On the eve of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, rap veterans Fat Joe and Remy Ma sat down with FN to talk about their careers, big fashion purchases and powerful relationship between the music genre and footwear.
Photographer: Flo Ngala
Grooming: Amanda Wilson for Opus Beauty
Hair: Sophia Kay
Makuep: Rebecca Lee
Photo assistants: Paul Morejon and Tyler Henry
Editorial assistant: Tara Larson
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala On the eve of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, rap veterans Fat Joe and Remy Ma sat down with FN for a conversation on how the music genre has left an indelible mark on fashion and footwear.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala The longtime collaborators and friends (Remy has been part of Joe’s Terror Squad label since the early 2000s, after being discovered by the late rapper Big Pun.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala On the set of their cover shoot, the duo talked about their synchronicity — including in fashion choices. “It’s scary, sometimes I’ll pull up in a crazy lime green and she’ll be wearing the same exact color. We don’t plan this,” said Fat Joe (née Joseph Cartagena) of his Terror Squad colleague.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala -
Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala -
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala Fat Joe with his Terror Squad Air Force 1 collaboration with Nike.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala On Fat Joe: Louis Vuitton shirt and Nike SB x Air Jordan 4 “Pine Green” sneakers.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala Remy Ma in her own Bottega Veneta Canalazzo over-the-knee boots.
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala Remy Ma on her first big purchase: “We went to a store called Petit Peton in SoHo. They had purple ostrich thigh-high boots. She was like, ‘Rem, you’ve got to try them on, they’re crazy.’ I flipped the shoe, looked at the price and I’m like, ‘There has to be a decimal missing or something.’ I’d never seen a shoe cost that much in my life. I’m from Castle Hill in the projects, I’m struggling to get [Reebok] 5411s — $1,500 boots are crazy to me. I instantly have buyer’s remorse. I’m having anxiety attacks. I’m like, ‘I’ve never spent this much money on anything in my life.’ She goes, ‘You know you’ve got to get the matching bag, right?’ After I got the matching bag, it was over. There was no turning back.”
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala “It used to be hard for big boys to get clothes. One day I saw my man walking in Harlem and he had this Louis Vuitton outfit on. I was like, ‘Where did you get this?’ He took me to Dapper Dan. I was already in the streets making a couple of dollars. From there, I started going to Dap all the time buying Gucci outfits, MCM.,” said Joe. “We were taking $7,000 Goyard bags, cutting three bags up to make a hoodie before people knew what Goyard was.”
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala “If it’s a pair of sneakers — $25,000, $45,000 — I don’t care. If it’s fly, I’ve got to have it. We only live once and we ain’t taking it with us.”
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala “I was a big sneaker girl,” Remy told Joe in the exclusive conversation with FN. “When you met me, sneakers and Timbs every day, and somehow it merged into shoes. I see you do some [big spending] at your house. I never did that.”
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Fat Joe and Remy Ma: The FN Cover Shoot
Image Credit: Flo Ngala On Remy Ma: Burberry over-the-knee boots and top.
