Fat Joe has become a treasure trove of hip-hop history, having shared no shortage of incredible behind-the-scenes gems on his Instagram series The Fat Joe Show. Likewise has Talib Kweli done the same, using his own People’s Party platform to shine a light on the untold stories. Now, the pair of lyricists have decided to pool their resources, with Joe taking a moment to hit up Kweli’s show for a wide-ranging interview, shining an interesting light on Joe’s previous feud with 50 Cent.
“I never thought in my life I would squash the beef with 50 Cent,” reveals Joe. “I’m the real deal. If we would have bumped heads somewhere, it would have went down physically 100 percent. So when Chris Lighty died, I went to the funeral by myself. Where I come from, the morals I have, is I gotta pay respects and show love to the family. I show up, and 50 Cent is there. He’s on the other side, I don’t see him.” He explains that he received a phone call from Stephen Hill from BET as he was leaving, with an invitation to participate in a Chris Lighty tribute during the BET Awards — as it happens, 50 Cent would also be participating.
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“When I show up to the BET Awards, we on point,” says Joe. “We super focused. That’s the only way I can explain it legally. They say rehearsal. I perform ‘Lean Back’ and then 50 Cent comes out. He ends up right by where I’m at. And when the music stops, he puts his hands out, and says ‘Peace for Chris Lighty.’ Chris Lighty wanted peace.”
“So I’m looking at him like peace?!” admits Joe. “All the shit this guy done said about me, it’s like a fuc*in movie going on right here…I shook his hand, and said peace. He said ‘peace man, Terror Squad G-Unit for Chris Lighty. That was it. I remember when I did that, people started dancing in the audience, people started running. There wasn’t Instagram in that time, but it went viral. When we did the actual performance, people went crazy.”
“I think we have an obligation, a responsibility to show these young brothers that beefing over words can be squashed,” says Joe. “You can become friends. It doesn’t have to result in us killing each other. The rap beef doesn’t have to turn violent in the streets. I hope everybody sees that and says ‘the shit they were saying to each other, and now they’re friends? It can happen.” He cites a four-month stint in jail as having changed his outlook for the better. “I’ve been beefing with these people so long,” he reflects. “Why don’t I squash beef with all my enemies, and see what doors it opens.”
Check out Fat Joe’s appearance on Talib Kweli’s The People’s Party below.
WATCH: Fat Joe Talks 50 Cent Beef On Talib Kweli’s The People’s Party