Fat Joe, 50, Papoose duke it out

Dennis Winn/Columnist
Published: March 6, 2008

"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart—this you will build your life by, and this you will become."

—James Alle

FAT JOE, 50, PAPOOSE IN THE RING

Rumor has it that faces hit fists and vice versa when an altercation took place between Fat Joe and Papoose last weekend in North Carolina. The two, along with other artists, were reportedly in town for performances and other various reasons; Joe was promoting his upcoming album "Elephant in the Room" while Papoose was … being Papoose. As sure as the fact that night turns to day, there have been conflicting accounts of exactly what happened.

Apparently, Pap was cooling out in the hotel room of Philly emcee Cassidy when Joe burst into the room with approximately nine members of his entourage. Upon entering the room, Joe asked Pap, "Do you have a problem with me?"

Timeout! Fat Joe is easily somewhere in the neighborhood of 375 pounds. Papoose might be 170 pounds soaking wet on a full stomach. Time in!

Papoose reportedly answered Joe by saying, "No, do you have a problem with me?" To which, Joe responded, "Yes!"

You know what, Pap can tell you better than I can. Pap, what happened?

"Dude caught a fair one. I told all my men step outside, my two dudes, I only had two dudes with me, he had like nine or ten with him, and we'll do the one on one. He didn't wanna do that. He refused. So we just got it on like that. I got it on with all those dudes. You can't deny the fact that I put my work in … I put my work in on the middle of that chin," he said according to San Francisco radio station KMEL 106.

Pap also explained that he felt the problem between Joe and himself is the result of an interview that he had done with Joe's longtime rival 50 Cent. Joe later confirmed this explanation as true and accused Pap of laughing at jokes that 50 was making directed at Joe. Furthermore, Joe revealed to WPGC's Tigger on Tuesday that his former artist Remy Ma is romantically involved with Papoose. Since the end of their business relationship, Remy Ma has had some harsh things to say about Fat Joe.

Shortly after news of the fight spread, photographs of a banged-up Fat Joe began to circulate the Internet. Shortly after, a bruise-free Joe released a video claiming the photos were false. "[Dudes] is funny, they ain't got nothing else to do with themselves." he said. "I'm in Corpus Christi right now, I got a show tonight, just did Funkmaster Flex car show yesterday ... and [50 Cent] in Connecticut somewhere at Neverland playing with these Internet [programs]. … When I come to New York, I'm going on the radio and address everything."

Whatever the case, it looks like both parties won this fight. Joe's upcoming album is getting plugged and Papoose is receiving some much-needed media attention. Makes you wonder.

PIPER RELEASES 'BATTLE'

Accused child molester R. Kelly decided to play the "victim" role and released a diss record titled "I'm a Beast." The album features Kelly singing and rapping aggressive verses at unnamed targets. At record's end, Kells said he may name them in the song remix. However, the general public has already started speculating.

After listening to the song, it's clear Jay Z and Young Jeezy are called out. Many people also believe Ne-Yo is a target.

Following his premature dismissal from R. Kelly's national tour last year, Ne-Yo claimed that he was dismissed because Kells was jealous of him. Yet, the verbal jabs toward Ne-Yo were more cleverly hidden than his blatant shots at Jay Z and Young Jeezy. The line "Never been a snitch boy…" is an obvious jab at Jay Z, who rhymed:  "Now the singer Rob calls the police on me/ y'all ran out and copped the CD/ See what I discovered, y'all some snitch lovers?" on his "Kingdom Come" LP. Jay's line references Kelly's lawsuit against him over an ugly unsuccessful attempt at a national tour. As for the jabs at Young Jeezy: "Say you a 'go getta'/ Go get your own [stuff], boy." The "go getta" seems to be an easy call, since the two collaborated on the hit "Go Getta" last year.

No doubt R. Kelly is a musical genius, but why'd he do this? He opened floodgates of jokes and criticisms that will just make him a walking bull's-eye. You just don't take shots at people when you have an upcoming child molestation trial. Shhh, keep quiet Kells.

MILLZ TURNS TO MONEY

In another one of those hip-hop "What the …" moments, Harlem native Jae Millz signed with Lil' Wayne's Young Money Records. Millz hit the scene on MTV's "Making the Band 2" when he destroyed band member Ness in a freestyle battle. He made more of a name for himself upon the release of underrated smash hit "No, No, No" in 2003.

This is a bad move because Millz has potential to be signed to a legitimate label. Lil' Wayne is the hottest artist that Young Money Records can boast, and he works for Cash Money, who in turn works for Universal Records.

When are rappers going to learn that you should never sign to a label that features the CEO as the primary artist? Haven't we learned anything from Jay Z's stint as Def Jam president?

Local emcees take note, either be the CEO or the rapper, not both. …Until next week, peace!

Dennis Winn can be reached at 703-400-8301 or .