It's one thing to trick out your vehicle after you make it. Make what? Mad cash, of course. With the almighty dollar in hand funding your car audio fantasy is just a matter of knowing what you want and finding the right talent to bring it to life. On the flip side, if you don't have the loot for luxury, you need to have a different kind of wealth, that of desire and determination. Put another way, you have to want it real bad. Back in the day, before Fat Joe was a famous rapper and label head, he was one of the first dons in the South Bronx to have a custom sound system in his vehicle. That says a lot about his priorities, and we have to respect that.
New York being a street culture, folks would hang out on a stoop and, as they like to do, would comment on what they saw around them. Call them street critics. And the discourse they would engage in wasn't so much like, "There goes Fat Joe the rapper in his hot car", it was more like, "Who the hell is in that boomin' ride?!" Before the hit records and the videos on MTV he was already down with car audio fans in his rolling boom-box. In between then and now Joe has worked with deliberation and resilience, to succeed in surrounding his life with music. Nowadays, the Bronx-born legend and Terror Squad leader has two reputations. One for his music and another for his mobile audio systems. See, Fat Joe's love of music is embodied not just in his own albums, or his label, Terror Squad Records, but also in the way his in-car gear sounds.
Lately, Joe has been working very hard on his musical career. He's in the spotlight with the release of his first album, "Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.)", since the passing of his close friend and Terror Squad collaborator Big Punisher (R.I.P Big Pun). Since then, amid swirling rumors and the requisite drama surrounding celebrities in any realm, Joe has maintained, staying prolific as the spiritual leader of his label. As the title of the album indicates, the story of Fat Joe is not without scandal and the darker elements that come with achieving superstardom in the Big Apple. Hip-hop is music, but it's also a business. That means competition. In that respect it's just as fierce and treacherous as any other.
Big Pun, like any rare talent, was a true original in the art of rap and the game called hip-hop. Pun's lyrical fire burned bright behind what others saw as a laid-back demeanor. After listening to Joe's album you can hear Pun's influence, imbuing Joe with that familiar spark (that influence is felt in many other Billboard artists). After Pun's tragic death Joe became determined to persevere and represent for the Latino hip-hop culture. Joe is still pushing for his Terror Squad camp to really earn that Hall of Fame slot, and he's putting the impact of his full weight behind the cause. Pun will always be in the Hall of Fame, and his songs will long be remembered, and so now Joe deals with the pressure of holding down the legacy.
First Joe needs to top himself; his much acclaimed 1995 release, "Jealous Ones Envy (J.O.E.)" was followed by "Don Cartegena" which was his first certified gold album. So he's had to really put together an all-star team of players to amp it up on the new record. This time around Joe was joined in the studio by today's foremost producers. The illustrious list includes Rockwilder (Busta Rhymes, Erick Sermon, Redman, just to name a few), Irv Gotti (DMX, Ja Rule), Psycho Les (Mos Def, The Arsonists), and Alchemist (Talib Kweli, Capone-N-Noreaga). Joe didn't stop there. To complement some of the best people behind the scenes he invited some of the top people in front of a mike, guests artists like Xzibit, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Noreaga, Petey Pablo, and Buju Banton, as well as Joe's Terror Squad cohorts, Remy Martin, Armageddon and Prospect.
The first single on the CD has been getting a lot of play. "We Thuggin'" gives rap fans a good idea of what to expect on the album. At press time Joe's powerhouse single had reached number five on the Billboard Hot Rap Charts and was still climbing the heights. Featuring R. Kelly, "We Thuggin'" was the winter party anthem at every damn raucous holiday party in New York and the entire northeast region (and probably the whole nation). An open declaration and exclamatory celebration of hip-hop politics, lifestyle and ideology, with the spins that this song receives on the radio, even those who are not into hip-hop will be moved by the distinctive rapping style of Fat Joe and probably will feel compelled to groove to the infectious beat.
With his continued success we are sure Joe will be adding more vehicles to his stable. As it is, Joe's firmly cemented position in the uppermost echelon of the hip-hop hierarchy has justified having more than several cars turned-out and tuned to the nines. Like most people in the music business game he's got the right one for almost every occasion; this time around we had the privilege of checking out the new 2002 Escalade, and apparently there are more fabulous vehicles (of the luxury variety) that may be revealed as we go.
2002 Escalade
The word "escalade" refers to the act of scaling, say, a wall. While this SUV may not exactly be able to climb up and over one, it's safe to say the car audio system in it could break one down sonically. For the installation in the luxury sport-ute Fat Joe turned to Audio Designs of Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Dave Miranda and Andy Kagan. One of the key aspects of the system design they had to consider was whether or not to keep the factory radio. Because it is connected to the OnStar system they decided not to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit. The benefits of a superior source signal would have negated the benefits that Fat Joe enjoys from OnStar.
Dave and Andy did, however, modify the outputs on the radio to produce a low level signal for Planet Audio amplifiers which were Fat Joe's choice for power. When the rear seats are folded down you can see three of them which run the speaker system. A 4-channel PA HVT754 amp puts out 70 watts per channel and two HVT7150's make available approximately 600 watts into each of the subs.
The HVT754 runs Kicker 6.5" components that replaced the stock setup. The factory mounting rings were altered to accommodate the new speakers. But otherwise, the original cosmetic look of the interior was kept intact. Of course, prior to speaker replacement the doors were damped with plenty of Dynamat.
The low frequency is handled by subwoofers from Kicker. It was a consensus among installers and owner alike that the 15" L7's would provide great output for hip-hop. The 10 cubic ft. sub enclosure is made of MDF with an acrylic window, covered with leather panels, and needless to say produce an earthshaking bass characteristic of the type of music Joe loves.
For the video end of the system two monitors were installed. Up front, there is a custom 7-inch widescreen. The installation of it required moving the factory 6-disc CD changer and a computer controller. A second 15-inch drop-down motorized TV for the rear passengers keeps them occupied. Switching is made from a multitude of relays and limit switches. Video sources include a Sega Dreamcast, DVD player, and VCR. All of the ancillary pieces of the system were handmade and assembled.
Plans for the immediate future include a back-up camera, Phoenix Gold amps and a Zapco EQ for fine-tuning the signal.