Every rapper has a favorite rapper or at least a list of emcees that they are really big fans of. In the case of Fat Joe, that emcee is the artist now known as Ye. During his appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, the Bronx native opened up about his love for Kanye West.
“Kanye is my favorite rapper in the world, and I love him to death. He’s my favorite rapper, he’s been my favorite rapper,” said Joey Crack.
Like most fans, the “Lean Back” star declared his unwavering support for the Chicago star. “I won’t turn my back on him, no matter what he do. I fuck with Kanye. He’s a genius, he’s incredible, and I fuck with him,” he continued before encouraging others to stand by West despite his controversial stances. “A lotta people we cool with, they don’t vote like us, they don’t agree with everything, but we gotta fuck with him. He made ‘Jesus Walks’.” Joe also insisted that Ye is “normal” and “as real as he can be” whenever they are in each other’s presence.
Fat Joe is not the only emcee who has spoken highly of the “Niggas in Paris” lyricist. Last year, when talking to Complex, Roddy Ricch said that Ye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is his favorite album. He also expressed his admiration for the Chicago native’s work ethic and entrepreneurial mentality.
“He showed me there’s more to life than just music. He taught me [about] really building empires. You’ve got clothes, or you’ve got a drink, or you’ve got this or that, and it’s all attached to you,” Roddy said. “He was building things that don’t got nothing to do with music, with different rooms having different ideas. Even building up a community or a civilization that can start and become something else. That’s a crazy thing to do. Just growing your own produce, and all these different things… It opened my mind.”
As for Kanye’s fav, he once declared that it was Lil Baby. After claiming that the Quality Control star “wouldn’t do a song” with him, the two finally collaborated on “Hurricane,” a single off Ye’s latest album, Donda.
See a clip from Fat Joe’s interview below.