Fat Joe (born Joseph Cartagena on August 19, 1970) is an American rapper. Of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage, and born and brought up in the Bronx, Joe was popular in the underground hip hop scene during the early and mid-1990s. During this period, Joe was affiliated with KRS-One — there are pictures online at KRS-One’s Temple of Hiphop site showing them drawing graffiti (“bombing”) together. He is also a member of the D.I.T.C. Crew (the “Digging in the Crates Crew”), along with well-respected hip-hoppers such as Diamond D, Lord Finesse, O.C., A.G., Buckwild, occasional member Big L (deceased), and Big Pun (deceased). The title of the group refers to DJs who “dig in the crates” of used record stores to find rare or novel records with “breaks” that they could use for production or in performances.
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