7/2/2019 by Michael Saponara

Fat Joe, Dre, Lil Wayne – Pullin (Official Video)

Fat Joe has been a fixture in hip-hop for more than two decades now. With Hpnotiq boasting a similar cachet on the liquor side in the 21st century, it was a no-brainer for Joey Crack to team up with the brand as their new creative director and face of the OG Campaign.

“Fat Joe is the OG. I’ve stayed relevant and it’s the same thing for Hpnotiq,” the Bronx native tells Billboard of his relationship with the brand that dates back to 2002. “They haven’t died down. A lot of trendy stuff comes and goes, but Hpnotiq is here to stay. I’m one of the original guys to have campaigns with them back then. It was a no brainer to do the OG campaign and come full-circle.”

With Joe at the helm, Hpnotiq allowed him to dabble on the creative side and star in a couple funny commercials, one of which, can be seen below. “We had some dry humor in there making fun of all these stereotypes,” he explains. “It’s some Jim Carey type of shit. It came out fire.”

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Musically, the 48-year-old remains busy, as the Terror Squad boss says he’s “never worked harder on an album” than his upcoming LP with Dre, Family Ties. “It usually takes me a month or two to work on an album, but we’ve been getting this together for over a year. If we don’t deliver a classic, I failed,” he states.

The “What’s Luv” rapper kicked off the album’s rollout last week (June 27) with the explosive “Pullin” featuring an assist from Lil Wayne, who Fat Joe has known since before iPhones were invented. “Wayne went bonkers on that track like he always does,” Joe said of his “Make It Rain” collaborator. “I’m a huge Lil Wayne fan, so any time I get to work with him is great. He’s one of the realest people I’ve ever met in hip-hop. He’s loyal, and I love him for that. It’s an honor to be Lil Wayne’s friend. If you ever get to know him, you’re blessed.”

On Tuesday (July 2), Fat Joe unveils the Eif Rivera-directed “Pullin” visual, which was shot in Miami and premieres with Billboard.

Give the supernova clip along with the aforementioned Hpnotiq commercial a look below, where Joe says the trio was on “some Marvin the Martian” vibes. (READ MORE)

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