Fat Joe Proudly Plays 'Uncle Joe' for Friend Ashanti's Baby Boy: 'He's Like Royalty' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Fat Joe; Ashanti.Photo:Prince Williams/FilmMagic; Paul Morigi/Getty

Prince Williams/FilmMagic; Paul Morigi/Getty

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of him hosting the BET Hip Hop Awards 2024, the Terror Squad rapper, 54, calls his collaborator and friend “the best mom.”

Ashanti and Nelly, February 2024.Alexander Tamargo/Getty

Alexander Tamargo/Getty

Fat Joe and Ashanti have put out songs like 2002’s “What’s Luv?” and remained close friends throughout the years.

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Fat Joe, who himself is a father of three, tells PEOPLE that there’s no advice he would give the new parents, as they have everything under control.

Fat Joe and Ashanti, August 2022.Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

However, Fat Joe jokes that the closeness may have made it hard for some to get to know the “Happy” singer in the past.

“I used to tell her when she was single, I’d be like, ‘Yo sis. You know why you single?’ She’d be like, ‘Why?’ and I’d say, ‘It’s because you go on a date with your mother, your father, your sister. Like how you want a guy to even talk sweet talk to you in front of them?’ ” the Bronx-born rapper says.

“But that? I’m not worried about any parenting issues over there, because that family, they with each other through thick and thin. No matter what. It’s just a beautiful family,” Fat Joe tells PEOPLE.

source: people.com