Fat Joe (born Joseph Cartagena on August 19, 1970) is an American rapper. Of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage, and born and brought up in the Bronx, Joe was popular in the underground hip hop scene during the early and mid- 1990s. During this period, Joe was affiliated with KRS-One — there are pictures online at KRS-One's Temple of Hiphop site showing them drawing graffiti (" bombing") together.