Just when you think it’s about time to write Fat Joe off, he comes back and flips the script completely. As he states in the first verse of “Ha Ha”, commercial records like Snoop’s “I Wanna Rock” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind” have paved the way for the raw east coast sound of production to return. This joint samples a piece of Soul II Soul’s “Back 2 Life”, and his produced by Get Busy Committee producer, Scoop DeVille. Young Jeezy included doesn’t hurt either, adding a little southern flavor for the fans who started following Joe in the later years of his career. What is it with dudes like Jeezy and Gucci sounding light years better over boom-bap tracks (see Wale’s “Pretty Girls”). This seriously is the hottest thing Joe has done in years.

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Listen: Fat Joe “Ha Ha”