Earlier this summer, Brooklyn emcee Joell Ortiz came under fire for his rendition of Rick Ross and Meek Mill’s hit single “Tupac Back,” which Ortiz spun into an ode to the late Big Pun. Although Ortiz has expressed his respect for Pun on numerous occasions, Pun’s widow, his former Terror Squad partners Cuban Link and Tony Sunshine and State Prop emcee Peedi Crakk lashed out at the Slaughterhouse rapper, claiming his song is disrespectful to Pun’s legacy.
Now, one of the late Bronx rapper’s closest associates Fat Joe comes to Yaowa’s defense. In a recent interview with XXL, Joey Crack lambasted Ortiz’s detractors, calling them “fuckin’ idiots.” He said that Ortiz was simply paying respects to Pun, and that even though Joell may not be angry over the situation, he’s furious on his behalf.
“I thought it was incredible. I thought it was great. I never seen a guy in my fuckin’ life get backlash for fuckin’ biggin’ up somebody,” Fat Joe explained. “See, what happened is Big Pun was surrounded by an enormous amounts of idiots. And, sad to say, as big of a genius he was, and beautiful as he was, and I’m not just sayin’ that ’cause he dead, ’cause he was the most loyal, beautiful person… He’s my brother. I worship him to death… But, it’s unfortunate he was surrounded by a bunch of fuckin’ idiots. Nincompoops. You got a younger Spanish dude who’s hot in the streets and he wants to honor Big Pun and you throw slander at him and you disrespect him for fuckin’ only honoring Pun? How do expect anybody else to honor Big Pun?! Or talk about him in a good way?!”
He added, “This is the shit, I hope people can open their eyes and see the shit that Fat Joe has been dealing with for the last 12 years. It’s fuckin’ idiotic. It’s fuckin’ lunacy at its finest. ‘I don’t think you should’ve bigged up Pun.’ Like, what the fuck are you talkin’ about? He’s honoring Big Pun, showing respect to Big Pun. What’s the problem? We can’t do that? We’re honoring the one fuckin’ Spanish nigga that wants to step up and say, ‘Guess what? Man, I love Big Pun. Big Pun’s back.’ Where’s the disrespect? I never seen shit like this in my life. Amazing, man. I think I got more upset than Joell Ortiz did, but I know the type of people he’s dealing with.”
AD LOADING...
Fat Joe continued on to specifically address Cuban Link, Tony Sunshine and Peedi Crakk, saying that they have no right to comment on either Pun or Ortiz. He even went on to say that it’s individuals like them that continue to sully Pun’s legacy.
“I really don’t tune in to these niggas,” he said. “Like, who are these niggas? To be honest with you, they aren’t even relevant. I just hear the gossip niggas tell me, ‘like this nigga said’… I was like, ‘what?’ There you go. That’s why niggas can’t do the tribute to Pun, all proceeds to his kids. Niggas can’t do the VH1 Honors, ’cause these niggas are straight scums of the Earth. Straight scumbags. Like I said, Big Pun, as beautiful as he was, as an angel of a guy, ’cause he’s an angel. Big Pun would take a crack head off the streets and give him chicken at his house and rice and beans in one second. He was a great dude and a great father. But, it’s sad that he was surrounded by so many fuckin’ bad people. For real, it’s crazy.”
As previously mentioned, “Big Pun Back” isn’t Ortiz’s first dedication to Pun. Back in 2006, he released a dedication to Pun, which featured him rocking over a number of Pun’s hits.
