Fat JoeSkyline Studios in New York was where Bronx native, Fat Joe -- known for his collaborations with the legendary tongue twister Big Pun and his Latino Bronx bravado -- enlightened skeptics and jaded bloggers on Monday evening (June 14) with his 10th album, The Darkside, set for July 27th.
With Joe entering his 10th album, many pondered whether he had lost a step. After his long and grueling feud with 50 Cent, fallout with his beloved crew Terror Squad, and the squander of his last offering, J.O.S.E. 2, it was safe to say Joe was done.
But, rather than shy away from adversity, Joe -- in typical New York fashion -- grabbed his New York fitted, donning the brim low, entered the studio with a fuel of animosity to produce probably his darkest material to date.
Songs like "Valley of Death", and "I Am Crack" helped destroy the stigma of the Joe who was cracking coconuts with Pleasure P on "Aloha", and displayed the more truculent, and belligerent side of Crack. The man who was on his "What's Luv" swag years back, was now sporting "black gloves" and of course, his "black mask". Even poor Stuart Scott was thrown under the bus with Joe taking shots at his dysfunctional eye. Sheesh.
As mentioned earlier, Joe traditionally catered to the women with on his past albums with some radio friendly singles. But, this time around, Joe made the ladies take a back seat on this turbulent ride. His first two singles, "Slow Down" featuring Young Jeezy and "If It Ain't About Money" featuring Trey Songz, proved Joey Van Gundy is back to "work the magic". With an infectious hook from Trey, and another memorable verse from Jeezy, Joe batted 1.000 with those two perfect singles.
But, arguably the best track on the album came in the form of Scoop Deville's produced "No Problems", featuring Rico Love. From the hook, to the heavy knocking drums, to Diddy's cameo, Joe's best track had everything you could have asked for. The dark instrumentation and Joe's voraciousness makes this track easily the stand out in his personal 12-track opus.
For the people that already scheduled Joe's funeral, you may have to reconsider and call the coroner, because Joe's The Darkside give the rapper him a new look and should give his career an adrenaline. That is if fans give it a chance.
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