On this day, July 27, in hip-hop history...

Relativity Records
Relativity Records
loading...

1993: Before he was a platinum selling Terror Squad general and the head honcho of Hispanic rap, Fat Joe was just a kid from the Bronx with dreams and bars. Fat Joe da Gangsta made his major label debut with his first studio album Represent on July 27, 1993.

At just 23 years old, Fat Joe made his mark in hip-hop by way of Relativity Records with his 14-track effort. Singles off the project included "Watch The Sound" and "Flow Joe," which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles when it debuted. Joe's ability to rhyme with gritty authenticity and still manage to work in wordplay helped him carve a name for himself in a market with little Spanish representation at the time. Joe would later make reference to his young buck days on his monster single, 2004's "Lean Back": "Came out the gate on some Flow Joe shit/Fat nigga with the shotty was the logo, kid."

Now, exactly 26 years later, Fat Joe has seven gold and platinum plaques to his name, the most recent of which is for "All The Way Up" with his Terror Squad cohort Remy Ma. Joe and Remy's joint album Plata o Plomo, dropped in February and was easily one of the best LPs of 2017.

30 Albums That Will Make You Appreciate Hip-Hop

More From HOT 99.1