Music Review: Fat Joe gets gritty

11/13/2006 4:34 PM, AP


Fat Joe, "Me, Myself and I" (Virgin): After more than a decade making rap records and gaining mainstream success by pairing up with R&B stars, Fat Joe returns with a harder sound on "Me, Myself and I."

His latest album, on a new label, is a raw, more personal project that may surprise fans more familiar with his mainstream collaborations or club hits like "Lean Back."

The start of "Me, Myself and I" is brutish, with jabs at 50 Cent and hood declarations about being the "only Puerto Rican in Harlem/now that's stardom."

The tone is set from the beginning: this ain't the Fat Joe featured on the latest Paris Hilton song. This is the man known as Joey Crack.

The songs tread the familiar subjects of sex, drugs and violence but also get deep with lyrics about Hurricane Katrina and heartfelt with "Bendicion Mami," a song about his mother.

A perennial featured artist on others' albums, Fat Joe keeps his guest list on "Me, Myself and I" short.

One of those collaborations, "The Profit" with Lil' Wayne, is the best track on the album, with a blasting but simple beat and solid performances from both rappers.

The pared-downed production of the album mostly works, but some tracks, such as "She's My Mama," end up sounding amateurish.

Fat Joe takes a deliberate step back from his mainstream success with a gutsy record that may prove more of a street success than a commercial one.