With all the attention given to Fat Joe’s previous conflict with 50 Cent and his streetball rivalry with Jay-Z, the Bronx-bred emcee thinks few people are aware of his charitable efforts. In a recent interview with NBC’s Peter Bailey, Joe explained mentoring artists such as DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre during the formative states of their careers.
“I always like to see everybody win,” Joe explained. “The one thing I express and I stress is that when I help somebody get on, I want them to help someone else. I want them to open the doors, because there’s so many of us that don’t like opening doors for others. I gotta make sure that everybody eats, and that’s major to me.”
Joe added that he’ll take that philanthropic mentality to a personal level when he auctions off his infamous sneaker collection. In episodes of “MTV Cribs” and Bobbito Garcia’s “It’s the Shoes” Joe has been seen with whole rooms and garages used solely for the purpose of housing his collection of NBA player edition, collector’s edition and deadstock versions of hard to find shoes. But Joe said he would soon be auctioning off his collection to help fund several children’s education initiatives. Additionally, Joe says he has another venture that will showcase his lighter side.
“I’m working on a cooking show, and 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—have that studio audience and a band. We’re gonna bring guys like Lil Wayne and your favorite rappers. We’re going to ask them what’s their favorite dish and make it for them. You get to see the Fat Joe from videos and Rap music, but you don’t really know [me] until you really meet me. We’ll get in front of that camera, vibe with everybody and have a lot of fun with it.”
