Fat Joe has not backed down from claims about his influence on Dem Franchize Boyz after a response from group member Parlae — but he has adjusted them a little bit.
In an Instagram video posted on Saturday (December 2), Joe responded to a recent rant from Parlae, who denied that his group’s 2006 track “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” was inspired by Joe’s 2004 smash “Lean Back” — something the Bronx rapper claimed last month.
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Joe said that the Atlanta rap group had undoubtedly been “subliminally” inspired by his then-ubiquitous No. 1 hit.
“[Parlae] said he never heard Fat Joe, it wasn’t popping. You have to understand, ‘Lean Back’ was out before those other songs I talked about [‘Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It’ and Young Dro’s ‘Shoulder Lean’]. ‘Lean Back’ was [on] every radio station every two minutes.
“You could believe that maybe you didn’t get inspired, but sometimes subliminally, you might get inspired. Subliminally, you don’t even know that you inspired.”
Fat Joe still thinks he "subliminally" inspired Dem Franchise Boyz despite Parlae's rant https://t.co/52WCdDrY0Tpic.twitter.com/TCHax3NG2Q
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) December 4, 2023
To bolster his case, Fat Joe brought up two points. First, key word similarities in the song hooks, which both prominently use “rock” and “lean.”
“Yeah, [‘Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It’] is on a Dirty South beat, but I’m not delusional,” he said.
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Second, Joe mentioned that he — and “Lean Back,” specifically — are shouted out in the lyrics of “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” itself multiple times.
“You know when guys get away with the crime, they spin the block,” Joe continued. “So, on top of being influenced without even knowing that, he shouts me out five times on the song!”
Joey Crack also addressed Parlae’s claim that Joe should “get [his] muthafucking sue on” if he felt his song was stolen. He said that has never been a path he would take.
“The brother said he heard that Fat Joe said something about him, he gets upset,” he said. “He tells me how he’s from the South, he’s from Bankhead, he’s from this and that. It’s cool, brother. No one was ever talking to you about gangster stuff.
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“In fact, when I did think I inspired your songs and you was making all that money, I never tried to approach you or sue you… I never wanted to sue nobody in my life. If I sue you, you deserve it.”
Fat Joe wound down by saying: “I’m not delusional. I do not say this shit out of delusion. What I do is deal with facts.”
You can watch Joe’s entire 13-minute monologue below.
