Along with his string of hits, Bronx rapper Fat Joe was known for his once larger than life figure and drug-dealing rhetoric. But the sharp-eyed among you would have noticed that the What’s Luv rapper is a lot less Fat and more the average Joe.
Also known as “Crack”, Joe was in Dubai on Wednesday at the closing party of Cavalli where he livened up the crowd at the emirates’ swanky club.
The Puerto Rican star weighed a whopping 190 kilogrammes at his biggest which earned him his fitting moniker. But now, weighing under 140kg, is it time we started calling him something else?
“No, I’ll always be Fat Joe. I might be shedding the pounds but I’ll be fat at heart and I still love my junk food — I’m just more disciplined now.”
Joe revealed he had decided to lose weight after seeing a lot of his plus-sized friends battle health problems due to their weight. He has gone on record as saying seeing his good friend fellow rapper Big Pun die from a heart attack was when he first thought it was time to make changes to his physique.
“When we lost Pun it was hard and it made me take a look at myself because he left his kids behind and I didn’t want my kids to grow up without their father.
“Saying that, it still took me a while to actually get off my a** and get to work but I’m glad I’ve made a change and I’m not done yet. I’ll keep going.”
When pressed by tabloid! if he has a target weight, the Lean Back rapper wasn’t so forthcoming.
“I do, but I’m keeping it to myself in case I don’t make it. It’s good to have targets so you can track your progress but, let’s get one thing straight, I’ll never be stick thin or the guy with the six-pack.
“I didn’t mind being fat, I’m just doing this for my health.”
So ‘what’s his secret?’ I hear you ask. The 43-year-old says it’s nothing other than the boring combination of exercise and eating well.
“There’s no secret, we all know what we have to do to lose weight but it’s turning that knowledge into action.
“I’ll admit, I still pig out now and again but I just tell myself that if I have that piece of fried chicken then I’m gonna have to do another half an hour on the bike.”
“Smaller portions is another thing. I used to eat until I couldn’t move, which is unhealthy, but now I only eat what I need.”
As well as hitting the gym, Joe has been back in the studio with fellow Puerto Rican Bronx hitmaker Jennifer Lopez and was also a surprise guest during her homecoming concert in New York earlier this month.
“Jen is amazing. She’s the only one who could get the Bronx out like that and we had an amazing time.”
“She’s unstoppable right now and we’ve got a new track about to drop so keep a look out for it. It’s hot.”
