“Rappers are becoming an endangered species” -Fat Joe

Just days after PnB Rock was fatally shot during a robbery at Roscoe’s Chicken ‘N Waffles, Joe sat down with Charlamagne Tha God on “Hell of a Week” where he was asked about the dangerous reality of being a rapper today.

“Rappers are the endangered species,” Joe said while recalling the countless tragedies in hip-hop. “We gettin’ hit up by the police, hit up by the feds, and we gettin’ hit up by our own for being in our hood trying to show love. So it’s so dangerous to be a rapper these days. It’s the hardest job out there right now.”

Joe also reflected on the events surrounding PnB Rock’s death. Just prior to Monday’s shooting, the rapper posted an Instagram Story in which he was seen wearing jewelry, while his girlfriend tagged the location of the restaurant. But Joe says that neither PnB nor his girlfriend should be blamed.

“The young brother was supporting Black-owned businesses, going to the Roscoe’s Chicken with his wife and his kid,” said Joe. “And so we got all these deflections of, ‘Oh, but his wife posted the chicken? Oh, he’s not supposed to wear jewelry?’ How about we not supposed to kill each other?”

Joe said he’s “not against him robbing,” but he doesn’t understand why the suspect had to take a life. “Why you gotta kill him? And that’s what bothers me,” he said. “And not only destroy that family, but what about the other families that are sitting at Roscoe’s and they see somebody get their brains blown out in front of them?”

Joe believes that the killings are rooted in jealousy. “People get mad at themselves. They get mad that they didn’t accomplish stuff in life. They look at themselves. They say, ‘Damn, I’m 40 years, 50 years, I ain’t got nothing.’”

He continued, “Nine times out of 10 they kill you in your own neighborhood ’cause they jealous of you. And we gotta stop being jealous.”

According to Joe, the only way to protect yourself is to hire professional security. “Right now, you need security. That’s the bottom line. And legit security,” he said.

Detectives are still trying to track down PnB’s killer, who fled the scene in a vehicle driven by someone else.