Joe and Jada - Omar Epps on NEW FILM ‘Moses the Black,’ Tupac in ‘Juice’ & ALL-TIME Black performances

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: Joe and Jada - Omar Epps on NEW FILM ‘Moses the Black,’ Tupac in ‘Juice’ & ALL-TIME Black Performances

Date: February 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This vibrant episode of The Herd features Omar Epps as a guest with hosts Fat Joe and Joe Budden. The conversation moves seamlessly from nostalgic stories about the culture-defining 1990s, reflections on hip-hop and Black cinema, and deep dives into personal evolution. The centerpiece is Epps' new film, "Moses the Black," with added reflections on their respective legacies, the evolution of the industry, and cultural milestones. With raw humor, authentic storytelling, and a celebration of artistry, the trio offers listeners an engaging ride through memory lane and new beginnings.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Omar Epps’ Enduring Impact and Range

• Opening Salvos: Hosts praise Omar Epps’ legacy and versatility, likening him to a "living legend" whose roles span detectives, doctors, ballplayers, and icons ([01:23-02:13]).
• Quote:

  "You think of today's guest, you think of a cult classic in every era... He can play anything. If you around our age, you seen, you grew with him." – Joe Budden [01:10]

2. Filming ‘Juice’ and Tupac’s Emergence

• Epps’ Memories: Epps recalls being 17 on the set, sensing something special. He describes Tupac as “just Pac,” not yet the icon, but clearly unique ([05:01-05:53]).
• Quote:

  "He wasn't the Tupac everybody know. He was just Pac. I was like, you know, that dude got something different." – Omar Epps [05:53]

• Cultural Shifts: Pac becomes “Tupac” after "Juice." Hosts reflect on witnessing his transformation ([05:53-06:07]).

3. On Working with LL Cool J and Range in Hip-Hop

• Iconic Beginnings: Epps and hosts discuss LL Cool J’s trailblazing start at Def Jam and the rarity of seeing stars in person back then ([06:07-07:11]).
• Quote:

  "He was like Justin Bieber. He popped off so young." – Fat Joe [07:11]

4. ‘Love & Basketball,’ ‘The Wood,’ and Embodying Brotherhood

• Behind the Scenes: Epps reminisces about the training and teamwork involved in "Love & Basketball" ([07:44-08:14]).
• Brotherhood: "The Wood" depicted a “mature version of brotherhood” and was “fun” to shoot ([08:43-09:01]).

5. Career Shifts – Breaking Typecasting in 'House'

• Calculated Choices: Epps chose "House" to shatter typecasts and to serve as a role model for Black kids ([09:05-09:39]).
• Symbolism:

  “It was for little kids that look like us...Like, yo, you could have a white jacket, too. Because the power of imagery is different from the power of, like, voice.” – Omar Epps [09:39]

6. The Power and Influence of Art and Music

• Personal Impact: Both Fat Joe and Epps share moving stories about how music, art, and memory intertwine, especially after loss ([10:33-11:12]).
• Quote:

  “Listening to a song, a fighter before the fight...Or the ball player before the game...the power of it...We know the power of it.” – Omar Epps [10:33]

7. Self-Care and Positive Living

• Lifestyle: Fat Joe jokes about their "skin regimen," prompting Epps to highlight gratitude and family ([11:41-12:04]).

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Main Feature: ‘Moses the Black’

Film Overview ([12:21-13:23])

• Plot: Epps plays Malik, a man coming out of prison who seeks transformation, paralleled with the real story of St. Moses the Black, a 4th-century Ethiopian saint and former outlaw.
• Quote:

  “He was the real Robin Hood...Super gangster...And then he had a moment where he shifted, and he went on to evolve.” – Omar Epps [12:25]

Collaborating with Quavo, Wiz Khalifa, and More ([13:23-13:59])

• Dynamic Cast: Epps applauds the storytelling abilities of musicians transitioning to film.

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8. Phone Culture, FaceTime, and Public Persona

• Humor & Truth: The group vents and jokes about intrusive FaceTime calls and the public’s assumptions, offering personal anecdotes ([16:12-17:46]).
• Quote:

  “I love him to death. But, yo...y'all gotta stop calling me with yo, I don't want that.” – Fat Joe [18:20]

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9. Black Hollywood: Then and Now

• ’90s Unity: Epps remembers genuine unity and love in 1990s Black Hollywood ([20:00-20:25]).
• Change After the Money: When larger bags started rolling in, egos and rivalries changed the landscape ([20:34-21:16]).
• Quote:

  “It all started when people actually started making money. That's when that ego turned into, like, yo, I'm better than you, I'm bigger than you.” – Fat Joe [20:37]

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10. Personal Growth, Survival, and Redemption Stories

• Epps on Choosing Movies for Representation
• Fat Joe on Survival: Reflects on coming up from the Bronx, past bad behavior, and the tension between survival and morality ([29:12-32:16]).
• Quote:

  “You dealt with what was thrown at you, with the cards that was thrown at you, you had to deal with that, right? And pretty much that's the story of my life.” – Fat Joe [32:18]

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11. Managing Stardom, Family, and Relationships

• Balancing Superstardom: Epps shares how he and his superstar singer wife manage careers and family with mutual respect and love ([34:03-34:29]).

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12. Evolution in Craft and Legacy

• Epps’ Next Chapter: Still passionate about acting, Epps discusses his move toward producing, writing, and eventually directing ([38:32-39:11]).

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13. Most Iconic Black Performances in Film

• Sidney Poitier: Reflects on the gravity of the first moment a Black man slapped a white man on film ("In the Heat of the Night") ([39:18-39:41]).
• Quote:

  “It was just so jarring. You never saw that before. But that's also my acting hero.” – Omar Epps [39:41]

• Menace II Society: Recalling "Do you care whether you live or die?" ([40:16-40:28]).
• On 'Juice's' Timelessness: “That movie, to me, is like such an Illmatic; a classic you can watch.” – Fat Joe [41:18]

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14. Music’s Transformative Power

• Revealing personal favorite albums and moments (Purple Tape, Ain't No Half-Steppin', Midnight Marauders) ([44:41-47:39]).

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15. Comedy and Nostalgia: Life Stories & Anecdotes

• Hilarious stories about living in Miami, raccoon gangs, neighborhood dreams, and the perils of fame ([35:22-37:58]).
• Fat Joe's youthful days as a "mercenary" and the music that soundtracked his coming-of-age ([44:56-47:27]).

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16. Supporting Black Film and Theater Experience

• Encouragement to watch "Moses the Black" in theaters and embrace communal movie-going ([51:31-52:56]).
• Quote:

  “But go to the theater...It's about the experience, you know what I mean? It's going to see not only with your peoples, but people you don't know. Y'all reacting to the same parts.” – Omar Epps [52:05]

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17. Pride in Black Excellence (Teyana Taylor)

• Omar Epps and Fat Joe share heartfelt pride for Teyana Taylor’s continued rise ([53:01-53:46]).

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Joe Budden on Epps’ Range:
  "He can play a police officer, he can go undercover...If you're around our age, you seen, you grew with him." [01:10]

• Omar Epps on Young Tupac:
  "He wasn't the Tupac everybody know. He was just Pac." [05:53]

• Fat Joe on Fame and Persona:
  "My heart was always in the right place...it was always trying to help people and look out for people." [31:04]

• On 'Juice' as Classic:
  "That movie, to me, is like such an Illmatic—a classic you can watch." – Fat Joe [41:18]

• On Unitiy and Industry Change:
  "When people actually started making money...that's when that ego turned into, like, yo, I’m better than you." – Fat Joe [20:37]

• Omar Epps on Imagery:
  "It was for little kids that look like us...you could have a white jacket too." [09:39]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro and Omar Epps’ introduction: [01:10-02:19]
• ‘Juice,’ Tupac Stories: [05:01-06:07]
• Talking LL Cool J’s Era: [06:07-07:11]
• Love & Basketball and 'The Wood': [07:44-09:01]
• Breaking Typecast with ‘House’: [09:05-09:39]
• The Power of Art: [10:33-11:12]
• ‘Moses the Black’ film discussion: [12:21-13:23]
• On FaceTime culture and public life: [16:12-18:20]
• Industry Unity, then Money Changes: [20:00-21:16]
• Personal growth/redemption: [29:12-32:16]
• Family life with stardom: [34:03-34:29]
• Passion for the craft: [38:32-39:11]
• Most iconic Black scenes: [39:18-40:28]
• Classics & favorites in hip-hop: [44:41-47:39]
• Moses the Black in theaters/support: [51:31-52:56]
• Teyana Taylor’s rise: [53:01-53:46]

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Conclusion

This episode is a vivid testament to the enduring power of culture, legacy, and personal evolution. Fat Joe, Joe Budden, and Omar Epps swap honest, humorous, and often deeply thoughtful stories about film, music, and living as icons from New York. Listeners walk away with not just hype for "Moses the Black," but also a renewed appreciation for the enduring bonds and lessons of Black artistry.

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Listen to this episode for more:

• Rare stories from '90s Black Hollywood
• Behind-the-scenes memories with Tupac, LL Cool J
• Reflections on fame, family, and gratitude
• The importance of supporting Black cinema—go see "Moses the Black" in theaters!

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Hosts: Joe Budden, Fat Joe
Guest: Omar Epps
Notable Mentions: Teyana Taylor, Quavo, Wiz Khalifa, LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, Big Pun, DJ Khaled, Big Daddy Kane

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For timestamped moments, see the breakdown above – the episode is loaded with quotable gems, candid laughs, and authentic uplift for the culture.

Transcript

[Stugatz]

Stigatz here. I have a podcast empire that I have brought here to iHeart. And I'm also hosting a daily live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern called Stegots and Company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day, you can expect a lot of laughter, great guests, a ton of calls, and a lot of fun. Listen to Stegotson company Live and our original podcast, Stegotson Company and God Bless Football. And you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast.

[Fat Joe]

By the way, my brothers, whoever got the number, the new don't do it. I'm ready to block you. No matter how much I love you, I don't. Y' all see what.

[Omar Epps]

Y' all see what happened? They got the Netflix deal.

[Fat Joe]

Joe wear Hollywood on his number, on him. Yo, What up, y'?

[Omar Epps]

All?

[Fat Joe]

This Joe crack the dawn.

[Joe Budden]

You know who it is. Your boy Jada. You know what it is? The Joe and Jada Show. Every show legendary, Every show iconic. Shout out to Netflix. We crushing y'.

[Omar Epps]

All.

[Joe Budden]

When you think of today's guest. Hold on, that was Netflix. They calling me. When you think of today's guest, you think of a cult classic, a part of a cult classic in every era. You think of long range, you think of chops. You think he can play a police officer, he can play under. He can play a detective, he can go undercover, he could play a college basketball star, he could play a doctor, he could play anything. If you around our age, you seen you, you grew with him. He's a dj, a great family man. He could play a fucking icon, Living legend. I've seen him in the hallway, on tour, in the dressing room, kicked it with him, you know what I mean? Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for Omar.

[Omar Epps]

Ad.

[Fat Joe]

You know Omar, you one of them guys, man. There's not enough to say about you because just like me and Kiss, we grew up watching you on the movie screen for all of our careers. So it's just there's no way to roll it out perfectly because we would be here for like a fucking day just explaining, you know, your contributions to the culture and the game. But definitely, I grew up with y'.

[Joe Budden]

All appreciate that.

[Omar Epps]

Sets, CDs, all of that, you know what I mean? So we was all in that generation. We was all coming up together, kids with dreams, you know what I'm saying? New York born and bred, you know what I mean? We covered all the bases. The show, like, to me, is it's Almost like a sitcom. So I told him the other day.

[Fat Joe]

When he had fluidity, he was under the weather. I was like, yo, you know, Netflix just started a podcast thing. And I. And big up everybody. But I watched all the other podcasts a little 15 minutes. They ain't got the fluidity. They ain't got Omar Epps here fucking shining in the three piece suit with his set with a dick. I looked at all of them, and there's some great people on there. But I'm hoping that your random customer don't got nothing to do on Netflix. And they love podcasts. And the one time they go boom, they know, yo, this shit like the Martin shit.

[Omar Epps]

Y' all killing them. I think I heard you more. I've been watching y' all from the top, and I think one time you said like, y' all, like the honeymoon is. And I was like, nah, it's like the Odd Couple.

[Fat Joe]

It's the Odd Couple. It's like the Odd Couple.

[Omar Epps]

You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

It's like the Odd Couple.

[Omar Epps]

Cause y', all, you know, we know y'. All. Like I said, we grew up with y'. All. So I was like everybody else. Joe, Jada, like, how's that going, Rock?

[Fat Joe]

You know what I mean?

[Omar Epps]

And y' all just. You just can't be there. It's so organic. It's so authentic. You know what I mean? And it's just to have these conversations, and we all done seen so much like, been around so many different moments that, you know what I mean, the show will sell itself.

[Fat Joe]

This guy, like Jay Reid, man, he shoot me every show when I go home and watch the repeat, like you. I said, motherfucker, don't snipe me.

[Omar Epps]

From the.

[Fat Joe]

I get that on the way home.

[Joe Budden]

You iconic for the fact your skill and your ability to be on screen and, you know, the roles, your range, because you got to work with ll, you got to work with Pac. What was them days filming Juice like? I was.

[Omar Epps]

How was Pac Filming Juice was incredible, man. I was 17, fresh out of high school.

[Fat Joe]

You was wearing these.

[Omar Epps]

I was wearing those, yeah.

[Fat Joe]

No, no, no. You was wearing 40 below.40 belows.

[Omar Epps]

But, you know, again, like, in a sense, it happened so fast. That was hard to. To take in the magnitude of. But I will say I felt something special in the sense of the film, the characters. Those moments were speaking to me. I was living that. I felt like, oh, yeah, this is like us on the block. So it just felt like I would go see this, you know what I mean? And just like, Pac, it's funny. Cause it's, like, not funny, but, like, this is. He wasn't the Tupac everybody know. He was just Pac.

[Fat Joe]

Just like, he was Tupac after that movie.

[Omar Epps]

He was, but he was like, oh, that's my man. And like, you know what I mean? He cooking up, doing the music thing, spitting verses in the trailer. But he was him. I was like, you know, that dude got.

[Fat Joe]

He.

[Omar Epps]

He got something different. I mean, in the L. It's LL. I'm sitting there, I'm like, that's crazy. Like, we just sitting down, chopping up, just talking, just giving me, you know, business knowledge and things of that nature. And we, you know, it's. It's interesting now. You got all these lists, and it's this and this, that. And it's just like, yo, never seen nothing like, L. I think people don't realize how young he was when he started.

[Joe Budden]

When he started teenage than Bieber. Facts.

[Fat Joe]

Like, I say that all the time. He get mad at me. He's my idol.

[Joe Budden]

But every time, he's the first artist on Def Jam, and he's still going strong and fucking powerful and active as ever.

[Fat Joe]

But what I'm saying to you is I'm a couple of years older than you, and I was outside again. I'm a couple of years older than you, and I was outside, and I never seen LL Cool J as well. I seen Big Daddy Kane. I seen Knights and Storm. I seen all of them. You couldn't even see LL Cool J. He was like, justin Bieber. He popped off so young.

[Joe Budden]

Nas used to be like that for me. It took me mad years. Nas, I didn't see Nas.

[Fat Joe]

Nah. I was with Nas when Nas started, I started with him. It took me. I've been in bummy hotels with Nas. He. Nas. I've been in bummy hotels, hotels with Nas. Talk about, yo, that you think nice Used to be like, yo, we ever seeing the money gone? I'm like, yo, you El Matic. Don't worry. It's gonna come. He be like, yo, God. Like, ain't no fluidity in this winter. In n. I was seeing Nas now.

[Joe Budden]

What about Kiss the Night, Play ball. She had.

[Omar Epps]

She had both of that. She had two for that movie.

[Joe Budden]

All right.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, she had to. We was training and all of that, working with these coaches and, you know, to hit a shot when the license on is hard. Yeah. I mean, the gym is easy, but when it's like, you know, really filming in high school and all that, you know, you know, how the crowds are at the ball game. They don't care if it's take 23, y'. All.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I mean?

[Omar Epps]

It's like, yo, we're filming something here.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah.

[Omar Epps]

Supposed to miss. They flash it, though.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

How about the Wood? How is that pause filming that?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, yeah, that's a whole pause. Now it is 20, 26.

[Joe Budden]

You gotta do a pause for the kill.

[Fat Joe]

You.

[Joe Budden]

How was it?

[Omar Epps]

You gotta.

[Fat Joe]

On the title of the movie? Nah, that pause.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, they're gonna. They're gonna get Inglewood. Yeah. How is it female in Inglewood?

[Omar Epps]

That's right.

[Fat Joe]

Inglewood's a non pause.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah. But the Wood, I think that was like a. A mature version of, like, the brotherhood. You know what I mean? Like. Like, you know, they were still from the mud, but, like, doing different things. And I think it was a dope depiction of that version of. Of brotherhood. And that was fun, man. I had a lot of fun.

[Joe Budden]

Now you got. You did about seven, eight years on House.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

As a doctor. How. How's that? How do you just.

[Fat Joe]

Because switching to that, when you get to House and stuff like that, they not cast typecasting.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, but that's a big part of the reason I wanted to do a house is because I'm like, they not gonna see this coming. Because I was aware or at least in my mind, I'm like, they probably perceive me like this. They think I can only do this. All right, so I'm gonna go make this left right here and bring us with me.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I mean?

[Omar Epps]

Like, when I first did House, the one when I was first meeting with them, I was like, yo. I was like, yo, is there anything you want? The character, you like this, that, and the other. And I was like, I want him to keep the tattoo in hand. Cause he's from Rough and Tumble and all of this. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. From the culture. It was for little kids that look like us. It was like a dog whistle to them. Like, yo, you could have a white jacket, too. Because the power of imagery is different from the power of, like, voice, like audio. You know what I'm saying? Like, art is so powerful, man. What we do, I feel like we brioche and we sages, but, like, you know, listening to a song, a fighter before the fight. Like, yo, it's getting them amp or the ball player before the game. Or, you know, when we listen to a song, when we sad, it puts you in a certain mood. You can hear a song and smell your grandmother cooking and The.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I mean?

[Omar Epps]

Like, these type of things. So what we do, we know the power of it. And the younger generation need to know that it's not disposable. It's not just for the dollar, you know what I'm saying? It's much more powerful than that. No doubt.

[Fat Joe]

No, it's crazy, because my mother, she passed away recently. If she was alive right now, she'd be right by the TV listening to the Temptations and the OJs and all that. And I ain't been able to listen to that kind of music since she passed. Cause it just automatically puts you in that space where I've been like, you know what I'm saying? My wife tried to throw that shit on the other day. I was like, yo, I ain't ready to hear that shit right now.

[Omar Epps]

But you will be one day. But you said you ain't ready. But you see what I'm saying, like, we. We be so caught up in. Not the hustle, the business of it, but it's a whole other side to this thing that the reason why it. We all got in, why really spoke to us, motivated us from when we young, like, guy. And then you find you gotta lean with that thing. You know what I mean? I tell you what, I've been doing this 30 years. It's just a blessing every day, man.

[Fat Joe]

Let me tell you something. You look great.

[Omar Epps]

Thank you.

[Fat Joe]

Your wife's our sister. What is the skin remedy for you guys today? Cause your shit looking brand new, boss. Like you. Your wife is a different fluidity. Are y', all, like, wake up every day and do Pilates together?

[Joe Budden]

They got a special shea butter.

[Fat Joe]

Do y' all do Pilates and yoga in the house? Everybody like, what's going on?

[Omar Epps]

Taking care of self for me, you know? Listen, wifey, man, just being happy. Being happy and got a beautiful family, beautiful kids, you know what I'm saying? In a constant state of gratitude and, you know, just take care of ourselves, man.

[Joe Budden]

Let's get to the new movie. Moses the Black.

[Omar Epps]

Mose the Black.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah.

[Omar Epps]

Moses the Black. Man, I'm excited about this. It's a story about a man who comes to an impasse in his life where he realizes he has to become the thing that he's seeking, right? And that's the character I play, Malik. And he gets out of prison, and he realizes something has to change. He has to become the change. And it's juxtaposed against the story of the true story of Moses the Black, the Ethiopian, who was a saint and how their stories parallel. So the Moses, the black from 4th century, he was the real Robin Hood. He was the super gangster. You know what I mean? And then he had a moment where he shifted, and he went on to evolve to a point to where he's a saint. Like, you go in churches around the world, they got the picture of this Ethiopian man along with all the other saints that we know right there. So it's kind of like how their stories is running parallel. It's different. It's different.

[Joe Budden]

What was it like working with Quavo?

[Omar Epps]

That was dope, man. Huevo was dope. Wiz.

[Joe Budden]

Philip. Yeah.

[Omar Epps]

You know, the thing is, like, for us, again, when I say, like, storytellers, people always, oh, rapper this. I'm like, yo, storyteller. It's just a different format, you know what I mean? And it's the type of project that I feel like everybody that was there was there for the right reason, so they were open to the process. You know what I'm saying? So it was just dope to see them do their thing, you know? Like, Wiz has done some stuff before, but some of them was just getting the feet wet. That's not a pause, right? Because I know y' all super poor.

[Joe Budden]

Feet wet is cool.

[Omar Epps]

Feet wet is cool. Are you sure? Should I throw a flag?

[Fat Joe]

Nah, nah. You know, I started. I started in this arena. I was like, yo, I don't play that poor shit. Now I'm, you know, the poor king throwing flags every 10 seconds.

[Omar Epps]

It's just a straight. It's. It's fun as a game, but we can't do that everyday life, guys. Come on, guys, let's just. The English language.

[Fat Joe]

My goodness, they do it.

[Joe Budden]

It just. I really shout out to Cam. Shout out to everybody that started it. I really never want to play it, but sometimes some of the things people say is like, it comes from the heavens above. Is like Jesus Christ.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, my God.

[Omar Epps]

You can't see. It's a lot of. It's a lot of lyrics from back in the days.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, tell me about it.

[Fat Joe]

I'm just saying if you want to go there, it'd be a whole.

[Omar Epps]

You.

[Joe Budden]

No, you can. It would be never ending.

[Fat Joe]

Go to that.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, it's never ending. Or if you do your research, it can go on and on and on.

[Fat Joe]

No, no, that's crazy. If you go to the Back in the days lyrics.

[Omar Epps]

But you see, it don't. The culture don't change. The slang changes.

[Fat Joe]

So let me ask you something. Ooh, baby, I like you, bro. Is that like a pause, like mania or something.

[Joe Budden]

That's pause. That's just, like, crazy. We just knew ODB was crazy, so that. That went perfect with his Persona.

[Omar Epps]

But in fairness, anybody like it wrong?

[Fat Joe]

Let's be honest.

[Joe Budden]

That's a fact of undo.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I'm saying?

[Joe Budden]

That's really. From somewhere in the Bible is reworded. That's. That's in there.

[Fat Joe]

They just put it different, you know, the actors and industry. And shout out. My sister Tiana. She called me yesterday.

[Omar Epps]

Shout out, she got you. She got me.

[Fat Joe]

She got you.

[Omar Epps]

You're fluidity.

[Fat Joe]

You see how your brother. Yeah, come on, man, don't do that. She got your fluidity. You know what I'm saying? The guy over here.

[Joe Budden]

Guy over.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. I'm like, if I go to cvs, I got him with. I swear to God. They think I got Jada. Does that happen to you now on the street? They think I got Jada.

[Omar Epps]

Kiss with me.

[Fat Joe]

I'm in cbs.

[Joe Budden]

I could be in the Jada. Where's Joe at? Joel smoke cigars.

[Fat Joe]

Just bringing them everywhere. I'm like, yo, bro, he's home. He's doing his thing. Like, what are y' all asking for? But that came up.

[Omar Epps]

Wave.

[Joe Budden]

I ever call you on FaceTime? I charge the 5,000. Yeah, you want to see Joe, yo, crack. I mean, I'll let you. It's somebody right there that gave me.

[Fat Joe]

Five racks, my number for the first.

[Omar Epps]

Time in 30 years.

[Fat Joe]

Not because I was getting threats or nothing like that. What happened to me was I had friends that I truly love, that I love, that I grew up with, and stuff like that. Still had my number. And anytime they would call me at any time of the day, and it's always FaceTime. Be like, Yo, I told you he's here. I hate that shit. Like, no, no. It's a pet peeve. Like, by the way, my brothers, whoever got the number, the new. Don't do it. I'm ready to block you. No matter how much I love you, I don't. Yo, y' all see what.

[Omar Epps]

Y' all see what happened? They got the Netflix deal.

[Fat Joe]

Joe in Hollywood on him. He switched his number on him. Yo, that's not what I'm saying. Nah, what I'm saying is don't FaceTime.

[Joe Budden]

Nobody with no surprises.

[Fat Joe]

Chef Mark, my brother, one of my.

[Omar Epps]

Truest friends, my best friends in the world.

[Fat Joe]

Don't go to the random restaurant and bring out the chef on the app.

[Omar Epps]

I don't.

[Fat Joe]

I might be me topless, yo. You know that's flat, you know, There you go. Listen.

[Joe Budden]

That's fly.

[Fat Joe]

Listen. You know Puerto Ricans, real talk. When you call any of your Puerto Rican homies in the house, they never got a shirt on. Even when I call them. I'm keeping it real with you. They topless, right? So. But, yo, Chef, what is that? You know, it's like one of my best friends on earth when I ain't have a dollar. He. He. You know, he's always been there for me. I love him to death. But, yo, Chef, stop. Like, y' all gotta stop calling me with yo, I don't want that. That's one thing I'm not.

[Omar Epps]

The face sounds being intrusive. I feel you on that. Depending.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, that ain't like, yeah, just call me whatever. Yeah, what is it? You on the side of the road with it. Don't FaceTime. It should be. Unless it's something.

[Fat Joe]

Your FaceTime is great, but at the same time, it ain't. It eliminates the mystery, right? Like, it's like, you can't disappear no more like that, Right?

[Omar Epps]

Right.

[Fat Joe]

You could have disappeared, right? You could have told somebody, yo, I'm in Miami. You could be down the block. They can't see you, right? Man, I was like, yo, my man, what's up with the palm tree behind? Like, they know.

[Omar Epps]

That's why you can't. All that location.

[Joe Budden]

You could fake it, though. Go right by the speaker, huh? I'm in Cancun with a white background.

[Fat Joe]

That's crazy. That's the one thing my wife hates.

[Omar Epps]

About this set, is the fake palm trees.

[Fat Joe]

Every time she watches, she be like, man, them fake palm trees, I be like, yo, mom, we need some fluidity.

[Joe Budden]

Could we get some real ones?

[Omar Epps]

It's a field.

[Fat Joe]

My shit is.

[Omar Epps]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Fix it.

[Fat Joe]

We out here.

[Joe Budden]

He complimented the set when he came. He like, yo, this, you know.

[Fat Joe]

Listen, let me explain something to you, man. Nah, I don't want to go bad. Omar has came in. Look clean and all that. Don't, don't.

[Joe Budden]

This joint is executive.

[Fat Joe]

You know, I'm crazy, man. Y' all strike this.

[Joe Budden]

Executive produced by 50.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, yeah, about 50, myself, black excellence.

[Joe Budden]

For real. That's beautiful.

[Fat Joe]

One of my. One of my questions was Black Hollywood in, like, the 90s. What was that like out there? Who was coming up?

[Omar Epps]

And I mean, anybody you could think of me, you know, the friends, the Kai Fox. It was a beautiful time. You know what I'm talking about? Like, yo, it was so much love.

[Fat Joe]

Back in the day, everybody had a.

[Omar Epps]

Little beef or whatever, but it was. I just remember so much. Oh, back in the day, unity. What unity? Like, real unity. Like, everybody was just.

[Fat Joe]

Fat Joe in the early 90s was in Kwame video. There wasn't a bit. They call me up and be like, yo, come I come.

[Joe Budden]

Talking about the other kind of you.

[Fat Joe]

I'm just saying, I was, bro. When I came in the game, it was about love. It was about everybody jumping in everybody's video, Everybody loving each other, supporting each other. And this and somewhere where he's trying to say, I could tell you a hip hop stop. It all started when people actually started making money. That's when that ego turned into like, yo, I'm better than you. I'm bigger than you. My bigger. Our crew is more rugged we get. Soon as they started handing over that bag, I watched the nicest pedestrians turn into gang bangers. All type of things. I'm like, oh, this crazy.

[Omar Epps]

That's like. I guess it's a part of the process, right? I think when the bad comes into anything, then you get to see, you know, characters. You know, people gotta give them a chance to grow and evolve, too. Cause it's something you speak about a lot. And I'm like, I can really relate to that. Like, I've been around. I seen. I was young, so a lot of the older heads don't remember. That was me, the quiet kid in the corner. I seen you do that. I seen this, I seen that. And I'm just taking notes the whole time. And I seen people talk to certain people or treat people a certain way. Look up four years they run in that company and they treat greasy. And you wondering why. And I'm sitting there like, that's probably because you used to shit on that person or whatever the case. So it's just, you know, you learn, living learn. And you know, for the younger generation, they bag is. It's almost like it's not fair. It's like in sports, right?

[Fat Joe]

We happy for them, but it ain't fair.

[Omar Epps]

But I'm saying it ain't fair.

[Fat Joe]

We happy for them, but it ain't fair.

[Omar Epps]

It ain't fair to them. Because if you coming in 18, 19, too much money. Like, when you doing 500 a show, 700 a show, you're like, you could feel the weight of what you're earning if somebody just come off top like.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, here's a hundred mil.

[Omar Epps]

You a teenager or whatever, your parents.

[Joe Budden]

Don'T even know you need some help.

[Omar Epps]

You know what I mean, we just have to add that.

[Joe Budden]

That lineage.

[Fat Joe]

We never had that we could play Moses Black, but we wasn't know. But you would go back a hundred years to see if somebody in my family got money. They ain't never get money like this or had that like. So this is all learning while you growing, right? You know, and, and. And with me, I had a lot of like today, I cut somebody off. They had somebody after you. Guess I watched the. It was amazing story. I found out he was a rat. I said, yo, he can't come up.

[Omar Epps]

Here on this couch.

[Fat Joe]

That nigga can't come in here. Hey, he just can't. You can't come on this couch. Got morals for my fluidity, right? But what I'm saying to you is this is years of developing these characters and going through mistakes and flaws and this nothing. We ain't know nothing. You know what I'm saying?

[Omar Epps]

Did you know the beauty, Joe, not the customs that we gave ourselves the chance to evolve and to learn. This younger generation, they cutting themselves with the knees. It's like getting to this stage, it's a luxury.

[Joe Budden]

It's a blessing.

[Omar Epps]

The privilege.

[Joe Budden]

It's a blessing.

[Omar Epps]

You know what I mean?

[Joe Budden]

Every single day, let him know, again, that's real.

[Fat Joe]

Every single day. We wake up, we call each other, yo, thank God. We got another day. Right now at this point, highway robbing, right? So my wife and my daughter went out last night, and I stood home by my. By the way, it feels good being.

[Omar Epps]

Home by yourself sometimes.

[Fat Joe]

This is incredible. Email.

[Omar Epps]

What?

[Fat Joe]

I don't know this. I go pause.

[Joe Budden]

Did you cut the new chair?

[Fat Joe]

Hold up. I got the new chair. Yo, listen, I got a new massage chair. It's so expensive. Don't try this at home. But I bought the motherfucker and I went up in there, right? You went with me, man. But listen, what I'm saying is I like taking baths. So I got the big Jacuzzi.

[Omar Epps]

I'm by myself.

[Fat Joe]

I'm playing. I want to think this is you. This is a pause moment.

[Joe Budden]

That's right. He pre paused. He threw the flag early. Yeah, let's just get it out the way. Let's get him out the way, guys. Now you can tell the story of peace. We had to throw the flags. He already heard the bath.

[Fat Joe]

Melissa Morgan playing that shit up on there. Someone to thank you. And then I'm just looking at little.

[Omar Epps]

Shit like the light bulbs and the.

[Fat Joe]

Fucking marble with the. And I'm just like, yo, God, wow, thank you. This is like. Because like you said, we always chasing the check working. We barely home there in Georgia and I'm looking at the light bulbs. That's real. This is great and I've been living there for a long time Like.

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[Joe Budden]

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[Stugatz]

Stugatz Here I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stugats Co. Live which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.

[Joe Budden]

I love you guys show.

[Fat Joe]

It's one of my favorites.

[Stugatz]

A lot of interaction. Guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugats Co. And Stugats Co. Live. So listen to Stugats and Company Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate, and review Stug Co. And God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today, and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Fat Joe]

It's amazing, man, to. To. To get to that point and still be trying to grow.

[Omar Epps]

Oh, yeah.

[Fat Joe]

And still it's a lot of stuff. Like, Fat Joe, I don't want to interview myself. They say, yo, Joe, do too much. But I had to work on myself.

[Omar Epps]

I was a really bad guy.

[Fat Joe]

Like, a really bad guy, and they knew it, and so they were scared of me. This whole fucking industry was terrified. And so what they do when they terrified of a guy, they block your blessings. And they're like, yo, why would you. It's same thing in the drug game. I'm the Kinect. I'm El Chapo. I got a guy who's a nice guy, who's nonviolent, who always turns his money in time. Now another guy who might kill me for these bricks. Why would I want to make him powerful and feed him when I could keep dealing with. All right, so we could deal with Fat Joe. You could deal with Lupe Fiasco.

[Omar Epps]

But you know what, though, Joe? But you know what, though, Joe? You always had a good heart. I'll tell you a story that you probably don't even remember.

[Fat Joe]

I don't know. Speak on it. God. God bless.

[Omar Epps]

God bless. When Punhabbers passed, Steve Rifkin called me one day. You was on the phone. He called me like, yo, you gotta talk to him. You gotta talk. Very, you know, sensitive moment. He was just like, yo, you know what to say?

[Fat Joe]

And I'm like, all right.

[Omar Epps]

We got on the three, yo, you was really feeling it.

[Fat Joe]

Devastated.

[Omar Epps]

We talked for a minute or whatever, but I just like, damn. And I told you. I was like, yo, in a way, kind of, like, humanized, like, hip hop. Like, human stuff can happen to. Because we all grew up all. We all look like we thought every rapper's a superhero. Like, literally, like, I heard y' all talk about this on there, but I'm like, Yo, as a little kid now, we really thought that, you know what I'm saying? And so something like health and things of that nature. And I remember me and you was talking about that. But I only say that to say you always had a good heart. You might have, you know, done some things here and there, but I think that's why you continue to get blessed, you know what I'm saying? Because your heart was kind of, like, always in the right place. You follow what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. Thank you, man, for that. Yeah, I got a good heart, huh? Let me tell you something. Yeah. My heart was always in the right place. Even when I grew up in the Bronx, before rap music, it was always trying to help people and look out for people. But, you know, it's a matter of survival. You know, I got a friend, he passed away all the white guy. My man Kevin Buckman. Rest in peace with Market America. And we had these conferences where we talked to, like, 50,000 people and motivate them and stuff like that to be entrepreneurs. So one day I sit in the back with him and we talking, and he was like, yo, Joe, tell me.

[Omar Epps]

How you grew up.

[Fat Joe]

I said, yo, Kev, you don't want.

[Omar Epps]

To know how I grew up.

[Fat Joe]

He was like, nah, nah, nah, I'm interested. Because he was a big coach.

[Omar Epps]

I said, well, I sold a lot of drugs.

[Fat Joe]

I said, you know, I'm embarrassed. I'm actually ashamed of it.

[Omar Epps]

And he said, you shouldn't. And I said, what you mean, Kev?

[Fat Joe]

He said, that was your natural habitat. You did what you had to do to survive. He said, you think if I ain't grow up in them projects in the Bronx and the only way to get up out of there was selling drugs, I wouldn't have sold drugs.

[Omar Epps]

This was shocking to me that he.

[Fat Joe]

Even thought like that, although we're not proud about it. But he was just like, yo, you dealt with what was thrown at you, with the cards that was thrown at you, you had to deal with that, right? And pretty much that's the story of my life. I think if I grew up in a better place and shit like that, I might have been.

[Omar Epps]

But we always say that, even when we look at the old heads, that was legends and all of that, we always be like, yo, they grew up and went to Stanford, and, you know, this dude could have ran a Fortune 500, you know what I mean? But he grew up in the Peas over here, you know what I'm saying? Mount Vernon or whatever. And that's what it was. And they were entrepreneurs. Just the product that was available.

[Joe Budden]

It was, yeah, what it was given.

[Fat Joe]

You actually worked harder because you got your friends trying to kill you and come up. You got the police trying to lock.

[Omar Epps]

You up every day.

[Fat Joe]

Then you got the feds giving you the long term. That's the long term company.

[Joe Budden]

479,000 months.

[Fat Joe]

So you got to.

[Omar Epps]

They all be. Yo, I. I was watching this documentary. Remember Crazy Eddie? Yeah, Crazy had the documentary.

[Fat Joe]

I'm like, yo, I remember Crazy.

[Omar Epps]

Yo, that was crazy.

[Fat Joe]

Voices is insane.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, they was insane. For real. It was a whole operation.

[Joe Budden]

Eddie was moving shit.

[Omar Epps]

Him, Michael Milk, and like all these dudes, it's like, yo, they. You know, when it comes to the black and brown community, they always try to put this stigma on us. But it's like when you turn the light on other communities, everybody doing the same thing. You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

We just gotta control.

[Omar Epps]

We just be styling on them.

[Joe Budden]

So how was it? Big time managing a household with you a superstar actor and your wife a superstar singer, part of a superstar group, down with a superstar label?

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, man. Wifey, man, that's my world right there. We been down so long as far as, like, knowing each other and growing together and everything like that. So starting a family, it's just kind of like she's, to me, more beautiful on the inside than the out, and that's what counts. And so to be able to have a family with her, they just know it for that.

[Fat Joe]

You live in that little town they told us about, a little town in Georgia.

[Omar Epps]

Who?

[Fat Joe]

That wasn't you? Who was it? Somebody. Bam. One of them told us they live in Alphenia, Georgia. Oh, no, no, no, no.

[Omar Epps]

We out. We out on the west coast, but.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, man, that's probably where it started.

[Fat Joe]

I want to live town one day, you know?

[Joe Budden]

It didn't fit. Like, big Jacuzzi, big.

[Fat Joe]

I get that on the way home. Yeah, that was a good one. Right in my face. I get that on the way home. Crazy. I've always dreamed of, like, you know, when we go on tour, we drive.

[Omar Epps]

Them buses all over.

[Fat Joe]

I'd be like, damn, I would like to live.

[Omar Epps]

There's some shit like this. Nah, you wanna have a. You might have a spot there. But listen, we city kids through and through. It is what it is, right? You know what I mean?

[Fat Joe]

I bought a house in fucking. This shit is crazy. I bought a house. When I first moved to Miami. I started hanging out with all these football players. And the football players, they live out west and Plantation Acres. So they got big ass houses. I mean, my house was big and them next door neighbor shits was three times bigger than mine. Every guy on the block was a football player, right? So people riding horses and shit. I'm coming from New York, you know what I'm saying? With the New York fluidity. I thought that's what I wanted when I went there, man. Middle of the night, you hear the. You got posses of raccoons. I wanna shoot the raccoon posses. Scullies on, hanging on the window. I'm like, yo, get the. They're like, yo, my man. Like, yo, raccoons ain't scared of nobody. Yeah, bang on and do whatever you listen.

[Omar Epps]

Yo, raccoons with Scully's horns, Yo.

[Fat Joe]

I'm just trying to tell you the in Miami, they did not.

[Joe Budden]

Well, they could at least have Sunvisors.

[Fat Joe]

Your motherfuckers don't give up. Like, I'm banging on the window. Yo, yo, yo, yo, Trump.

[Omar Epps]

They.

[Fat Joe]

They not scared they'll go in your garbage right in front of you, take where you did.

[Joe Budden]

It is called plantation dogs. You didn't think about that?

[Fat Joe]

No, but you know, in Florida, people have like animals. Like animals they're not supposed to have.

[Omar Epps]

Florida, wow.

[Fat Joe]

Where I'm at, them niggas just going. I'm like, what the. Is that a camel or something? This shit out of control, man. I'm scared to death. The only good thing about Florida, I got the Tony Monte. Yo, I was waiting for somebody coming out. I had the big.

[Joe Budden]

The metro.

[Fat Joe]

Say hello to my notice. Stupid dumb. Them shits, man. Somebody tried to break in that front door. I just couldn't wait, guys. So I got this. And all you guys that live in a legal gun state all got one of them shits by the door waiting for somebody to walk up in that bitch. I be like, boy, they come up terminated too. And I CR this.

[Joe Budden]

I can't wait right now.

[Omar Epps]

Write the bill.

[Fat Joe]

I was right now.

[Joe Budden]

Terminator 2 come in. Fe all your.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, yeah, but you know, I mean, it was an experience. But I always say I wish I could live in like a little town.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, yeah. I like visiting, but, you know, unless I'm on like island somewhere, like when I travel the world, that's when I'd be like, man, I to pick up anything. Plus my son. And we a senior in high school, so we about to be empty nesters. Ah, so I'm already like, yeah, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? We could fly to work Wherever.

[Fat Joe]

Nest. Yeah, I'm ready to Holland is nice.

[Joe Budden]

As far as the bag. I know that's always lovely and a plus. But are you still. Do you have that same passion about acting?

[Omar Epps]

For sure. Cause it never leaves you in evolving, you know, producing, writing. I'm gonna direct one day, you know, just evolving. Getting into the other parts of it. Not just, you know, in front of the camera. When I am in front of the camera, it's really something that I want to do is really how I want to spend my time. And I feel like.

[Fat Joe]

In front of the camera.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah.

[Omar Epps]

In front of the camera. Yeah. Being an actor and it's, you know, the artist forever. This is a crap. I think you will much like, you know, writing. I think you get better in time because you live more, you got more range. You know what I mean? So, you know, I'm excited about this next chapter.

[Fat Joe]

What are some of the black actors most iconic scenes?

[Joe Budden]

That's a King Kong and got shit on.

[Omar Epps]

I can't front, Joe. Nobody's ever asked me that question, ever. I can't front. So I'm the first scene I'm thinking, sitting for a. It was basically the first time seeing a black man smack a white man on camera.

[Joe Budden]

Damn.

[Omar Epps]

Must have been.

[Joe Budden]

I seen that on a clip. I seen that in the heat of.

[Omar Epps]

The night, I believe. Yeah, yeah. It was just so jarring. You never seen that before. But that's also my acting hero. You know what I mean?

[Joe Budden]

Rest in peace.

[Omar Epps]

Trying to think of that. It's so many scenes and do the right thing. Like three or four of them.

[Fat Joe]

I mean, that was a great question.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, that was a great question. But that's the first one that comes to mind. Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

Now, who are some of the actors?

[Fat Joe]

Hold up. What's one of the most iconic scenes that you recall?

[Omar Epps]

That's same question for you.

[Joe Budden]

Kane's grandfather. Do you care whether you live or die? I don't know.

[Fat Joe]

Look at his face.

[Joe Budden]

He can't.

[Fat Joe]

You know, your man. Your man always gone. Your man always got it revolved. Your man always got revolver.

[Joe Budden]

How is he looking at me, though?

[Fat Joe]

No, that was like.

[Joe Budden]

It was.

[Fat Joe]

It would be. Anybody looked at me. Anybody said something.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Anybody ever has some hate of jealousy.

[Omar Epps]

Fatal.

[Fat Joe]

I'm Achilles that yo. That man to the. Yo. I feel like that, like in real life. That was very powerful. That was very powerful.

[Omar Epps]

That's a great, great question.

[Fat Joe]

We really skated past Juice. We didn't give it enough praise. But to me, Juice. And that's why I said we don't want to typecast you, whatever the case may be. You was young hood. But that's a illmatic. That movie to me is like such an illmatic. A classic you can watch.

[Joe Budden]

It's timeless. You watch it whenever he comes on, and whenever you catch it, you can watch it. Yeah, you know, it's the illness with that. The guy at the end, he started working for bet. So every time we go to the BET Awards, I see him at the end and tell them, you got the Juice. Now the things be looking. They like, oh, shit, that's really him.

[Fat Joe]

I met Tupac shortly after that, but I met Tupac from Juice. I didn't meet that Pac.

[Omar Epps]

Digital Underground.

[Fat Joe]

And coming up after Juice with a.

[Omar Epps]

Little bit of Bishop, that man.

[Fat Joe]

I tell you, I was there.

[Omar Epps]

Big Daddy Kane confirmed the story.

[Fat Joe]

I'm in the crowd.

[Omar Epps]

Big Daddy Kane's profounding.

[Fat Joe]

And Biggie and Pac come in there. It's a square garden together. But they come through the back, through the crowd. They're not coming through back. They walk through the crowd. And the man was full fledged Juice, Tupac, he was walking through that crowd like, he was like, yo, it's Pac. He was walking through, like, Pac and Biggie with him. And that's when they do that. I got seven Mac Elevens, about eight.

[Omar Epps]

That shit, that's legend, legendary. And it's ill because, like, the kids don't understand, like, before social media, they can't even comprehend. They don't understand, like, the magnitude when you say, like, coming through or whoever. I got so many memories of people like that. That's the only time you saw them. So to see somebody in person, only.

[Fat Joe]

One hard drive, that people went crazy bananas.

[Omar Epps]

Like all the video, like, you see Michael Jackson back in the days, people, it was like that. But for us, you know what I mean?

[Fat Joe]

They don't understand that Tupac Shakur walked.

[Omar Epps]

In.

[Fat Joe]

Like the Juice.

[Omar Epps]

Yep.

[Fat Joe]

He had the Scully like that, the four. He was dressed just like Kiss right now and was walking in like. And I'm even me, I knew him. I'm looking like, yo, that shit, you know, we know. You know what's crazy is my brother DJ Khaled, you know, one day I'm in the backyard. I mean, your caliban. God bless DJ Khaled. I don't even know how to explain this shit to you, right? But I'm in the backyard with him.

[Omar Epps]

And he said, you know, Joe, you're a star, and this and this and that.

[Fat Joe]

He said, but there was nothing like.

[Omar Epps]

Watching you walk in with Big Pun.

[Fat Joe]

He said you walking in with Big Pun, both of y' all together. He said that shit was like superheroes walking. CEO, man. Y' all two used to walk in like Joe and Pun.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I'm saying? Certain people got that presence. You know where you got that superhero presence.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

You know, I don't want to say five, but give me five albums that inspired you. Yeah, yeah. Artists and albums. It ain't gotta be top five.

[Omar Epps]

And restart Purple Tape. I don't know.

[Fat Joe]

It's not his. That's yours. Beloved.

[Omar Epps]

I don't. I don't like the 5 and the 3.

[Joe Budden]

It's unlike the category.

[Fat Joe]

You kind of gotta do errors.

[Omar Epps]

You gotta do, like, errors. I think errors is more fit because, like, the first time. I remember the first time I heard Ain't no Half Stuff on the radio.

[Fat Joe]

The first time I heard that beat.

[Omar Epps]

I wanted to jump through the wall. We never heard nothing like that. It was like, what is that? You know what I mean? And then by the time the video came out and all of this.

[Fat Joe]

Tell you something, video music bots. I was for hire, right?

[Omar Epps]

I was for hire.

[Fat Joe]

I was a terrible guy.

[Omar Epps]

And I grew up with violence. And if you wanted people beat up. Whatever you want. Mercenary Joe.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. You come pick up Fat Joe and.

[Omar Epps]

Right. Real talk.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. Mercenary Joe, that's the name of the movie. They come.

[Joe Budden]

That's it.

[Fat Joe]

They come and say, fat Joe, I'm gonna buy you three pair of Jordans and a Pele. I need you to put in this work. Now we're jumping a van. And they say, the guy with the red shirt. Anything in the world, I jump out there like, Clash of the Tight.

[Omar Epps]

That's what I did, right?

[Fat Joe]

The first guy I met, I'm not saying the hitman. Let's eliminate that. One day, my reputation got out there so much, and he's my brother, this guy named Scarface Steve. He's the first kingpin I ever met. And so he came to my block looking for me at the cherry red 300 with the wide body kid. And the reason I'm telling you this story is I'm a bum, okay? Like, I don't know if these people understand I'm a bum. I was tough, But I had $2 in my pockets, if that might have been one, right? So he comes pick me up. You know, you thinking he changing your life. That's like EF Hunting or some shit, right? So he pull up. Yo, Fat Joe.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, get in the car. I'm looking at the whole project, the block. Like, yo, this can't get me in this cherry red bench. And I locked the door. He had a wipe popped out of the. And the shit just said on and on and on. Ain't no half stepping. And the knees start driving off. You know how the dogs be in the car while they be having their head for the wind. I got my face out that window and I made him drive me 10 times around the project.

[Stugatz]

Right?

[Fat Joe]

No. Yeah, man, that's just say that changed my life right there, man. Shout out to Steve, man, Listen, that.

[Omar Epps]

Ain'T no half stepping his joints like that. You're right.

[Joe Budden]

It's.

[Omar Epps]

It's Errors album.

[Fat Joe]

Talking about it the other day when I was talking about it yesterday midnight.

[Omar Epps]

Marauder's album, same thing. Yo, we drove around. We drove back to Queens. It's like one in the morning. We hit daylight. Just back to. Back to just listening to the album. Like, yo, this is the most incredible, you know, moments like that. The music just. Just the music and the people making the music. You understand what I'm saying? The artist that's driving it. What we doing for not only ourselves and our family, with what we doing for this culture that we were bestowed, sort of passed on to us, you know what I mean? And I think, you know, we still in it, but we left it in great shape for the jungles. Cause they running it up right now. Crazy.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. They just gotta come outside to the yard and listen. Yo, Kiss. Listen. You ever went to somebody's neighborhood like, you love an artist and you had to go there, like. Like you didn't know him yet.

[Omar Epps]

Rappers, you was like, nah, I wasn't one of them. I was.

[Joe Budden]

I'm coming to Yahl. All the way up there, I was into the baby, maybe the Mount Vernon. See if you see half or something. I wasn't.

[Fat Joe]

I drove to Jay Z. Hopefully, I see you. I drove.

[Joe Budden]

See you in Fortimore Concourse or something. Not real shit. We wasn't. Our was fortunate. Our was like 1 25th. 1 45th. Jew man, Fordham. That was the stint.

[Fat Joe]

Almost Bronx. You guys are like, connected to the Bronx. Like this. Yonkers is like a part of the Bronx.

[Joe Budden]

It's connected.

[Fat Joe]

Literally. Yeah, yeah, I know.

[Joe Budden]

After the Bronx, you keep going these yonkets.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

I never forget. I had my man. He. He. He was running the Bronx.

[Omar Epps]

He's in jail 46 years and.

[Fat Joe]

But he lived. His crib was on the low.

[Omar Epps]

Yonkers, man.

[Fat Joe]

I up, man.

[Omar Epps]

We. We did.

[Fat Joe]

It was the Source Awards.

[Omar Epps]

The Source Awards.

[Fat Joe]

With Suge Knight, this Puff Daddy and all that. And Outkast won. So I gassed the. He had the new 500 Benz. I was like, yo, pull it out. He was like, nah, Joe, this. I mean, the big. That pun used to. But I mean, I'm talking about a year before someone seen one humanly possible. And I was gassing the.

[Omar Epps]

Yo, we gotta pull up.

[Fat Joe]

So, man, we got on that highway. We crashed that bend on the way to that. That wanted to kill me. Paralyze. Yo, fat boy, you made me crash this because it was like, you know, it's almost like a rose like. Like, you know that like you driving a boat.

[Omar Epps]

Them joints was heavy.

[Fat Joe]

Nobody had them shits. This was only that. If you had a 300, you was the man ain't mad. The 500, big body crashed up on the side of that from your. Oh, my God. I thought he was gonna kill me. Then we had to go and get a regular car. Just go to this Source Awards that day. But that went. You know, I remember gassing them, you know, hey, it's good to know that you have different levels of that life.

[Omar Epps]

You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

You got to always remember those things when you had to cast your man to jump in his whip and like that.

[Omar Epps]

You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

That it's a big deal, right? I'm pulling up Source Awards. I'm like, yo, gonna be crazy, man. We need to fight, man.

[Omar Epps]

Told me 30 never made it, boy.

[Joe Budden]

That's what it made it.

[Fat Joe]

Never would have made it. We fall down.

[Joe Budden]

Where can they catch Moses? The black Moses.

[Omar Epps]

Black is in theaters.

[Joe Budden]

Let's go, man. Let's get your ass out of your crib. Go to the theaters, pay for some tickets. You know what I mean? Support our people.

[Fat Joe]

How soon till it gets in? Like the streaming apps and all?

[Joe Budden]

By the time this episode comes out. It's in theater. No, it's in theaters. Yeah, it's gonna go to the app shortly.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, we gotta hard out. Yeah, this right here gotta come out. Cause the movie out. Cause that should be in the Tapestry bridge before you know this shit. Yeah, you guys right here.

[Omar Epps]

But go to the theater. You know, we talk about the theaters. It's about the experience, you know what I mean? It's going to see not only with your peoples, but people you don't know. Y' all reacting to the same parts.

[Fat Joe]

You know, I'm two months straight. No car.

[Omar Epps]

You see right now.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Omar Epps]

Sir.

[Fat Joe]

You know, the. The theater. Get me back into that diet Coke. That popcorn you got. Absolutely. You know the shits.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

You can eat popcorn, no butter.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, but it's a car, you know, I ain't been fucking with cars. But, yo, the movie theater, we need everybody to go in there to the movie theater.

[Joe Budden]

Go support Moses the Black man.

[Fat Joe]

Going to that Marty Supreme. And you going to all that other shit.

[Omar Epps]

Yeah, we need you.

[Fat Joe]

All right, before we leave, I know it's time for you to go, but how proud are we of Teyana Taylor, man?

[Omar Epps]

Incredible. Incredibly proud, man. Teyana, you know, she from the town, but she is ridiculously talented. She always has been. And it's just so dope to see her get her just her just do. And to get these opportunities because she only getting started.

[Fat Joe]

You know what I mean? She looking like Viola Davis and all under me now. And she's young.

[Omar Epps]

She young.

[Fat Joe]

So I'm like, you know, I feel like she moving.

[Omar Epps]

AI, it's only one of her. It's just dope to see her get her just due and get those opportunities. Cause she hitting home runs every time. So salute to Teanna. We proud of you. Love you.

[Fat Joe]

We proud of her, too. Yo, this ain't that.

[Joe Budden]

That ain't this. Cracking kiss. Make some noise for Omar Abs Blade.

[Fat Joe]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for pulling up his six degree weather.

[Omar Epps]

Oh, of course.

[Fat Joe]

Shit real out there.

[Omar Epps]

It ain't nothing.

[Stugatz]

Stigatz here. I have a podcast empire that I have brought here to iHeart. And I'm also hosting a daily live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern called Stegotson Company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes. Every single day, you can expect a lot of laughter, great guests, a ton of calls, and a lot of fun. Listen to stew Gottson Co. Live and our original podcast, Stugots Co. And God bless football. And you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.