Legendary rapper Fat Joe has lost a lot of weight over the past decade. But he says he’s definitely not losing “Fat” from his name.
“As a business I spent so many millions and millions of dollars marketing Fat Joe that it wouldn’t be smart to change my name now,” he told us an a tenth anniversary party for It’s A Ten haircare.
Meanwhile, he said he’s won the name at the cost of some pretty serious teasing.
“I grew up in the projects where there was no filter,” he said. “When the teacher would, say, write something on the chalkboard I was always big so the crack of [my butt] would show. So the girls would be like yeah Joey Crack and that’s how I kept my name.”
The 52-year-old father of three showed up to celebrate the store’s milestone with its CEO Carolyn Aronson.
Aronson made headlines back in 2020 when she became pregnant at 53, prompting Joe to tell us that he’s proud that his industry allows some of its most successful women to be mothers as well as superstars.
“It’s important for women to know that you can have a baby and still be a successful business woman. We seen Cardi B do it, we seen Remy Ma do it, we see Nicki Minaj do it. You can be successful and still have a kid.”
“I think women in hip-hop thinking they can’t have babies is something that is in the past and that thinking was something that was pushed in the past,” Joe added, “It’s a new day.”
“Women can be successful artists, get rich and have a baby,” he said.
The event was hosted by 105.1’s Angie Martinez. Joe’s wife, Lorena Cartagena, was also present for the bash at Chelsea Table & Stage.
