Fat Joe career his put on hiatus after he's sentenced to federal prison. Released from prison, Joey Crack comes bak stronger than ever, he reunites with Remy Ma for his new single, with French Montana as a guest of honor. The collaboration gives life to the single of the year, "All the Way Up".
"I'm All the Way Up, nothing can stop me, I'm all the way up" we get on this tape launched from this mainstream anthem pushed by force by Infa-Red's killer hook, and by French's fast bridge with that mix of braggadocio and sexual verses under the beat trap dropped by Cool & Dre and Edsclusive (deserve they props), but at the end of the day nothing turns out to be up to the (multiplatinum) hit that led us here, to a collaborative album between Terror Squad former members Fat Joe & Remy Ma.
This is because after spending decades in the industry recording albums and then looking for the single to drive them, during the 2010s, Fat Joe decided to start releasing singles that were not very popular. If one of these became a hit for whatever reason, he could quickly build an album around it to still drive sales.
The title's referring to the classic ultimatum of Pablo Escobar, there's nothing here to justify this reference. Cool & Dre produces half the project, the rest of the set is completed by Eric Kovacs, Edsclusive, Illa, Street Runner, Tarik Azzouz, 808-Ray, Vindata, and Dwayne iLL Wayno Shippy. The guests are Kat Dahlia, Kent Jones, French Montana, InfaRed, Sevyn Streeter, BJ the Chicago Kid, The-Dream, Rysovalid, Ty Dolla $ign, Kingston and Stephanie Mills.
This LP sounds like a badly conceived and musically inconsistent mixtape, even if fluid. We find ourselves in the midst of a mixture of trap productions, synth-n-dance beatz, bragga-gansta themes, R&B-soul vibes, Kent Jones hooks — in "Spaghetti", he copies Pun's "Twinz (Deep Cover 98)" — and other truly minor attempts for the club.
Remy Ma turns out to be fit, is the only positive note of the album: the game embraces one of the female protagonists, with this test she confirm herself as one of the best female MCs of the moment. She kills almost every song (her g-shit verse in "Swear to God" is impressive, overshadows Joey Crack), with her smoothness flow, rage and solidity, she's heavier and more aggressive lyrically than Fat Joe, a breath of fresh air in this project. She has returned in the game and she claims her place as the Queen of rap who had earned herself right before incarceration.
Nothing climbs the size of "All the Way Up": the hit relaunches Fat Joe, brings him again in the charts after five years (since "Another Round"), rips certifications in Denmark, France (platinum), Italy, New Zealand (platinum) and UK, double platinum in US. All want to appear in the remix, Fat Joe creates half a dozen of them, including one with his historical rival Jay-Z and one with Snoop Dogg, E-40 and the Game.
Distributed by Plata O Plomo Records, RNG (Rap's New Generation; label launched by Fat Joe and Dre of Cool & Dre) and Empire, promoted by three singles ("Cookin", "Money Showers", "Heartbreak") in addition to the Grammy nominated "All the Way Up", that loses Best Rap Performance to Chance the Rapper's "No Problem" (feat. 2 Chainz and a Lil Wayne in one of his most inspired moments ever), and Best Rap Song to Drake's "Hotline Bling", Joey Crack still bitter, especially after that debacle against Chance. Specialist critics write mixed reviews about the album, that peaks #3 in the Independent chart. Following the success of his latest hit, Fat Joe signs a management deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation.
Rating: 5.7/10.
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