The rapper detailed the role he played in ending the hip-hop rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast.
Fat Joe claims he was vital in ending the East Coast vs. West Coast beef. The rapper recently made an appearance on the “Checc’n-In Podcast,” where he chopped it up with Big U about the years-long rivalry between hip hop artists and fans of both regions. Per the “Lean Back” emcee, he was partly responsible for pacifying the once-existing tension.
“You know what stopped the East Coast/West Coast Beef?” he asked before answering his question. “Fat Joe.” He then provided an account of the Louis Farrakhan event that started the de-escalation.
Fat Joe told Big U that he went to Minister Farrakhan‘s residence to meet with West Coast rappers and get to the bottom of their feud. As the only East Coast representative alongside Doug E. Fresh, he chose to confront Ice Cube for failing to use his popularity in New York to try to smooth over the tension between the East and West.
“You shoulda been the nigga tryna bring the peace,” said Joey Crack. “That’s what I was trying to tell him…everybody loves you, you coulda set this shit up and squashed this.” After the conversation, he met Cube’s friend and West Coast rapper Mack 10, who he eventually befriended. The two went on to collaborate on a movie, which he believes set an example for the rest of the hip hop industry.
“Mack 10 was Ice Cube’s guy, right? At the time. So me and Mack 10 hit it off and he was like, ‘Yo man, I fuck with you Fat Joe, everything I hear about you, this and that,” Joe recalled. “And I’m like ‘Yo, you know I fuck with all of y’all too,’ like you know what I’m saying? So he was like ‘Yo man, let’s show them that an East Coast and West Coast could do something positive, let’s work together, and we shot the movie Thicker Than Water out in L.A.”
“From there, that showed people that New York and L.A. could work together and we became a bond, and we were doing videos together and working, and I would like to say that eased the tension between the East Coast and West Coast,” he continued. “It needed something like that. A Fat Joe, Mack 10, and everybody start working with each other and showing brotherhood and unity.”
See the full interview below.
