Don't count Fat Joe as a fan of contemporary rap music.
The veteran East Coast rapper sat down with Complex's Jordan Rose and explained that he isn't too keen on modern rap, noting a song he'd previously overheard while in traffic.
"I encourage the youth, but some of the shit they're doing, I just don't know what it is," Joey Crack admitted. "I'm just really confused. I've sat in traffic with the youth, and I felt like they playing devil music right next to me. I'm like, 'Yo, what the fuck? That's hip-hop?' They got some weird shit going."
After Rose mentioned Joe's Tidal sit-down with 6ix9ine, the "What's Luv?" rapper said that he'll "always salute" up-and-coming rappers.
"I don't know how they spiraled into this particular sound. We got [Lauryn] Hill, we got Biz Markie, you got Eric B and Rakim. You got Nas..."
He continued, "You're not going to open the shit and hear the same shit. And then sometimes when I'm listening, especially in New York youth, let's just go there. I'm hearing the same shit. It’s just the same beat, the same shit, and I'm like numb, like, Yo, this is crazy."
Joe mentioned 1987 LL Cool J classic "I Need Love" before adding that a newer rap love song would sound threatening with lines like "I'll kill you" and "Fuck your mother!"
When Rose suggested that Joe take on a sexy drill song, Joe said, "That's definitely not in the works."
"I've got a love song with fucking Babyface," he added, referencing their 2021 collaboration "I Got You."
After declining a sexy drill track for a second time, Joe reiterated being "confused."
"But I salute the youth and everything they do," he stressed. "If you're positive, you're getting money, you're bringing your contributions, creativity, I love you, I'm happy for you."
Last December, Joe declared on My Expert Opinion that 2024 was a "horrible year" for older people in hip-hop culture, mentioning that "legends" and "mentors" were “getting scrutinized."
“This is the worst time to be a celebrity in the history of mankind. I’m not sure you guys wanna be celebrities,” Joe said around the 2-minute mark.