With Fat Joe's Family Ties having successfully set the internet ablaze, it seems fitting to pay homage to one of Don Cartegena's finest hours. To this day, "Twinz (Deep Cover 98)" is, by a wide margin, one of the greatest hip-hop duets of all time. It's not even debatable really. The clinic that Big Pun and Fat Joe put on over Dr. Dre's incredible production is nothing short of ridiculous. Much has been (rightfully) made about Punisher's "Little Italy" scheme, the benchmark for elite-level flow. And without taking anything away from the late legend, it's time to give Joe his due flowers.
For one, the Don successfully holds his own against a Pun sitting deeply in his bag, trading dexterous bars and schemes that many rappers would struggle to utter. "I'm still the fat one that you love to hate, catch you at your mother's wake, smack you, then I whack you with my snub tre eight," he raps, villainous as hell. The effortlessness with which Joe and Pun manoeuver speaks to chemistry that only the best duos can capture, and to this day "Twinz" remains integral listening to any self-respecting hip-hop heads.
Salute to Fat Joe, a hip-hop legend still putting in work over twenty years deep. Go stream that Family Ties album right here.
Quotable Lyrics
It'll be a cold day in Hell the day I take an L
Make no mistake for real, I wouldn't hesitate to kill
I'm still the fat one that you love to hate
Catch you at your mother's wake
Smack you, then I whack you with my snub tre eight
