FAT JOE AND HIS TAKE ON THE N WORD

Fat Joe has added to the conversation about the usage of the N-word.During a conversation with Talib Kweli on the People’s Party podcast, Joe said, “For those of us that grew up in New York City – Latino people who grew up in Black neighborhoods, they say n***a just like Black people do.”He continued, “Explaining it to people at this point is like, mind boggling to me, ’cause it’s been like, ‘What’s up Fat Joe? You my n***a!’ since I’m 2 years old. You taking it offensive, then what do I look like a slave owner to you? Or I look like the cop who killed George Floyd? I gotta think about you. ‘Cause you obviously know that you just said I’m the most important piece of Hip Hop. You obviously know I’m wit Black people all day. I fight for Black people, I fight for Latinos every day of my life.”Joe added, “I don’t try to let people make me second guess what I do because that’s not what Hip Hop was founded on. The origin of the word is foul anyway. I don’t know how we made it cool. If I’m driving right down the block and somebody’s doing something to the blackest lady in the world – I’m jumping out. I’m dying! So it’s offensive to me when people say, ‘Yo, why do you even say that?’ Like, don’t you know?!”This is not the first time Joe has spoken on the topic. It’s a refresher course for those who may not have heard.