Few hip-hop artists epitomize the line “never thought that hip hop would take it this far” in the 1994 Notorious B.I.G. song, “Juicy,” like Joseph Cartagena, better known as hip-hop artist, actor, author, television personality and philanthropist Fat Joe.
The Grammy-nominated artist brought out a cavalcade of peers and legends for a one-night-only show on April 2. Titled “Fat Joe and Friends.” Joe and the rest of the performers gathered at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the hit single “Lean Back,” released in the spring of 1994 — but they also celebrated hip-hop itself.
Joe began the evening with bringing the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J Blige, on stage. Blige greeted the sold-out audience, then took a seat in the overhanging balcony with family and friends — which included radio personality Angie Martinez — and watched the historic evening of performances. Martinez took the stage and shared some thoughts about Joe.
“I have known him since ‘Flow Joe’ [his first single as a solo artist],” she told the crowd, adding that he is one of the truest in the game and shows up for the people. “He does it because he loves it.”
Some of the performance highlights of the show included Harlem-born R&B legend Keith Sweat — who grew up in the nearby Grant housing projects — performing “Don’t Stop the Love” and the duets “Make It Love Forever” and “Nobody.” Many of the women in the audience added vocals — at Sweat’s request — to the pair of duets.
Harlemite Juelz Santana took the stage and performed “Dipset (Santana’s Town)” and “Dipset Anthem.” Santana was later joined by his Dipset counterpart Jim Jones — who’s also from Harlem — who performed his massive hits “We Fly High (Ballin),” “Summer Wit’ Miami” and “Certified Gangstas.”
As Joe was performing his hit “What’s Luv,” singer Ashanti joined him onstage for that song and also performed one of her biggest hits,“Foolish.” Fat Joe, who discussed winning Amateur Night at the Apollo to jumpstart his career, performed “Flow Joe” and “My Lifestyle.”
He was joined by Remy Ma and the pair performed “Lean Back” and “All the Way Up.” She graced the stage more than once — complete with an outfit change — and performed her solo hit “Whuteva.” She was joined onstage by fellow Bronx femcee Connie Diiamond to perform the hit “Ghetto & Ratchet.”
Jadakiss and Styles P, both solo artists and two-thirds of the hip-hop trio the Lox, performed many of their popular tracks, including “We Gonna Make It,” “Wild Out,” and “Knock Yourself Out” to close out the night. No show would be complete without Jadakiss performing his viral Verzuz freestyle, which sent the Apollo crowd into a frenzy.
Other notables in attendance included NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, Lil Kim, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Melly Mel, Mr. Cheeks, CL Smooth, Peter Gunz, Nature, Havoc of Mobb Deep and hip-hop group MOP.
