What did Fat Joe say about FBA groups and Puerto Rican Trump supporters? Rapper goes viral over the use of N-word during podcast

Rapper Fat Joe has gone viral online after using the n-word while describing Foundation Black American (FBA) groups. The rapper had previously used the offensive term to refer to Puerto Rican Trump supporters as well.

In an appearance on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast, Fat Joe called the FBA groups "radically racist" and accused them of excluding Black people from across the diaspora, including Caribbeans and Afro-Latinos.

"It’s a group of these guys that don’t want to hear Jamaican, don’t want to hear Guyanese, don’t want to hear a Black guy not down with them, right? So, their job is to criticize anybody who doesn’t look like them. Who ain’t a Black American. The FBA, whoever these broke n***as are. I’m just keeping it a buck. And their mission is to attack everyone on Twitter," he said.

Joe had previously used the n-word in November 2024 to refer to Puerto Rican supporters of President-elect Donald Trump. The rapper was referring to a comment by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called the island of Puerto Rico "garbage" at one of Trump's rallies. Joe criticized the comment and said:

"It breaks my heart. How the hell are they gonna call Puerto Rico, ‘An island of garbage,’ and when I post on my Instagram, ‘These the guys you voting for?’ and I see Puerto Ricans, ‘No, we’re still for Trump 2024, that’s that house n***a mentality.

"That’s a Latino that wishes he was white. Those [are] the guys in the comments…change their voice up [and] try to sound white…Those guys I been fighting my whole life."

Joe's statements went viral online, and netizens shared their take on the same. One user claimed the internet did not show the "same energy" about Joe Rogan and wrote:

"Yall waited 30 years to get mad about Fat Joe saying the n word… Didn’t even have same energy for Joe Rogan."

Another X user wanted to get Fat Joe "out", claiming he was "a white latino using the N-word and speaking on their culture." A netizen also criticized the rapper for allegedly indicating that "puerto ricans started hip hop with the blacks."

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“I had the cops on me"— When Fat Joe claimed he was set up for murder by the police

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In a November 2024 appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Fat Joe alleged that the NYPD tried to frame him for murders during the 1990s. The rapper did not go into details but said:

“I had the cops on me. The cops tried to frame me, like, three times for murder. This is a true story. I don’t really talk about it but […] The police was trying to get me out of there! The people was trying to get me out of there.

“It was like public enemy number one, but my community loved me so they would protect me. When the cops came, the old ladies would let me in their house and they would save me all the time.”

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Fat Joe, originally named Joseph Antonio Cartagena, began his career as a member of the hip-hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992. His debut studio album, Represent, was released in 1993.

Joe also formed the hip-hop group and record label Terror Squad in the 1990s, signing artists like Big Pun, Tony Sunshine, DJ Khaled, and Tony Ma.