Background
Fat Joe was born on August 19, 1970 in the southern Bronx area of New York City, where he was raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. He lived in public housing and began stealing at a young age to support his family. He also states that he was a bully in his childhood.
Career
His brother introduced him to rap music. As a teenager, he was highly influenced by fellow Latino rapper Big Pun. Fat Joe explained the rapper's influence on him by saying "Latinos before us who had the opportunity to do it just didn't know how to do it. They came in trying to do this black music, waving flags. [But] we're trying to kick in the doors for other Latinos and represent our people, and it shows."Fat Joe lives in Miami and is married with three children. He has been back to his old school in the Bronx, New York to donate computers for the students. In 2008 He attended the grand opening of the Hip Hop Soda Shop in Miami which was community outreach project set up by Ben Chavis for the youth to hang out and do things such as record music, use the computers and play on Xbox 360s.At a "School is Cool" assembly in Public School 5 in Jersey City, New Jersey on June 11, 2009, Fat Joe was a speaker. By 1996, he weight 300 pounds. In 2005, Stuff magazine and ContactMusic.com profiled Fat Joe's weight loss efforts. During at interview Vlad TV, Joe stated that while he not a gay, gay people should not hide there sexuality and stand by what they are.