Kool Moe's book

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I figured I'd bump this thread up since I've been getting back to reading a little bit more these days, I wanted to post Kool Moe Dee's thoughts on Fat Joe since we've been talking about him a lot on the board lately with his new mixtape on the way:

-#46- Fat Joe "The Puerto Rican Rhyme Don"

"Everybody talk gats
Really don't pack 'em
98 percent of these rappers is all actors
Stay frontin'
Like you wild out and spray somethin'
Come to find out
You ain't never slayed nothin'
Think it's a game, gone lose the sport
I seen dudes get bruised through fought
Then choose the court
They just pursued the course
If you even think of bustin' their ass
They'd sue ya thoughts"

Believe it or not, Fat Joe is a pioneer. No, he's not the first successful puerto rican emcee. That would be Ruby Dee of the Fantastic Romantic Five. He's also not even the first highly acclaimed Puerto Rican emcee. That would be the devastating Tito of the Fearless Four. And yes, Gerardo had pop success, Kid Frost had the streets in the West, and B-Real of Cypress Hill is an icon in the Mexican and Latino Hip-Hop communities. But Fat Joe is the true Puerto Rican soloist to cross over into the predominatly African-American world of Hip-Hop. Fat Joe, aka Joey Crack, aka Don Cartegena, is accepted as a lyricist, an emcee, and a hard-core artist in the tightly knit underground level of the Hip-Hop world. He's respected on the streets for the credibility of his lyrical content. He's the essence of "keep it real". When he first hit the scene in the early to mid-'90s, the same credibility he is now respected for was viewed as problematic. The press was just beginning to turn the heat up on gangsta rap and practitioners of its music. Add to the equation Joe's uncompromising rhyme style, and small scale independent label relativity, and you had a prescription for failure. However, with shoetring album and video budgets, Joe persevered. With marginal underground hits and guerilla style management via Mick Benzo, Fat Joe was able to maintain a street presence that would ultimately pay off for him in the long run.
Ironically, in the beginning, Fat Joe wasn't really that good of an emcee. I can honestly say he's one of the emcees who worked his way up lyrically. With each LP you could clearly see growth. He hit his stride in the late '90s with the Terror Squad and Big Pun. Soon Fat Joe was on multiple collaborations and shining every time out. At the end of the millenium he signed with Atlantic/Big Beat and finally had some real money behind him. Suddenly Fat Joe had the breakthrough "Bet Ya Man Can't". This was the beggining of Fat Joe showing his diversity as an emcee. On his earlier works, 1993's "Represent" and 1995's "Jealous Ones Envy", Joe semed to only be concerned with keeping it gangsta. However, as all emcees find out, no matter how lofty our dreams of being a real emcee may be, nine times out of ten, one cannot survive the game without hit records. This is one of the hardest jobs that the newer emcees have to face. Keeping your deal is job one. Fat Joe had figured it out. In 2001, he dropped J.O.S.E., the cleverly self-titled acronym "Jealous Ones Still Envy." The single "We Thuggin'" with R. Kelly transitioned Joe from a respected emcee into a Hip-Hop star.
What's great about this situation is that because of Joe's lyrical abilities, he never had to sacrifice his reputation,or compromise his lyrical integrity to make the hits. Many times emcees take a total departure from everything they represent, as they attempt to chase that elusive hit. Not only did Joe not do that, but he enhanced his image. He added the player persona to the thug persona upgraded his lyrical skills. He followed the formula that Puffy created with Notorious B.I.G., gave the radio a couple of Spoonie G-type love songs, played up the player energy for the ladies, and the rest of the album gully and hard-core. Fat Joe followed this formula again on the 2002 release of Loyalty and once again he delivered.
There was once a skeptical school of thought about Joe's ability to succeed without the help of Big Pun. Sometimes the pundits are too cynical. Not only did Fat Joe succeed, but he superseded all expectations. DEFINITELY ONE OF THE FIFTY GREATEST EMCEES.

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On another note like Turntable mentioned this book should be updated, I'd love to see his thoughts on the newer mcs like BOB, J. Cole, and Jay-Electronica as well, maybe Kool Moe Dee could release an update of this book when he drops his new album...