The Bronx-born rap legend Fat Joe announced on Instagram that his mother had died. The uncensored, raw, and emotion-filled tribute described a woman whose strength, love, and undying generosity inspired the man and the music we know today.
“This a real one,” Joe penned to open his tear-jerking post. “R.I.P to the woman who brought me in this world. She didn’t have much, but she gave us everything.”
Her name was Marie Delcarmen Cartagena but to those who adored and depended on her, she was “Ms. Ruby,” the reigning mother hen of the Terror Squad, a maternal figure that extended well beyond issues of biological progeny. Although Fat Joe didn’t disclose a cause of death, he intimated that it was a heartache he couldn’t recover from. “Truth is she died from a broken heart. 60 FUCKING YEARS with a guy and he recently just croaks, My dad wanted her with him.”
Ms. Ruby had no interest in fame, fortune, etc. While her son achieved worldwide fame, she refused to leave the housing projects where she had raised her family. “She wouldn’t leave the projects decades even after I had money. She was passionate about her community; she was passionate about her people,” Joe said.
And she loved way beyond the circle of her immediate family. With a heart of gold and a soul made of wax, Ms. Ruby was a wellspring in her community. She kept her home open in the literal sense of the term, even though she worked three jobs to support it. Joe remembered their door was never locked, so anyone hungry could come in and feel at home.
“She was so proud of us,” Joe wrote of his Hip-Hop family, meaning all of us. “She called daily, asking about Remy, Khaled, Rich, Terrell.” For Ms. Ruby, success was not counted by awards and laurels but was about keeping close to your people and never forgetting where you came from.
Fat Joe has praised his mother for influencing his character and career for years. Ms. Ruby’s values were baked into everything he built, from his relentless work ethic to his deep well of compassion. And while the world knew the rap icon, behind all that was a son molded by a mother’s love, as fierce as it was well-meaning.
“I have to be grateful to the Father, my God, for giving me her in my life this long,” he wrote.
As condolences and memories flood social media from fans, friends, and fellow artists, Ms. Ruby’s legacy isn’t just alive but legendary. And despite it all, her strength lives on through ears in every verse, every beat, and every life she’s come in contact with via Fat Joe.
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