Fat Joe The Gangster. Joey Crack. Don Cartegena. Throughout his career, Joseph Cartegena has assumed many aliases, but with his fourth album, J.O.S.E (Jealous Ones Still Envy), he hopes to take the title left unclaimed when Frank White died, the King of New York.

     Unfortunately, J.O.S.E. shows that Joe is more of a follower than a leader. He makes decent east coast gangster rap, (evidenced here and on any of his other albums,) here shining brightest on “J.O.S.E.”, a Psycho Les produced throwback to his early D.I.T.C. sound, as well as “Definition Of A Don”, backed with Alchemist’s Scarface-like gangster theme music. Being that his rhyme skill and mic presence are average at best, many of the tracks are saved by his collaborators, such as “Fight Club” featuring M.O.P., or “Get The Hell On With That” featuring Ludacris. Furthermore, he who would be king shamefully borrows styles from others, as “We Thuggin’”, while still catchy, is an obvious nod to Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love Ya” (just listen to the two songs back to back), just as the Ja Rule featured “What’s Luv” mirrors J-Lo’s “I’m Real” so much that one could even sing Ms. Lopez’s hook over it.

     And while the Xzibit featured “The Wild Life” wants badly to be produced by Dr. Dre, and the “We Thuggin’ Remix” is only saved by humorous verses from Busta Rhymes and Noreaga, they still make for decent stays in the world of Joe. One true shining moment lies in the misogynistic duet with Remy, “Opposites Attract (What They Like)”, thanks to a blazing beat hooked up by Self & Irv Gotti, but for the most part this album is pretty much formulated, cookie cutter, year-end rap. Sure, it might help you let some steam off after a hard day of work at the post office, but J.O.S.E. hardly steals the crown from H.O.V.A.