Fat Joe says, “They Got Some Weird Sh*t Going On,” in reference to the current state of hip-hop

It seems unlikely that he will soon hop on a seductive drill record.

Some of the senior statesmen of hip-hop have lost their connection to or knowledge of the terrain as the genre develops and changes. Recently, Fat Joe said that he is perplexed by the status of hip-hop today, particularly with regard to several subgenres.

The rapper from the Bronx spoke with Jordan Rose from Complex and gave contemporary hip-hop a contentious moniker. He said, “I love the youth, and I encourage the youth, but I’ve sat in traffic and [heard the music] — I felt like they were playing devil music right next to me.” “Yo, what the f**k?,” I said. Is that hip-hop? Something strange is happening with them.

Joe reiterated his support for the youngsters after Rose brought up the fact that he had previously sat with Tekashi 6ix9ine. Nevertheless, he questioned how the genre came to be while still honoring some of the many musical traditions he either grew up with or was exposed to. “I will always salute them because I f**k with them.” How they descended into this specific sound is beyond me,” he continued. “Hip Hop is really varied—you have Eric B. and Rakim, you have Nas, we have Lauryn Hill, and Biz Markie. You won’t open this thing and hear the same thing again.

Fat Joe also expressed dissatisfaction with the sound’s repetition, which makes it difficult to discern the topic. He said, “I’m like numb sometimes when I’m listening, especially in New York youth, because I’m hearing the same sh*t, the same beats.” “I think, ‘Hey, this is crazy.'” [In my day], LL [Cool J] would have said, “I need love / Sometimes I stare at the room, I hear my conscience call,” if we had a love ballad. Any love song you hear now has the same tempo as “I’ll kill you!” F**k you, mom! It’s the same thing! I don’t understand.

Jordan Rose brought up the sultry drill subgenre, which has become more and more famous in New York because of artists like Bay Swag, Chow Lee, and Cash Cobain. The Terror Squad commander snubbed his suggestion that Joey Crack would sound excellent over that kind of music. He firmly stated, “That’s definitely not in the works.” “I got f**king Babyface in a love song.”

Recently, LL Cool J criticized today’s music for lacking good songwriting. He told The New York Times, “I love both rapping about pure sex and rapping about money and success. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things.” “[But] I believe that for a project to be compelling, there must be more to it than that.” 

Coincidentally, the two collaborated with Rick Ross on the song “Saturday Night Special” off LL’s September 2024 album The Force last year.