Hip-hop is quickly approaching its 50-year anniversary in 2023. Five decades of valuable history laid down the foundation for the success and influence hip-hop has today. Of course, that makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint a single greatest moment in the culture because there are so many to choose from, whether it's the best beat of all time or even the best verse.
During Fat Joe's recent visit to the I Am Athlete podcast, he shared what he believed was the hardest lyric in hip-hop's history, which belongs to Jay-Z. Joe stated a particular Hov line from Reasonable Doubt that continues to stick with him nearly 26 years after the album's release.
"The hardest lyric in Hip Hop is on JAY-Z’s first album when he said, ‘Something something and we will be each other’s crutches,'" Joe said, citing Jay-Z's "Feelin' It" before diving into the significance of the bar, which actually goes, "If every n***a in your clique is rich, your clique is rugged/Nobody will fall ’cause everyone will be each other’s crutches."
"The point is this: everybody wants to be the guy, everybody wants to be the guy that everyone looks up to," he explained. "There's no strength is that. The strength is everybody eating so if one of us falls, we can lift them up and put them back in the game. You have to understand that mentality."
For Joe, the bar is relatable because it applies to any circle of friends, whether people are barbers or mechanics. "Your friend is in acquisitions and mergers? We want him to be the best. We need to be the best so that when we need each other, somebody’s there for us. We all there to cover all aspects," he continued. "That’s the true power, the people power. There’s nothing more powerful than people power!”
Check out the clip below.
