@JOEYCRACKTS
I’ve NEVER been a Fat Joe fan even before he went pop and had some hip hop credibility but lacked notoriety.  Maybe its because I’m from Brooklyn and he’s from the Bronx or maybe its because I’m Dominican and he’s Boriqua…probably non of the above.  Despite it all I do have respect for what he’s done. Those that are true fans will know Joe had a very long career even before Big Pun came on the scene.  He was doing his thing since the very early 90′s.  You gotta respect that gangsta and the empire he’s built.  He might have the stacks of a Jay-Z but he’s a smart business man.

In preparation for the eventual exit strategy, Joe has been looking for other outlets to express his talents other than on the mic.  He recently sat down with NBC Miami’s NiteCap with Peter Bailey where he discussed his new cooking show he’s working on with his restaurant partner Chef Mark Thomas.

“I’m working on a cooking show, this is the first time I’m telling the world,” Joe announced. “Who else can you trust other than Fat Joe to tell you what food is good or not? Me and my guy Chef Mark — he’s an incredible chef — we got that studio audience, we got that band, we gonna bring guys like Lil Wayne, your favorite rapper, and we gonna to ask him what’s his favorite dish and we gonna make it for him.”

Joe and Chef Mark Thomas also recently collaboed to launch a chain of City Island Express restaurants. The restaurants chain which launched last month with its first location in the Bronx, will feature Caribbean Island seafood and a signature Sunday Cooking School class.

“You don’t really know the true Fat Joe ’til you really meet him, so once we in front of that camera and we vibin’ with everybody, we gonna have a lot of fun with that,” Joe continued. “I’m not even a cook, I’m like a mascot. I’m like the test-taster, but my man chef Mark is gonna be cooking. My favorite food is Italian food; I like Lobster Francaise.”

Why are we not surprised that Joe loves to eat.  All in all I’ve gotta give Joe the old salute.  Reinvention is something I’ve always applauded from rappers.  You can’t stay hot forever to the same audience but by always recreating your brand and how its delivered you can build a long career.  Joe’s done well in that department and hopes to prove even a rapper can have nine lives.