FAT JOE EXPLAINS HOW HE TEAMED UP WITH JAY Z FOR "ALL THE WAY UP"

It's only been out a few days, but some critics are already labeling the remix of Remy Ma and Fat Joe's "All The Way Up," which now also features Jay Z, as this year's big summer anthem. With the song already a hit, some have wondered why it took so long for the two East Coast legends to collaborate on a track, and today Fat Joe explained to The Source how he and Jay Z finally decided to work with each other.

"It was about time," Fat Joe said."Everybody knows we had a checkered past," he said, addressing the long history alleged beef between him and fellow New York legend Jay Z. "...And whatever the case may be but I’ve seen him and dudes in his crew and we’ve always shown each other love." Fat Joe says he reached out to Jay Z first, who was immediately on board with the idea of working together. "It was on my bucket list it, it was something that I really wanted to do. So I reached out to N.O.R.E. because I knew he was really tight with Memphis Bleek. I know Memphis Bleek and Hov are best friends so I told him and he said “oh man that sounds like a motherf**kin plan!,” so he got Jay-Z on the phone with me in like 5 minutes and that was that. Jay-Z was like, “what’s up, I can’t wait, let’s go!”

The remix of "All The Way Up" has made headlines, not just because of the unprecedented collaboration between Fat Joe and Jay Z, but also because of Jay Z's lyrics, in which he directly addresses the rumors about his alleged marital infidelity, which have been swirling ever since his wife Beyonce dropped "Lemonade," an album whose lyrics frequently discuss salvaging a relationship with a cheating spouse. ""Your marriage made it, is worth millions / Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is," Jay Z casually comments during the track.

While Jay Z's reference to "Lemonade" seems to be dominating a lot of the discussion surrounding the remix of "All The Way Up," Fat Joe seems content with being able to put another hit under his belt.  "It is an event, given how many years of my life I’ve given to Hip Hop, all the obstacles Remy has overcome, [and] Jay-Z, all he’s done for the culture and [now] we have a New York anthem!" Fat Joe boasted.

You can read Fat Joe's full interview with The Source, which includes his thoughts on other artists freestyling over his tracks, as well as his expectations for the upcoming "Platas O Plomo" album, by following this link.

By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation