Fat Joe reflected on missing his opportunity to rap alongside Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac in a recent interview. Sitting down with Angie Martinez on the Iconic Records: Life After Death podcast, the Bronx native detailed how Big Daddy Kane stopped him from rapping alongside the Hip-Hop legends during an impromptu rap cypher at Madison Square Garden.
“I was in the front row watching Big Daddy Kane do his set, and all of a sudden, you see the whole crowd turn back looking at the entrance, like the tunnel… and it was Pac and Big. And this was Juice Pac… While they were walking, they see me. Pac is like, ‘Yo, come on, Crack, come on.’ So I go with them and we go up on stage. I think Shyheim is there too from Wutang, Shyheim the Rugged Child,” detailed the 52-year-old.
“You want to talk about standing next to somebody, I was on f**king stage with Biggie and Pac, nervous as hell because all I had was ‘Flow Joe.’ I ain’t have no bars ready… nothing. Big Daddy Kane might’ve saved me because I would’ve did some bullsh*t,” he remembered. “They passed me the mic…Then Big Daddy Kane interrupted and goes, ‘Yo, yo, we ain’t go no time’ … It’s ok, Big Daddy Kane, I love you.”
The Iconic Records: Life After Death podcast launched in April 2023 and explores Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary final album. Martinez is joined by Hip-Hop luminaries who participated in the creation of, or were influenced by Biggie, including Lil Cease, Pusha T, Rick Ross, and Too $hort, as well as additional surprise appearances.
“Celebrating B.I.G. and 25 years of this album in a different way was exciting,” expressed the Radio Hall Of Famer to Billboard. “That’s because some of the people we talked to weren’t the traditional people we see or hear from and who had different types of viewpoints on him.”
The premiere episode features the “Lean Back” rapper as well as producer and former Hitman Nasheim Myrick, Junior Mafia MC Klepto, and Hip-Hop journalist Bönz Malone. Audiences can also watch the visual podcast on The Notorious B.I.G’s YouTube channel below or stream across all major audio podcast platforms.