PITTSBURGH, PA. - On Monday, Puerto Rican rapper Fat Joe, a South Bronx native, rapped on the mound before the Yankees opened Game 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.
The following morning, he woke up and got in his car to drive 6 hours to Pittsburgh to speak at the Black & Brown Men’s Voter Summit hosted by 1Hood Media.
Fat Joe said it was essential to come and mobilize Black and Brown voters. He said that following racist comments made against Puerto Rico he has never seen Puerto Ricans mobilized in the way that they are right now.
"It breaks my heart when I see people talk about and I tell you, if anyone of you guys got Puerto Rican friends, when you go over there and you go visit, the first thing they tell you is, my island. My Island. Yo, you went to my island," said Fat Joe. "How the hell are they going to call Puerto Rico an island of garbage?"
Still, Fat Joe said he was dismayed to see so many Puerto Ricans voting for Trump.
"I see Puerto Rican saying, "No, we're still for Trump 2024." That's that "house nigger” mentality," said Fat Joe to cheers from the crowd of several hundred predominantly African-American activists.
As an activist, Fat Joe has met with Vice President Kamala Harris on issues ranging from healthcare transparency to marijuana legalization. He says that Harris repeatedly asked him if he could get the Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny involved in the Harris Campaign.
Up until the comments made against Puerto Ricans, Fat Joe said he was unable to get Bad Bunny involved. Now, Bad Bunny has endorsed Harris and is pulling young Puerto Ricans, who are less likely to vote for Kamala, to his join his 46 million followers on Instagram.
"But this guy goes, he calls Puerto Rico garbage. Bad buddy jumps up like God just summoned him," said Fat Joe. "She wanted Bad Bunny and somehow, a week before election, God brought her Bad Bunny."
Fat Joe also rebuked people who bemoaned Kamala's celebrity fade. He pointed out that major Puerto Rican stars backing her, like Jennifer Lopez, who is opening a rally for Kamala tomorrow in Nevada, would actually be taking a tax increase if Kamala wins.
"The celebrities are the first guys that's going to lose money if a Democrat gets elected because we make a lot of money, and they like to raise taxes so they can help Social Security and Medicare," said Fat Joe. "So celebrity out here fighting for you to vote for a Democrat, they saying, "Hi, give me the pay cut. We going to take an L, we're going to pay more taxes."
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