Fat Joe oldest son, Joey, has Down syndrome and Autism, and according to the New York rapper, he's his "biggest blessing."
On the latest episode of Club Shay Shay, Fat Joe reflected on finding out that his song wasn't like other kids.
“When he’s born, the doctor tells us, ‘Hey, I got bad news to tell you.’ Shows us [my son’s] hands, his feet. He say, ‘He got down syndrome. He’s gonna be a big challenge,’” Joe told Shannon Sharpe at the 1:15:25-hour mark of the video above.
“I’m there with my mother, my father, and [my son’s] mother, and [Joey’s] mother was like, ‘Yo, I can’t do this. I might have to give him up for adoption.’ And my mother was like, ‘You crazy bitch. You ain’t giving up my [grandson]," he added. "And so we raised him, and he’s had his challenges.”
Joe went on to explain that his son always has a sunny disposition. “My son, I don’t know if all kids that are autistic or on the spectrum—this guy’s happy. I swear to god," he said. "He’s always happy. He’s never sad. He’s like if you’re stuck in a place, he’s stuck in happiness. … He does what he wants, he gets what he wants. … I got another son, I got my daughter that’s younger than him, and he sits in the end of the table and he knows, ‘Oh, those are my little brothers and sisters. I’m the don.’”
Fat Joe also revealed that Joey never saw his mother again after he was born. “She never visited him again,” Joe said. “She abandoned her kid.”
“You can’t give up on your kids,” je added. “We believe that [my son’s] our biggest blessing. Because we treat him the way we do, because we never gave up on him, this is why we get blessed.”
Earlier this year, Joe honored his 34-year-old son on World Autism Day. “Joey this one's for you,” Joe wrote.