It's no secret that Fat Joe is a die-hard Eminem fan -- possibly even a Stan, in the eyes of some. For the most part, Joey Crack has been a vocal supporter of Slim Shady's greatness, having frequently praised the Detroit rapper's storied catalog. In fact, he's also shared a few interesting anecdotes stemming back from the Terror Squad's heydey, when the legendary Big Pun was still putting in work on the mic. As he and Remy Ma revealed, Pun was actively pursuing an Eminem collaboration, though it never came to pass as Pun died on February 7th, 2000.
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Yesterday, Fat Joe took a moment to chop it up with Bow Wow on Instagram Live, where he proceeded to ask his signature question -- the Top 5 best rappers of all time. After Bow Wow named his uncle Snoop Dogg, 2Pac Shakur, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z, he clarifies that he was close to including Eminem. "I was going to throw Em in there," says Bow Wow, admitting that he's been noticing that rappers are hesitant to include Eminem in their top fives. "As far as lyricism and wordplay, I don't understand how dude can just rhyme words that don't rhyme, and he makes them rhyme."
Naturally, Bow Wow's praise triggers Fat Joe's own fandom. "Eminem is incredible, he's something else" says Joe. "You know and I know, if he wasn't something else, he wouldn't be where he's at. That man was so exceptional. I remember when Em's first album came out, we was in L.A for the Grammys. Me and Big Pun waited in line -- and Pun was nominated for two Grammys, he was already double platinum -- and me and him physically waited in line at the Tower Records to buy Eminem's album."
"What happens is, one of the biggest misconceptions ever, is that all the other new white rappers that come up in the game, they feel they have to diss Eminem to get to another level," continues Joe. "They want to go to war with him even though he's still dead nice. The next Peurto Rican rapper don't gotta diss Fat Joe -- show me love, I'll embrace you!"
Check out Bow Wow and Fat Joe's take on Eminem below, as captured by Shady Records fansite Southpawer. All things considered, it's refreshing to see Fat Joe still riding for Eminem after all these years -- it's no wonder the pair had such good chemistry on "Lord Above," a highlight when it dropped in late 2018.