Tariq Nasheed Explains The Backlash Fat Joe Received From Foundational Black Americans

Tariq Nasheed has responded to the backlash that Fat Joe faced for his controversial comments on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion show. Moreover, for those unaware, Joey Crack called Foundational Black Americans (FBA) “radical Black racists” who are trying to downplay his identity and making up narratives around him. Nasheed is in strong disagreement with Joe’s sentiments about Black culture and Latin American culture, particularly Puerto Ricans, creating hip-hop “50/50.” For the most part in his response, the filmmaker called out what he sees as lies in people’s arguments against FBAs and other common cultural misconceptions on both sides.

Furthermore, this is just one small corner of much wider cultural conversations between so many different groups across or adjacent to Black culture and identity, something that this white-passing Puerto Rican writer, to quote Justin Hunte, is not in the position to properly contextualize. But Fat Joe is far from the only hip-hop artist that Tariq Nasheed has smoke for these days, as he also made some divisive comments about Sexyy Red earlier in 2024. He believes that white supremacists are pushing her because she, in his opinion, represents a negative image of Black culture.

In addition, there are some other Fat Joe takes that might rub Tariq Nasheed or others the wrong way, as his assessment of this past year in rap music also prompted critical responses. “I woke up 2024 feeling like [God dammit!] It’s been a horrible year,” he said of hip-hop this year. “I was just having a heated discussion with my people [about this]. All our legends. All our mentors getting scrutinized. This is the worst time to be a celebrity in history. I’m not sure you guys wanna be celebrities. […] This might be the worst year ever in hip hop history type s**t. This s**t bad.”

Meanwhile, Tariq Nasheed also brought up his Microphone Check documentary against Fat Joe, which also seeks to debunk his claims. As you can tell, these are very difficult cultural conversations that could be much more fruitful and beneficial if folks didn’t take such stubborn or staunch stances. Hopefully combative clap-backs instead turn into more direct dialogue in 2025.