The Bronx rap icon Fat Joe (famous for “Lean Back” and “What’s Luv?”) recently engaged in some suspect-worthy tea by hinting that at one point he was once in the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percent Nation. For the uninitiated among you, that’s a cultural movement that spun off from the Nation of Islam, all about learning self, divine mathematics, and spiritual discipline. But don’t trip, we’re not about to decode the Supreme Alphabet here.
Instead, we’re focusing on one picture Fat Joe released that said so much without saying a word. In the picture, he stands there all nonplussed with a bunch of people, wearing a knit kufi-style hat. This particularly sprinkly but flavorful invocation became a full-fledged moment for Hip-Hop heads and Five Percenters alike.
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However, the internet doesn’t require much to get started. The photo itself posed those big questions: Was Joe really about that Five Percent Nation life? Did he study the 120 lessons? Was he a “righteous” man, or was he simply close to one?
The curveball here, and one reason this was so intriguing, was Fat Joe’s roots. He’s Puerto Rican and Cuban, a distinction that has drawn eyes from some, given the historically Black core of the Nation of Gods and Earths. That said, New York in the 1990s was a melting pot of culture, and there were plenty of people from every background soaking up the lingo, the codes, and the know-how. But not all were practicing what they preached.
Some online commenters have suggested that this teacher, Joe, may have learned from someone who was not properly credentialed. “There were for sure some dudes out there faking the funk… maybe Joe had gamed from an 85er fronting like he was righteous,” one user posted.
Then there were the memes because, of course. Social media did what social media does best and came up with a new name for Joe, “The God Crakk Kim Great God Allah.” Now that’s a mouthful! But honestly, it’s hilarious and classic Hip-Hop internet.
Joe, to his credit, hasn’t said anything much since the post. No explanation, no discussion, no pushback. Maybe he’s letting the picture do the talking. Perhaps it’s all a cheekbone-light spoof of a bygone era. Or perhaps… The God Crakk was building with the righteous, in the day.
Either way, Fat Joe appears nonplussed. He is a storyteller, a legend, a walking slice of New York history. And whether this is simply a tribute to the days when he was cipher-building in the BX, or an actual chapter from his spiritual journey, one thing’s for sure:
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