Fat Joe has been pushed around quite a bit in the aughts. Big Pun passed, former Terror Squad members accused him of misappropriating funds, beefs with Cuban Linx and 50 Cent. Joe has kept his head low and kept releasing music to little fanfare and mountains of negative criticism. Finally, his back is against the wall and he's comes out
swinging. And with his tenth studio LP, Joey Crack deals a mighty death blow.
This disc is a return to the Joe of the early nineties. He is spitting that greasy, street rap while still sounding polished. 'The Darkside' is music for the dude rocking Timbs and hoodies in the summertime to hide the duece duece tucked in the waistband of his jeans. Joey Crack raps on, "Rappers Are In Danger", "This is that block music/Go 'head bust ya shots music/Bag it up, hustle, f**k the cops music".
Joey enlists some extraordinary producers capture sounds as gritty as any Donald Goines novel. Scam Jones, Just Blaze, Infamous, and DJ Premier provide a dramatic backdrop for Don Cartagena to make sure you know he's not holding back. He is shooting first and asking questions later. The guest performers even sound slightly edgier. But when
you're Cam'ron, The Clipse, Jeezy, and Too Short it's not too hard to get edgier. The surprise is the R&B dudes, Trey Songz and Rico Love sing with more swagger than we've ever seen them have.
Fat Joe has tried bevy of different sounds since his 1993 debut. Some better than others. But on his hit, Make it Rain", he says that rappers need to change their style up and switch to a southern type flow. That is a shame he thought that was the best way to win. Especially, because 'The Darkside' proves everyone wins the most when
they're just their plain old selves.
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