During his recent interview with CNN, Bronx rap legend Fat Joe caught the attention of the collective Hip-Hop world when he admitted that up to 95% of his lyrics are made up as part of a discussion about rap lyrics being used as evidence in RICO cases.
Now the “Make It Rain” rapper is sorta reeling that claim back in and attempting to clarify his remarks.
In a recent Instagram Live session, Joey Crack gave some insight on the thoughts he was trying to express and noted that rappers “move off of inspiration,” which can lead a creative writer down a number of different paths.
“I had to say 95 percent of what I say is a lie so that they can understand that it’s unfair to try some kids for the rest of their life with s— they might’ve not done,” Fat Joe said. “What you gotta understand is that it’s creativity […] now if I say I use my imagination, my creativity in my music don’t mean I ain’t live a real f—– life in the streets.”
While speaking to Gayle King last month about the Young Thug/YSL RICO case, Joe admitted he’s taken creative liberty with his lyrics a lot over his three decades as a recording artist.
“I’ve been rapping professionally for 30 years — I’ve lied in almost 95 percent of my songs,” Joe revealed. “I’m being honest. I write like I feel that day. I’m just being creative. You couldn’t build a jail high enough for the lyrics I’ve said on songs which are all untrue.”
And with this in mind, it is his stern belief that rap lyrics shouldn’t be admissible evidence in Thugger’s trial or any trial for that matter.
“What’s even more horrible is that the district attorneys, they know those lyrics ain’t real,” Joe insists. “They know that’s creativity. But if it helps their case, they’ll use it to put these guys in jail. And here, we’re having a fun show about it and discussion, but there really are six defendants in Atlanta who might spend the rest of their lives in jail for something that’s totally not true. This is very serious. This destroys families.”
