There’s one reason why Fat Joe would come out of retirement.
In an interview with Billboard on Tuesday, Jan. 7, the “Lean Back” musician, 49, revealed how Killer Mike inspired him to return to his music career — and the one goal that lured him back.
According to Fat Joe, it was the Run The Jewels performer’s three Grammy wins that helped him realize he wasn’t quite done with rapping.
“He’s the guy who inspired,” he told the publication, of Mike’s impact. “I retired. I was gone. I had an infamous phone call with Eminem, where he was trying to talk me into not retiring. ‘Joe, we need you. You’re one of us.’ I was super done, but I got back outside because of Killer Mike. The man won that Grammy.”
Now, getting a Grammy is Fat Joe’s main goal.
“When I seen [Killer Mike win], I called [Dr.] Dre, I was like, ‘Yo. It’s possible. Let’s get back in the kitchen and cook.’ So, he inspired me to come out of retirement,” he said.
In December, Fat Joe dropped his first solo album in 15 years with The World Changed on Me, an 11-track project, which features artists like Babyface, Ty Dolla $ign and Anitta.
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“I don’t want to go get U2, Bono or The Rolling Stones and when I get the album it sounds like one of these young kids rapping, he said, adding, “so when you get a Joe LP, it’s gangsta hip-hop, it’s hit records, it’s lyrics.”
He added, “You know, my daughter’s 18 and she heard the album, and she was like, ‘Yo, dad, what you doin’? You talkin’ crazy.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t wanna buy an Ice Cube album and he’s talkin’ nice. I want to hear him say f— tha police.'”
“And that’s what I love about this album. I kept it really consistent with all my music in the past. Just 2024, different flow patterns…I just wanted to show my growth,” Fat Joe concluded.