DX: I’m not on that Imus tip… [Laughs]
FJ: [Laughs] Yeah, I know, blame the producers for giving me that crack cocaine.

DX: Hey, I love the ignorant shit.
FJ: I love the ignorant shit too! In fact, that’s that one record I love from Jay-Z right now is “Ignorant Shit.” [Laughs]

DX: I don’t think there is an independent artist in Hip Hop who finds more success and support from radio than you do? Besides just good music, how do you prove to do what so many independent artists consider to be the impossible?
FJ: The radio has a lot of success from me. I make the kind of records that girls get involved with; I make the kind of records that people want to hear all day on the radio, so they request them all the time. So my track-record has been pretty great with radio. Of course they play stuff that the people want to hear, and they want to hear the Fat Joe singles. That, and me, I own my own independent label, so I hired my own radio team, which happen to be some of the best people. See, Fat Joe used to put up his own promo stickers and go to jail for putting up his own posters and promote, standing outside clubs, giving out flyers about my records. I did all that; that’s where I come from. So in order for me to hire, anybody on my team has to be able to roll up their sleeves and work. I don’t hire guys who just look nice in fancy suits. I hire the guys who really get the job done.

DX: You’ve got a younger generation really behind you. Have you found that these younger audience are doing the research and buying your first three albums?
FJ: I can’t tell you. I really don’t keep track of that. I hope so. I don’t know. I rather them just likin’ my stuff now, ‘cause I’m so much better now than I’ve ever been.

DX: Doing some research, I realized that all but two of your albums were released in cold weather months in the year. Last year, it was good to hear “Make It Rain” on snowy, messy days in the northeast. Is there a strategy behind this?
FJ: You’re actually right. Boy, you’ve done some good research. [Laughs] I guess that’s just my timetable, my frame of work. I notice that. Yesterday I was doing my album cover artwork and I was wearing a skully and coat on. It’s got that vibe. I’m always a diehard New Yorker, always!

DX: One thing about you is, you’re like the Dick Clark of Hip Hop. I say that respectfully, because despite being a consistent veteran, you look the same and still get new fans. In music and in image, what makes that possible?
FJ: ‘Cause I stay fly! For one, I’m one of the flyest guys as far as dressing. I take a lot of time out to make sure my wardrobe is up to par. I make sure anytime anybody ever sees me, my haircut is right. I take care of myself. As far as being in the streets, I never left the streets. I’m in the streets. I risk my life going to the clubs where no rapper can go. I’m in the hood. I know what the people want. I know what they sayin’ about me. I know what they want to hear. I have never been able to be bougie. No matter what. Tonight [November 29] I’m being honored at a charity event for something I do for kids, and I’m almost fighting the fact that I’ve got to wear a suit. I just…haven’t changed. In my heart, I’m 18 years old. That’s the big thing about it. I still act like an 18-year-old. I get a new gold medallion and feel like, “Oh God, I wanna walk through the whole Bronx with it.” There’s a lot of adolescence to me.

DX: What is the charity with children that you’re being honored for?
FJ: Leave it to Fat Joe to have a gangster charity. [Chuckles] Kids with incarcerated parents, there’s no ways of getting them to visit their parents. We try to generate money to have that family bond. As well as, when it comes Christmas time, these kids’ parents are obviously in jail, so we’ll play Santa Claus for ‘em and stuff like that. They’re honoring me for just helping out.