“Went to His Funeral and Felt Like…”: Initially Weighing 470lbs, Iconic Rapper Faced a Harsh Reality Check Prompting an Intense Weight-Loss Journey

Joseph Antonio Cartagena‘s story aptly reflects the narrative, from rags to riches. The American rapper rose to fame with his songs and became a musical sensation as Fat Joe. Though the name carries body negativity, he still uses it despite losing 200 lbs a decade back. 

 Now, in an interview with Men’s Health, the ‘What’s Luv?’ singing icon spilled beans on his body transformation journey in the magazine’s “Hip Hop Health” series. 

 Fat Joe shared tragic events of his life

 The 52-year-old rapper’s association with Christopher Lee Rios aka Big Pun is well known. They both did the Jealous One’s Envy album in 1995 and were best friends. However, Big Pun died at 28 due to a heart attack. His obesity is the prime reason for such early death. “I went to his funeral and I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge-like,” he confessed to Mens Health.

 He could also relate daughter to Big Pun’s daughter at the funeral, and soon realization of his massive weight struck him hard. “Like, I seen me. And I’m looking at his little daughter. She was the same age as my daughter. I said, ‘You gotta lose weight; otherwise you outta here,’” he told himself. His grandfather’s and sister’s death followed, and the popular rapper slipped into depression. 

 He compared his mental health condition with a complex Rubik’s cube that is very hard to solve. He overcame the difficult phase after two years and focused on losing weight. With healthy habits, he was able to regulate his diabetic condition and soon lost several pounds. But he still uses his moniker ‘Fat Joe’.

 The 52-year-old on changing his most popular epithet

 Having shed a lot of weight, Fat Joe celebrated his triumph on obesity with the Drop A Body single from ‘The Darkside Vol.2’ album. But many found his moniker doesn’t suit him anymore. Even the rapping legend thought of opting for ‘Slim Joe‘.

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 But he revealed to Page Six that it wouldn’t be a smart move to change his name marketing-wise. However, he considers changing his Instagram name to Slim Joe for a month.

Fat Joe didn’t go back to his unhealthy habits after shedding over 100 pounds and is happy with a healthy outlook toward life. Have you found his story as exciting as his songs? Let us know in the comments below! 

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