"I know you remember "Flow Joe" from the album Represent back in '93. A lot of heads might even remember the phat remix for "The Shit Is Real." But I don't think too many of y'all were anticipating or fiendin' for whatever Fat Joe might drop next. Well, it's '95 and the big man's back, representin' with Jealous One's Envy. "Bronxtale" opens the music saga. A very polite KRS-One requests, "Music please," and the Kings of the Boogie Down proceed to rip the track, accompanied by a skipping, slightly off-beat, deliberately played bassline, and chiming, almost serene, organ-like hits. Fat Joe has definitely upped the lyrical ante, as demonstrated by the next joint, "Success." An upright sounding bass and a constant hard snare are layered by lingering keys and orchestral string sounds. Crisp and precise, Joe puts forth the hustler's national anthem: "hustling is the key to success, money is the key to sex." Revisit Jealous One's Envy and continue reading The Source's LP review below...
"Envy is a slow, funky, almost bouncy usage of Marvin Gaye's classic "Sexual Healing." It's an ode to life and death, a groove caressed by the angelic crooning of a female voice. The way heads peeped Biggie's remix of "One More Chance" should definitely have them fiendin' for some "Envy" flavor ... Other standout tracks include "Watch Out," which features Joe's crew - Armageddon, Big Dog Punisher and Keith Nut - "Bronx Keeps Creating," a joint that transports you to the New York borough wars on wax circa 1986, and "Fat Joe's In Town," which asks you to "keep this rap shit true" and brilliantly uses Raphael Saadiq vocalizing "that's all I ask of you" as the response. All you can say is phat lyrics, phat production, Fat Joe." - The Source (November 1995). Sticker + review is below...
