Fat Joe has named his eighth solo album The Elephant In The Room. The phrase comes from that awareness we all have for something, but aren't talking about. Perhaps with Joey Crack, this could be his deep-rooted role in hardcore Hip Hop.

Few artists who have reached the commercial and celebrity success of Fat Joe have attained his respectability in the field of Hip Hop. Beyond just bringing Big Pun to our ears, Joe has played a role in super-group D.I.T.C., unified coasts at critical times, prompted awareness to veterans, and arguably remained the most consistent star from The Bronx since KRS-One stepped out of the mainstream limelight a decade ago.

With singles like "Make It Rain" and the newly-released "I Won't Tell," Joe's other side is rarely discussed by those who know, and rarely conveyed to those who don't. But as his new album balances the hits with tracks like the DJ Premier-assisted "Thank God For That White," the man who 14 years ago introduced himself as "Fat Joe Da Gangsta," is still true to form. In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Fat Joe manages his south-exploiting criticism, talks about his agelessness and blames producers, with a gangster's chuckle, for the "ignorant shit" that he continues to give his hardcore heads. Flow Joe!

HipHopDX: Being a hardcore Hip Hop guy, I wanted to ask you about this track from the new album “Thank God For That White.” What does it feel like, as fellow ‘90s hardcore Hip Hop guys, to work with DJ Premier on a song that’s seemingly about what so many rappers today are talking?
Fat Joe: Premo is…if not the greatest producer of all-time, one of the greatest. He is the definition of Hip Hop. So to work with him, you have no choice but to be honored, and be humbled that he would even do a beat for you. So whenever I team up with Premo, it’s like he’s God. It’s nothing but an honor to rock out with him, so I gotta bring my best to the table.

DX: Tell me what you can about the record itself…
FJ: The record is just that hardcore, corner block slingin’ Hip Hop…that picks up where [Notorious B.I.G.’s] “Kick in the Door” left off.

DX: Some folks have been critical of what they call your catering to the south with the last two albums. As I think about that, I can’t help but remember when you extended a hand to the west in the late ‘90s when that sound was unfavorable in the marketplace. Do you think your pursuits of nationwide sounds are just misunderstood, or is it just musical experimentation?
FJ: What I do is I make music. I like to think of Fat Joe is from New York, but Fat Joe is universal. I make music for kids all over – kids in Oregon, kids in Connecticut. I like to make hit records. First of all, when I drop my singles, they’re always hit records that can play everywhere. The album, I like [to fill] with that shoot-em-up, bang bang; that’s what Fat Joe has always been since day one [with] “Da Fat Gangsta.” I got a big fan-base to please. I gotta make that hit record that the fans know me for, and I gotta make those Premo, those Streetrunner, those LV tracks that just get my core fans riled up. I don’t like to think because I did a “Make it Rain,” which had a bounce with it, meant I was going south. I made a hit record that was relevant for the time. This new single [“I Won’t Tell”] ain’t got nothing to do with the south. Like you said, I did joints with guys in the west coast too. I’m just a universal artist; I don’t like nobody to just put me in a bubble and force me to be one thing. I came in the game to be a superstar and make music for everybody.

DX: You mentioned some names in Streetrunner and LV. Both guys are getting a lot of acclaim right now for work they did this year. Starting back to 1993, you really showed that Diamond and Showbiz could bring artists out, or Scott Storch. You’ve always been ahead of the curve with producers. What’s your process like when artists shop you beats? You gotta be your own A&R…
FJ: I am my own A&R. I have a very good gift, which some of my favorite rappers don’t have, and it’s beat-picking. I got the ear for beautiful beats. I got the ear for working with new and upcoming producers that no one has heard of before they turn into stars. It’s just a gift I got, and I think that’s what’s kept me in the game so long. It’s not only always advancing my skills, lyrically, but just being able to be ahead of the curve in knowing what hot beats are.

DX: Dr. Dre always plays his beats in his car. When you get these beats, any special practice you do?
FJ: I listen to beats…it can be from somebody as big as Scott Storch or somebody little, and I listen to the beats, and if I hear [something] that I love, it starts talking to me and telling me what to say. It literally starts telling me what to say. So blame it on the beat if [I say] I killed kids on record, or “Thank God For That White”… if Premo comes and gives me a “Kick In The Door,” am I supposed to rhyme about Gospel? The beat is telling me what to say. Blame the producers! Continued on page 2 »