Fat Joe Declares 2024 “The Worst Year In Hip Hop History”
Fat Joe has been extremely active in 2024. The Terror Squad founder has been on countless podcasts and hosted the BET Awards. He met with Vice President Kamala Harris, and performed during the World Series. He also dropped a new album, The World Changed on Me. The title of the album is an excellent indicator of the way Fat Joe feels about the current rap landscape. He may still be relevant, but he feels that the genre has never been worse in terms of cultural impact.
Fat Joe delivered this hot take during a recent appearance on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast. He reflected on the year in hip hop, and felt that the musical output was not up to snuff. “I woke up 2024 feeling like [God dammit!] It’s been a horrible year,” the “Lean Back” rapper asserted. “I was just having a heated discussion with my people [about this].” Fat Joe wasn’t simply let down by the music, though. He also felt that the scrutiny that hip hop legends like Diddy and Jay-Z have come under has also damaged the genre’s reputation.
Fat Joe Claims Rappers Are More “Scrutinized”
“All our legends. All our mentors getting scrutinized,” Fat Joe asserted. “This is the worst time to be a celebrity in history. I’m not sure you guys wanna be celebrities.” Joe came up at the very same time as Diddy and Jay-Z. He even had a multi-year feud with Jay and Roc-A-Fella Records in the late 90s and early 2000s. He’s unhappy with the way their personal lives have impacted the culture, however. It’s the combination of music and scandal that led to Joey Crack’s massive declaration. “This might be the worst year ever in hip hop history type sh*t,” he stated. “This sh*t bad.”
Fat Joe admitted that he’s been forced to acclimate to the current rap landscape during a Breakfast Club interview. He told the hosts that he’s changed. “My circle gets smaller and smaller and smaller,” Fat Joe explained. “You know, unfortunately, sometimes people we love, we catch them doing things they ain’t supposed to do. So we got to get them up out the way. And that’s hard.” Hopefully Fat Joe can be part of the change he wants to see happen.
About The Author
Elias Andrews is a music and entertainment writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH in 2024 as the lead night shift contributor, which means he covers new music releases on a weekly basis.
In the year since joining, Elias has covered some of the biggest and most turbulent stories in the world of music. He covered the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle, and the release of the disses “Family Matters” and “Meet the Grahams,” in particular, in real time. He has also detailed the ongoing list of allegations and criminal charges made against Diddy.
Elias’ favorite artists are Andre 3000, MF Doom, pre-808s Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator. He loves L.A. hip-hop but not L.A. sports teams. The first album he ever bought was Big Willie Style by Will Smith, which he maintains is still a pretty good listen.
…