Such is the case with the rest of Joe’s offering. The work is highly contrived. Joe shamelessly runs the gamut on current hip-hop trends. A screwed and chopped hook on No Drama is followed by verses where Joe employs the whispery Jigga delivery of late. On another Weezy collabo, The Profit, Joe attempts the Clipse’s act, stringing together an unimpressive arsenal of sinister cocaine metaphors. Not surprisingly, Wayne steals the show on the DJ Khaled track. In fact, it was probably in Joe’s best interest that he kept Wayne from rhyming proper on Make it Rain. Wayne’s charisma and scrappy voice are enough to fuel his lackluster verse on The Profit, to the point that it’s the aural highlight of the album.

The problem here is one that has plagued Joe since Big Pun’s unfortunate passing. Once forced to the front of the Terror Squad, Joe changed up his style. Formerly, he was a gritty role player with D.I.T.C. rhyming alongside elder and more capable emcees. Later, under Pun, he often seemed in awe of the big man’s talents, enough so that he held his enormous ego in check, and let Pun’s incendiary flow invade his albums at Pun’s will. Currently, with neither hurdle in place, Joe’s ego flows free. Worse still, as the leader of the Terror Squad, Joe mistakenly has taken on a heightened sense of self-importance. The mix leads to the Fat Joe seen on this album. Hell, the album’s title is proof enough of this ego: Me, Myself & I.

Beyond the ego, Joe has yet to define himself as an emcee. Indeed, at this late stage of his career it is pretty apparent that this is never going to happen, it is still disturbing that his personality morphs with each release to more directly encompass the hip-hop status quo. No surprises here then when he attempts the whimsical drug-dealer role taunting, with oven mitt covered hands, the gangster of previous Fat Joe albums. At least Joe has shucked the trend of bloated hip-hop albums and instead opts for a terse twelve-track offering. Props for that, any other credit for this album can be sent directly to emcee of the moment Lil’ Wayne.