In a move that marks an important reconciliation between former foes, Fat Joe is joining Jay Z’s Roc Nation.
On Wednesday (Jan. 18), Don Cartagena’s publicist issued a statement on the news, calling Joey Crack’s upcoming Plata o Plomo project with Remy Ma his “first release after joining the Roc Nation management family.”
This is another sign of harmony between Jay Z and Fat Joe, following a longtime feud. Crack alluded to this on “All the Way Up (Remix),” which featured Hov and was released via TIDAL. “They ain’t wanna see the Squad and the Roc,” he rapped.
Their past differences date back to the 1990s, when a fight between Terror Squad and Roc-A-Fella reportedly broke out. Former T.S. member Cuban Link later revealed that Memphis Bleek and/or other members of the Roc initiated the infamous confrontation.
“Bleek rocked ni**as with a bottle,” he said in a 2013 interview with Forbez DVD. “Bleek rocked somebody from Terror Squad with a bottle…I’m not sure, even, if Bleek is the one who did it, but it was definitely Bleek and them. Somebody from, at the time, our camp Terror Squad, got rocked with a bottle. Ni**as came back to the V.I.P. bleeding and then after that, ni**as got it popping. Ni**as started chasing the whole Roc-A-Fella…And some other ni**as from Roc-A-Fella got hit with bottles and they got fucked up. They got chased out…Jay wasn’t even there.”
According to Cuban — who has since sparked his own feud with Fat Joe — the bad blood carried over when Big Pun and Fat Joe later met with Jay Z. “They had a little private meeting after that situation happened,” he said. “Joe and Pun went to meet [Jay] inside a room…Jay was a track star inside the room, around a couch. That’s what I know. Those are things everybody don’t know, but I know. He was by himself too…Who wouldn’t run around a couch? In Jay Z’s defense, Jay did see me one time at a DMX listening party. He came up to me…He said, ‘It was never personal.’ Even with Pun, Pun’s beef with Jay was never personal. It was more of what Joe was implicating and putting in his head. It was more jealousy towards Jay. It wasn’t even real shit where they had a situation. Joe always felt like Jay was telling Joe’s story, like he was the real ni**a and Jay was fake.”
The feud continued into the 2000s and in 2003, Joe’s Terror Squad basketball team met Hov’s S. Carter squad at the famed Rucker Park in New York. Revolt called this “one of the most infamous tournaments” ever to take place at the park, one that only heightened tensions between the two camps. A delay caused Hov to forfeit and Joe would gloat about the win on “Lean Back.”
“Kay keep tellin’ me to speak about the Rucker,” he rapped. “Matter of fact, I don’t wanna speak about the Rucker / Not even Pee Wee Kirkland could imagine this / My ni**as didn’t have to play to win the championship.”
Cooler heads have since prevailed and a truce followed when “All the Way Up (Remix)” came to fruition with the help of Memphis Bleek and Noreaga.
“I reached out to N.O.R.E, because he had a serious relationship with Memphis Bleek,” Pun told AllHipHop. “He got Bleek on the phone, and I told Bleek about the plans. He called Jay Z, and Jay Z called me back in like five minutes. He said, ‘Let’s’ do it. I can’t wait.’ The rest was history.”
Following the song’s release, Joey told Billboard why this was such an important collaboration. “It had to happen,” he said. “It was something on my bucket list forever. God blessed us and it came true. I couldn’t sleep this morning because I’m so happy for the people.”
