Fat Joe has never been afraid to give props to those he believes deserve it, and he’s now shown some love to Tems for her breakthrough hit “Free Mind.”
Over the weekend, Joey Crack gave a 2022 year-end recap on Instagram Live and began the session with the Nigerian singer-songwriter’s soulful smash playing in the background.
“It’s the biggest in the game,” Fat Joe said introducing himself, before adding: “I played this because to me, this is the song of the year.”
As he continued to nod his head to Tems’ record, he added: “Song of the Year to me, I don’t know about you.” You can check out Fat Joe’s IG Live session below.
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While “Free Mind” might be Fat Joe’s favorite song of 2022, it was actually released back in September 2020 and features on Tems’ debut EP, For Broken Ears.
However, the track began to make an impact earlier this year thanks to the singer’s growing mainstream buzz following some high profile collaborations such as “Essence” with Wizkid, “Fountains” with Drake, and “WAIT FOR U” with Future and Drake.
The slow and steady build of “Free Mind” eventually saw the track reach No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay after 33 weeks. According to Billboard, the feat is “the second-longest climb to the summit in the chart’s 30-year history.”
Tems earned yet more acclaim in October after co-writing Rihanna’s comeback single “Lift Me Up,” taken from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever original soundtrack.
“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them,” Tems said in a statement at the time. “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”
Meanwhile, Fat Joe used the holiday period to show off some exclusive sneakers he owns to make sure everyone knows he’s still the king of kicks.
Giving fans a look at his patent leather Jordan 1’s inspired by the Rubik’s Cube on Christmas Day (December 25), the Bronx “sneaker Santa” wrote on Instagram: “YOU’RE ALL WELCOME.”
The multi-colored 1’s never actually released to the general public and a handful of pairs were crafted as samples and only a lucky few got their hands on them.
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