Fat Joe, pictured last week in NYC, said that contemporary standards in the entertainment industry have kept people restrained from taking any sort of controversial stance, lest it impact their careers
American rapper Fat Joe believes Chris Brown would have reached the same level of fame as the late “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, if not for a controversy with his then-girlfriend Rihanna early in his career.

Fat Joe, 53, gave his take on how Brown's violent attack has overshadowed his talents in the 15-plus years since the With You singer, 35, assaulted Rihanna, 36, in a vehicle in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles after a pre-Grammys party on February 8, 2009.

On a recent episode of his podcast, “The Biggest Fat Joe,” the rapper praised Chris Brown as the most talented singer, hitmaker, and performer of this generation.

Fat Joe says that if Chris Brown is  the greatest in our generation

Fat Joe said, “If Chris Brown never had the controversy with Rihanna, we would be calling him Michael Jackson right now. He’s the most talented singer, artist, performer, and hitmaker of our time. No one else comes close to Chris Brown.

He also emphasized that it’s time to move past the incident with Rihanna, noting that it happened over 20 years ago and no similar incidents have occurred since. “It’s a shame we’re not acknowledging the King of R&B,” he added.


In 2009, Chris Brown faced backlash from many music fans, especially in the Western world, after Rihanna accused him of physically assaulting her.

'There's nobody even close to Chris Brown, and it's time we move past it,' Fat Joe said. 'It's been 20-something years that I know of - there's no more incidents. We gonna let this lifetime go by without saying the truth?'

Fat Joe said that contemporary standards in the entertainment industry have kept people restrained from taking any sort of controversial stance, lest it impact their careers.

'What happens is, when the truth is an unpopular decision, everybody gets scared to say it,' Fat Joe said. 'They get canceled - especially famous people. But you know, the streets - they know what it is. Streets always know, they tell you the truth.'

Fat Joe pointed to the music of convicted sex offender R. Kelly, which he said remains popular despite the artist's downfall.

'The streets still bumping R. Kelly,' he said. 'He's in jail, he did terrible things.'

Fat Joe said he feels the time has come to acknowledge Brown's talents independent of his past transgressions.

'What I'm tryna say is that it's a shame that we lying,' he said, 'and we not giving it up to the king of R&B.

'We be thinking he could battle Michael Jackson, that's all I'm tryna say - I'm not lying - if you really look at his body of work and you look at all his hits, you see what he does,' he said. 

Fat Joe said that in no way does he accept what Brown did in 2009, but noted Brown was a 'little kid' at the age of 19 when the violent incident occurred.

On Instagram Live this past April, Fat Joe compared Brown to the late Tupac Shakur, another enigmatic artist whose seemingly-limitless career potential was derailed by legal problems prior to his murder in September of 1996.

'Of course, the 2Pac of 2024 has to be Chris Brown,' Fat Joe said, according to HipHopDX. 'Chris Brown is considered an alien. If you playing basketball, he'll bust your ass. If you sing against him, he sing better, he dance better. If he gotta rap, he raps.'