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Margaret Hargrove: Hi, Audible listeners. This is Audible Editor Margaret Hargrove, and I'm so excited to be here today with one of my favorite music artists, Fat Joe. Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, founded the Terror Squad rap collective in the 1990s, which featured artists including Remy Ma, DJ Khaled, and the late great Big Pun, best known for hits like “Lean Back,” “What's Luv?,” “All the Way Up,” and my personal favorite, “Sunshine (The Light).” His memoir, , follows Joe's journey from South Bronx street-hustler to Grammy-nominated lyricist. Thank you for joining me today, Joe. Welcome to Audible.
Fat Joe: Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here with you today. I'm really excited about the book, The Book of Jose. I kept it all the way transparent, because I seen people pass away and other people tell their story, and tell it incorrect and it wasn't factual. I wanted to make sure I did it right for the people, and I wanted to be transparent. I wanted you to know about my darkest times, depressions, suicidal thoughts, triumphs, and just let everybody know that you could go through dark times, but just know you could smile again one day. And that's the main importance about the book.
MH: After years of telling your story through music, why did you decide to write a memoir now?
FJ: Well, to be honest with you, the reason why me, Jay-Z, and Meek Mill signed a bill, because prosecutors are trying to use music against our young brothers and sisters. Music is a creativity thing. We use our imagination. We exaggerate a lot. So, you're not getting the true story of Fat Joe. So, the memoir is totally a true story. The one fear I had about making this book was people wouldn't believe the stories, because it's action-packed from the beginning to the end. And so the book is much different than music.
"The one fear I had about making this book was people wouldn't believe the stories, because it's action-packed from the beginning to the end."
MH: Was there a moment that made you feel like now is the time? You mentioned losing people and having other people tell your stories. Is there one moment that you woke up that day and said, “Okay, I'm going to write a memoir”?
FJ: No, I always wanted to do it, and I knew I would do it. But everything's just God's timing. God was like, "Now's the time, bro." I think to your point, maybe when I turned 50 years old, there was a sense of maturity. Now, I feel like I was ignorant all the way up to 49.9 years old, and once I hit 50, I was like, "All right, I got to be an elder statesman. I got to guide the youth, I got to tell them the truth." I'm extremely proud of this book. One of my best friends on earth is DJ Khaled, and I remember sitting with him in the pool—we were on vacation, our families together in the the Bahamas—and I just went up to him like a little kid, and I was like, "Yo, I just finished writing my book. It's everything. It's what I wanted my whole life." I'm just so proud of the book, and I think that people will learn my story and they'll learn a lot from my mistakes.
