Fat Joe Defends Rappers Who Grew Up "Middle Class"

During a recent appearance on the Chazz Palminteri Show, Fat Joe weighed in on whether or not one needs to come from humble beginnings in order to be considered a “real" rapper. According to the NYC native, they don't. He explained that nowadays, hip hop welcomes a wide array of artists from a variety of different backgrounds. He believes that for this reason, there's room for everybody.

“I won’t say that [in] 2023 because, y’know, there’s so many different forms of Hip Hop,” he described. “You get a kid of a celebrity, of a Hip Hop star and they grew up in a little house on the prairie, though, and so the hood is like, ‘Nah, you grew up rich … we don’t want to hear your story, you grew up rich.’"

Fat Joe Speaks On The Importance Of Rappers' Backgrounds

“So it’s very unfortunate," he continued. "For artists who have talented kids who want to become artists because the people in the streets are like, ‘Nah, they didn’t grow up like they dad.'" Fat Joe admits that “to be considered authentic and real back in the day,” one had to come from a specific background. “Now it’s alright to grow up, y’know, middle class," he says.

Fat Joe claims that artists' backgrounds shouldn't have too much of an impact on the way people treat their work. Unfortunately, he recently had his own run-in with someone who threw a jab at him for his upbringing. The Bronx-born performer revealed that while at Nas' birthday party, someone called him out for coming from the wrong borough of NYC. "I got to Nas' 50th birthday party and I'm surrounded by Queens guys," he recalled. "Now my wife is from Queens. N.O.R.E., one of my best friends, is from Queens. And then out of nowhere, I hear a voice say 'Yo, this is Queens side. Go over there, that's the Bronx side.'" Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more news.

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