Fat Joe has earned many accolades, but this might be his most important yet. On Thursday (May 30), the rapper was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Lehman College. The institution is located in his old neighborhood of the Bronx. Throughout the speech, the Terror Squad rapper talked about community and never giving up on your dreams. “I have a friend… that started out selling fish, on the side of the highway,” he began. “He eventually bought the building behind him and opened the biggest fish market in the Bronx.”
In Fat Joe’s opinion, where you start doesn’t have to be where you finish. “You may be the first generation, but now is the time to stop the vicious cycle of poverty in your family,” he continued. “Now is the time.” Toward the end of the speech, the rapper left the students with a profound thought: “You’re just beginning your lives… Some of you been around, but I’m telling you success never stops. There is no age limit to being successful.”
“There is no age limit to being successful,” Fat Joe Says
When Joey Crack isn’t breaking down barriers, he doubles as quite the storyteller. Back in April, during an interview with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on their Roommates Show podcast, he shared a story about Kevin Durant having a game at Rucker Park. The game took place during the NBA’s 2011 lockout. Durant had been spotted at the popular Harlem park shooting hoops with locals. The rapper claims the basketball player scored nearly 82 points in the third quarter, which infuriated the other players, who allegedly chased him off the court.
However, Durant quickly caught wind of this and denied Joe’s retelling of the story. “Another podcast lie,” he posted on X. Not too long after, Fat Joe responded, writing, “I was there he knows I’m not lying 62 points in 3 quarters why was the game stopped it’s all love all i did was big him up “GREATEST STORY TELLER IN THE GAME.”