Fat Joe Shares Memorable Hip-Hop Stories for XXL’s Legends Cover

Fat Joe is living proof that artists with decades in the music industry have the best memories to share. Over the past 30 years in hip-hop, the Bronx rapper has witnessed some of the most iconic moments in rap history. He’s also got the catalog and success that puts him in legendary status. In celebration of hip-hop’s 50-year anniversary this year, Fat Joe is the first OG to be featured on XXL‘s legends covers, a digital series celebrating some of the most impactful artists in hip-hop’s history.

In February, XXL sat down with the 52-year-old MC in New York City to discuss his impact in the game, hip-hop taking his career to unimaginable heights and the iconic memories he has with Big Pun, Jay-Z, Big Daddy Kane, Big L and Ice Cube, among many others. As an artist who has been able to reinvent himself more recently as a podcast host with his entertaining The Fat Joe Show on Instagram to gifting the culture with phrases like “Yesterday’s price is not today’s price,” Joe is certainly a gift to the genre.

“I’m a legend in hip-hop more as a fan first, just being born in the Bronx, N.Y., birthplace of hip-hop,” Joe tells XXL. “Having access. Could you imagine the whole world was just on my block, my community, and went from writing graffiti to breakdancing to rapping? MCing? Got my start at the Apollo. It’s 30 years later, since I dropped my first album and we even more relevant today. Legends never die.”

Watch Fat Joe share memorable hip-hop stories and read his XXL digital cover story below.

See Fat Joe Photos for XXL‘s Legends Cover