Cartegena formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s, through which he has signed fellow New York artists including Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, and Cuban Link, as well as then-unknown producers DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre.

Cartagena has appeared in several films, including Scary Movie 3 and Happy Feet, as well as Spike Lee's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It.

In 2018, he created and hosted the Coca Vision podcast on Tidal, where he discusses music, friendships, and pop culture with various celebrity guests.

[4][5] Fat Joe was born Joseph Antonio Cartagena in the Bronx borough of New York City, where he was raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent.

After being welcomed to contribute a verse, Joe appeared on the record and in its accompanying video along with Foxy Brown, Keith Murray, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

[12][13] During the recording of Jealous One's Envy, Joe discovered fellow Latino rapper Big Pun, who was featured on the song "Watch Out".

[15] The album featured three singles with accompanying music videos, "Bet Ya Man Can't Triz", "John Blaze", and "Don Cartagena".

Guest appearances included Nas, Puff Daddy, Big Pun, Raekwon, Jadakiss, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

On the album, Fat Joe debuted his own group Terror Squad consisting of the late Big Pun, as well as Cuban Link, Triple Seis, Prospect, Armageddon, and later Remy Ma.

The album featured a star-studded lineup from the likes of Ashanti, Ja Rule, N.O.R.E., Busta Rhymes, Petey Pablo, M.O.P., Ludacris, R. Kelly, Buju Banton, and artists from his Terror Squad label.

The same year, he and Tony Sunshine performed the single "Crush Tonight" from Loyalty on the Comedy Central program Chappelle's Show.

Despite the setback, Fat Joe scored a number-one hit in 2004 with his group Terror Squad, collaborating with Remy Ma on the Scott Storch production "Lean Back" from the album True Story.

[16] Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic called the song "a perfect club-ready duet between Joe and Remy Ma that boasts a trademark Scott Storch beat and a memorable singalong hook and dance-along step".

[20][21][22] Fat Joe portrayed himself and provided his own voice and likeness for the September 2004 video game, Def Jam: Fight For NY.

[23] All or Nothing spawned the singles "So Much More" and "Get It Poppin" featuring Nelly, also with guest appearances from Eminem, Mase, Remy Ma, Mashonda, and R. Kelly.

Responding to "My Fofo", 50 Cent attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank" from his best-selling 2005 album The Massacre.

[24][25][26] Fat Joe subsequently attacked 50's street credibility and called him a "coward" on a phone interview with Kay Slay of New York City hip-hop radio station WQHT.

This divestment was required as effect of a deal with IMPALA and the Merlin Network, related to Warner Music's acquisition of Parlophone Records from EMI.

[32] Also that month, Fat Joe was featured in the DJ Khaled singles "We Takin' Over" alongside Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Birdman, and Lil Wayne and the remix to Khaled's "I'm So Hood" with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Ludacris, and Birdman.

Production comes from The Alchemist, Cool & Dre, Streetrunner, DJ Premier, Scoop DeVille, Just Blaze, Scram Jones, Raw Uncut and DJ Infamous with guest appearances by Busta Rhymes, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, R. Kelly, Clipse, Cam'ron, Rico Love, Too $hort, TA, and Young Jeezy.

On April 7, 2011, Jamie Drastik released his second mixtape Champagne And Cocaine which contains the song "One Hundred And Ten" featuring Fat Joe.

2 is going to be his first ever official mixtape and will feature the Mark Henry-produced songs "Massacre on Madison" and "Drop a Body", both of which were released earlier in the year.

Joe went on to say he is also working on an album which is yet to be named but the first single is called "Another Round" produced by Cool and Dre and Young Lad and features Chris Brown.

In September 2012, Joe featured in Grammy awards winner Alejandro Sanz's new album, La Música No Se Toca in a music named Down.

In 2008, he attended the grand opening of the Hip Hop Soda Shop in Miami which was a 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.

Responding to a subpoena, Fat Joe claimed to have heard the shooting and seen people fleeing the scene, but investigators argued that he was standing closer to Mulero, by a door.

Jermaine Wufgang Chamberline of Miami Gardens was accused of shooting Lessli Paz and Joey Navarro to death on that morning; Fat Joe and the two victims were sitting in a rented Cadillac Escalade parked outside the restaurant when a fight broke out between passengers and another man.

50 Cent later retaliated with a profanity-laden diatribe following his performance of the song So Seductive with fellow G-Unit artist Tony Yayo, exclaiming "Fat Joe's a pussy man!

Murder Inc. co-founder Irv Gotti later expressed anger at Fat Joe following his proposal to quell their longstanding feud with G-Unit in 2010.

[76] In 2012, 50 Cent approached Fat Joe in talks of ending the feud following the two agreeing to perform at a memorial ceremony for then recently-deceased music executive Chris Lighty.