Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E. 2) [PA]

Performer: Fat Joe
Artist: Buju Banton; Ludacris; M.O.P.; Xzibit; Remy; Petey Pablo; Busta Rhymes; R. Kelly; Prospect; Noreaga; Ja Rule; Ashanti; Ron Browz; Lil Wayne; Pleasure P; Rico Love; Raekwon; Rob Cash; Swizz Beatz
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Fat Joe, Buju Banton, Remy, R. Kelly, M.O.P., Petey Pablo, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Prospecy, Ludacris, Armageddon, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Noreaga. Producers include: Irv Gotti, Bink, Rockwilder, Psycho Les, Younglord. "What's Luv" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Personnel includes: Fat Joe, Buju Banton, Remy, R. Kelly, M.O.P., Petey Pablo, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Prospect, Ludacris, Armageddon, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Noreaga (rap vocals); Ed Goldson (guitar, bass); DJ LV (vinyl scratches). Producers include: Psycho Les, Self, The Alchemist, Ron G, Rob "Reef" Tewlow. Engineers include: Christian Delatour, Charles Hee, Jeff Chestek. "What's Luv" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The sequel to his star-studded breakthrough album of 2001, Fat Joe's JEALOUS ONES STILL ENVY (J.O.S.E. 2) uses the same formula to almost the same effect. The "Porn Star," "Cupcake," "Ice Cream" sequence of tracks is the big tip-off that this is a more singles-geared release for the rapper with the high-profile collaborations stacked as high as the hooks and slick production running the show. The Akon feature "One," plus "Aloha" with Pleasure P and Rico Love, are empty-headed, fun weekend numbers with choruses that stick in the head. "Porn Star" with Lil' Kim is the naughty club cut you'd expect, and even if the T-Pain cut, "Put Ya in Da Game," is the textbook definition of "predictable," Joe's swagger here fits perfectly with the top-hatted one's ultra-polished production. The only big surprise comes right up front as producer Ron Browz gives "Winding on Me" a slowly slithering bassline, creating a wonderfully bizarre backing track for Joe and Lil Wayne's strip club stories ("She got it in the front/I took a step back"). The track list is right-sized and the rhymes are amusing the whole way through, making the title the only thing left to gripe about. The album is actually capping off a trilogy that started with 1995's JEALOUS ONE'S ENVY, meaning this is a sequel to a sequel and would be legitimate with "still" or "3" in the title. He's an oversize Latino rapper who came of age in the South Bronx. Sound familiar? Fat Joe once counted Big Pun as a stablemate, and J.O.S.E. starts out with a heartfelt tribute to the late star. It's strictly business from then on, however, with "King of N.Y." making claims for Joe's supremacy over the Tri-State area, with vocal encouragement from dancehall toaster Buju Banton and "Definition of a Don" (featuring the immortal line "If I can't afford it I'll extort it") consolidating his claims of domination. Elsewhere R. Kelly makes an appearance on the R&B-flavored "We Thuggin'" which documents a night out on the town, while the mightily bankable Ludacris is featured on "Get the Hell on With That," proving that, if nothing else, Fat Joe can pick his partners with impunity.

Vibe (1/02, p.126) - 4 discs out of 5 - "...The album of his career..." Billboard (p.33) - "[T]he Bronx-bred rapper again proves that he's got a knack for infectious beats." XXL (Magazine Publisher) (p.99) - "Joe's M-I-Yayo influence is eventually felt, on the breezy 'Congratulations' and the Fabolous collaboration 'Here We Go.'"

Bronx-born MC Fat Joe Da Gangsta parlayed his notoriety as a graffiti writer into a lucrative and influential career as an MC and hip-hop impresario. One of the first east coast MCs to rhyme unapologetically about the harsh realities of the hustla's life, Fat Joe gained a considerable amount of underground respect in the mid-1990s. But mega-success would come later as leader of the Terror Squad--featuring his equally stout prot�g� the late Big Pun--and again via his smash duet with Ashanti, 2002's "What's Love?" Representing the Puerto Rican voice in hip-hop, Fat Joe has been a major supporter of that community's reggaeton movement, which broke into the mainstream in the early 2000s.

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