I just don't know why I can just tell. I'm like, all right. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, let's keep it real. If you 60 years old looking 30, you're doing something. You know, it is what it is.
1:26:53Smokey Robinson, the living legend, the icon, he looked 23 still. You know, I mean, I'm not disrespecting him. I'm saying, you know, that's what he feels. And, you know, he wants to look young till he dies. I respect that. Ain't got no problem with that. Yeah. For you as well. I mean, you went on your whole weight loss journey. Yeah, I had to. I'd be dead by now. What was that? Like, why did that become such? The first thing was Big Pun died right from a heart attack, 20-something. You know, only people I knew that died were, like, murdered. And, you know, being 27 and dying because of your weight, that was, like, half the journey because I was 480 pounds at one time.
1:27:33Yeah. That was half of it. Then I had another friend who was another guy 20-something years old. He passed away of a heart attack. I went to the funeral. He had a daughter like me. He was funnier than me. and when I sat there, it was almost like an episode of Ebenezer Scrooge where he'd take you back to look at your life. So I looked at it, I was like, oh, this is me next. So I had no choice but to, you know, work out, eat right, stay off the carbs. You know, I went through all that. How did you set all those habits up? Because those are hard things. Like, people struggle. Like, this is a struggle.
1:28:10You got to live. It was just pure motivation from that. Yeah, you want to live. You know, people tell me all the time, you're not so fat, Joe. I just say, yo, I just want to live. And so this world is so beautiful that I just want to live. And every day I wake up, I call some of my friends. I'm like, you believe we got another day? You believe we got another day? And so I just want to live. So health is wealth. And you could be, I got a friend, he caught a terrible infection, right? This guy's a billionaire. He got a boat bigger than this building. He got everything he want. But we thought he was dying for like a year and a half.
1:28:52They couldn't find this affection. He got skinny. He was just IVs on him, this and this and that. And so thank God he snapped back and they found it, what it was. But, I mean, that's the true meaning of health is wealth. If you ain't got your health and you got all the money in the world, you can smile at it all you want. But if you ain't got your health, you ain't got nothing. How long did it take you? What was that process like? Oh, these are years, bro. This was years. At one time, when I was really on it, I used to work out maybe three times a day. Three times a day? Three times a day. I was addicted.
1:29:28And if I flew to Vegas to do a show, I'd go straight in the gym. I wouldn't need a cracker. There was that one time I wouldn't need a cracker. I was just like, you know, and every day with a trainer. My man, his name was the Mind Muscle Connection. He'd be like, Mind Muscle Connection. And he would come and do all that stuff, pushing the 18-wheel attire in the middle of 90-degree weather, box, just, you know, I did it all, you know. And then eventually you learn how to eat. Because at the end of the day, the carbs is killing us. So it's bread when you eat it. Say you take a salty pretzel, it turns into sugar.
1:30:10rice turns into sugar pasta turns into sugar all these things you don't know I've met people who say yo I'm diabetic and they like I don't even eat sweets but they don't realize that these carbs they're eating is actually going in your body as sugar so I had to teach myself how to eat you know now every time I eat I eat defensively if I eat bad it's because I really want to eat bad But other than that, I'm defense. So I'm like, if I get a rice and chicken. So yesterday I bought a, it was kind of whack too, a yellow rice with lobster, right? And then I brought it to my house. I ate the lobster and might have touched the rice.
1:30:56Like tip, tip, the whole thing in the garbage. You know, if I eat sushi, the least rice in the world, don't try to bring the rice, this, this, that. Everything I'm eating is defense. Everything is defense. Everything is like, yo, try to stay away from the carb. Try to stay away from the carb. Get the chicken with the salad. It's an amazing transformation, man. It's like the way you brush your teeth. Yeah. Hopefully everybody here brushes their teeth. Twice a day. As soon as you wake up. Twice a day. As soon as you wake up, you got to brush your teeth, right? That's number one, right? And so that's how I eat.
1:31:31Now I eat like, you know, even if I went and got a sandwich right now, somehow I would eat one part of the bread and the three parts of the bread is still there, but I ate the meat with the... That's how we do, right, Rich? That's how we do all the time. It's an amazing transformation, man. Thank you, brother. It's amazing. It's inspiring for others as well. That's weird, right? Making it possible. Because I still feel like me. So even though I slimmed up, I still feel like the same person. So when people tell me all the time, yo, Joe, you look... I'm like, what are they talking about? Like, I'm still...
1:32:02What's that movie? Hello, Shout? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, shallow how, shallow. I'm shallow how, man. I look in the mirror, I'm still Fat Joe. I'm like, yo, this day they'll be like, yo, you lost weight, not so fat job. I'll be like, yo, what's these guys talking about? I'm shallow how, you know? It's crazy. It's great. Joe, it's been such a joy talking to you, man. Thank you for your time, your energy. Appreciate it, man. We end every episode with a final five. These have to be answered in one word to one sentence maximum. As a poet and a rapper, I'm sure this is very doable. but Fat Joe these are your fast final five so question one is what is the best advice you've ever heard or received don't stop keep going and that's that's from DJ Khaled nice don't stop keep going they want you to stop they want you to stop he's that you know he's the guy I tell him and he said you can't just can't impress Khaled so if I tell him yo I just got a TV show don't stop keep going keep going nice so he keeps me motivated i like that let's go okay second question what's the worst advice you've ever heard or received i would say the worst advice i ever received was drugs are good yo these drugs are good nah not worth it i'm good question number three if they make a movie about your life who's going to play you It's going to be a young, handsome Spanish, Latino guy for sure.
1:33:33And I'm going to pick him out. I'm going to make sure this guy is fly as hell. But I don't believe we have one out there yet. I don't believe the guy who plays Fat Joe is a star yet. It'll be somebody we'll host, do a casting. They're not born yet. They're born. But we don't know them yet. They're walking around Brooklyn. They're walking around L.A. They're walking around Chicago. aspiring artists, but they haven't been on TV or movies yet. I've never seen a guy on TV and said, oh, this fat Joe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Question number four, when you were referring to movies that it feels like your life has been sometimes, what's a movie that's already out there that you think is the best depiction of what it was like?
1:34:16I'm a movie guy. Yeah, I'm a movie guy too. That's what I'm asking. I love movies. Bronx Tale? Godfather. Godfather, okay. Go straight there. Now I'm at that Michael Colleone phase. You know what I'm saying? I got to move in silence now. This is tricky out here. I got to be Michael right now. It's so crazy. Just last week, I was thinking to myself, I said, all right, now, this is Michael Colleone time. It's just so wicked out there. You got to think like Michael. You know what I mean? So I would say Godfather. But Bronx Tale is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. I learned a lot from Bronx Tale.
1:34:55You know, I got shot one time. I know we can't go into that now. But the guy owed me$10, and I kept harassing him. And the guy was so scared of me that he came back and shot me out of fear. So you see in the movie Bronx Tale, when he kept, Collodio kept chasing the guy that owed him$2. And Sonny the Don told him, yo, you got rid of him for$2. I should have learned that in the Bronx Tale. You know, so I love movies because I always learn so much from movies. Yeah, nice. And fifth and final question, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? One law that everybody else, it would be give back to the less fortunate.
1:35:38You know, I got friends that are billionaires. I got a friend. I can't tell you who he is. He's bigger than everything, bigger than rap and everything. This guy's big. His backyard is the beach. he has like maybe a 200 million dollar house in the backyard is a beach guy published over 60 books you read his books and he told me you know he looked at me he said man you you too generous man like what it says the guy with a billion dollars he's like he says i'm not like you i'm not as good as you i see how you always giving back and all that he says i'm not he's like nah i don't give back. He said, you know what?
1:36:21When I die, my grandchildren, I got them all college. That's it. They're not getting my money, you know. I'm like, wow. You know, so I would tell everybody to give back. Have a kind heart. Give back to the less fortunate. If you ain't got nothing to give back, give back your time. Whatever you can do for your community, you need to do that, man. And try to mentor the youth. Always try to tell them the right thing. I've been seeing you a lot in Washington DC lately as well so tell us about what's going on there. Just fighting health price transparency you know I teamed up with an organization Power to the Patients.
1:37:00One of my friends is the founder Kevin Mora he's been there he's been my friend for over 20 years so he told me what's going on in America and how many people there's over 100 million Americans in debt due to health pricing. It's 100 million. They were 300 million, right? So that's one in three. And people losing their families. You know, when you go to the hospital, you sign over a waiver that says if you can't pay, they could take your property. And, you know, I read up on this Amish family where they had a granddaughter and she needed a kidney and they were afraid to take her to the hospital and sign the papers because they were afraid of losing the farm to get her a kidney.
1:37:48Wow. And, you know, people are scared to go to the doctor because of the price. So you see, you walk around New York, you see people limping, people just getting worse and worse because they, what do you do? You send your kid to college or you fix your leg? Yeah. Or, you know, and this is going on like crazy And, you know, there's actually a law out there that says you got to enforce and you got to tell people the price when they're going there. And for some reason, they're not enforcing this. And so we're bringing awareness. So I've been going to Hollywood. Yeah, that's what Washington is sort of like Hollywood.
1:38:26Right. So I've been going to Washington, dealing with all the politicians trying to get a law passed. and Senator Braun and Bernie Sanders came up with a law where it finally says you have to tell us the prices. Not estimates. Estimates are BS. We want to know what it is. And, you know, what does that do for you? It creates competition. Say I got to go somewhere, I got to get an MRI. I pull up my three favorite hospitals. One of them is, believe it or not, one of them will be$1 ,200. One of them will be$28 ,000. One of them will be$7 ,800. Of course I'm going with the 1 ,200. But it makes competition.
1:39:06Now they can charge you whatever they want. So shout out the powers to the patients and all the politicians. Let's make this happen. Yeah, that's needed. I mean, I moved from London to the U.S. eight years ago. And in London we have the National Health Service, the NHS, which is available for everyone for free. And then you have private health care if you want, like, you know, a particular service, level of service. You want a sweet look in that Big Ben. Totally, yeah. That costs you more. But that's the funny thing. The private healthcare in England is actually private in the sense of it's an elevated experience.
1:39:41Whereas private healthcare here is like, even when I moved here and I was playing like$5 ,000, $10 ,000 a year. Oh, man. You're like, it doesn't. And you don't even get nothing. Yeah, you don't get anything. Every time I go for a prescription, it's like I'm still paying the same thing. Yeah, I know, yeah. It's all a gimmick. Yeah, it's amazing. It's all a gimmick, man. So we're bringing awareness to it. It's shining a light on it. That's brilliant, man. No, that's really important. Yeah, I feel that. I mean, I need to find a way to, I can't, yeah, it's so sad to see how many people are on the streets or struggling because they can't afford their medical.
1:40:09It's a fact. Yeah, it's painful. Thank you for doing that. That's amazing. How can people support, help? How can they learn, actually? How can people learn? You can follow Power to the Patients. We're always informing on Instagram, on social media. And we out there, man. We out there. We're in their faces. We're going to get the job done and help the people. This is another way of, you know, helping the people, using my voice. You know, I used to say I'm a voice for the voiceless But now I say I'm a voice For those unheard Meaning there's people, they got a voice It's just you can't hear them Well said, thank you so much, man Appreciate you We did it, baby We did it finally It's in the books If this is the year that you're trying to get creative You're trying to build more I need you to listen to this episode with Rick Rubin on how to break into your most creative self, how to use unconventional methods that lead to success, and the secret to genuinely loving what you do.
1:41:09If you're trying to find your passion and your lane, Rick Rubin's episode is the one for you. Just because I like it, that doesn't give it any value. Like as an artist, if you like it, that's all of the value. That's the success comes when you say, I like this enough for other people to see it. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 % and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. This is Jason Timp from Hoops Tonight. Toyota is moving forward to a more sustainable future by giving you the freedom to choose from an incredible lineup of trucks now available in both gas and hybrid models, including the legendary Tacoma, the powerful Tundra, both available with the iForce Max Hybrid Powertrain and backed by Toyota's legendary reputation for reliability.
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1:42:40Offers may vary. Visit Safeway.com for more details. This is an iHeart Podcast.
From the publisher
What was your biggest challenge after hitting rock bottom?
How did you manage to overcome your failures?
Today, let's welcome the one and only Fat Joe, a renowned American rapper and music industry executive. He began his music career in the early 1990s and quickly gained recognition with his debut album "Represent" in 1993, featuring the hit single "Flow Joe." Fat Joe has played a crucial role in promoting other artists, notably Big Pun, who achieved significant success before his untimely death. His journey from the streets of the Bronx to international stardom is a testament to his talent, perseverance, and enduring impact on the world of hip hop.
Fat Joe provides an honest look at the gritty realities of his early life, including hustling for money and living through dangerous encounters. He shares how the aggressive nature of hip hop initially required him to hide his true, more personable self behind a tough exterior. However, he credits the genre for saving his life and offering a legitimate path out of the streets.
The conversation takes a turn as Fat Joe talks about the devastating losses he endured, including the deaths of his sister, Big Pun, and his grandfather, all within a short span. These tragedies plunged him into a deep depression, from which he emerged with the help of therapy, highlighting the importance of mental health and seeking help. Despite facing financial mismanagement and betrayals, Fat Joe maintains his integrity and commitment to his values.
In this interview, you'll learn:
How to balance career and family
How turn negative experiences into positives
How to build a resilient mindset
How to give back to your community
How to stay true to yourself
Fat Joe's story is a source of inspiration, demonstrating that with determination and support, it is possible to overcome adversity and achieve lasting success and happiness.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
Special thanks to Soho Home at Soho Works 55 Water where the taping took place.
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
02:04 Earliest Childhood Memory
03:52 Bullying
07:53 Developing resilience
08:37 Life and Death Choices
09:51 Thug Life
12:42 Ambition to Succeed
16:43 Figure It Out
22:03 Family Tree
27:43 Losing Family Over Addiction
31:57 Loss and Grief
39:21 Sister Love
41:13 Big Pun
46:56 Financial Literacy
50:19 Take Care of Your Parents
52:13 Money and Trust
56:25 Stick Around
57:44 Kids with Special Needs
01:02:30 Channeling Energy Through Music
01:04:30 Interview Gone VIral
01:08:30 Doing Good in Silence
01:11:05 The HipHop Culture
01:13:30 Spiritual and Healing Journey
01:16:34 Hair Care
01:19:47 Weight Loss
01:25:02 Joe on Final Five
Episode Resources:
Fat Joe | Instagram
Fat Joe | TikTok
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


