Fat Joe refused to give up his autistic son, Joey, for adoption after his son’s mother said she would walk away if he didn’t. Instead of choosing the easy path, he chose fatherhood. Fat Joe and his family stepped up and decided to raise Joey with love, patience, and commitment. He proved that being a real parent means standing by your child no matter the challenges. Much respect to him for embracing responsibility and unconditional love. 🏆💯

 

Fat Joe opened up about his life as a father of four, particularly his journey with oldest son Joey, 32, who lives with autism

Fat Joe is opening up about his journey as a father of four.

Appearing on The View Tuesday to promote his recently released memoir The Book of Jose, host Ana Navarro — who shared a hug with the rapper as he walked out, noting they’ve known each other for a while — celebrated that Fat Joe has the “most beautiful family.”

“You live for them,” she said, listing Joe’s wife Lorena, daughter Azariah, 16 — “who has you wrapped around her little finger,” Navarro joked — and sons Ryan, 26, and Joey, 32.

Speaking about son Joey, who lives with autism, the rapper talked about including his son’s story in his memoir.

“My whole book is a book of transparency,” he shared. “It’s about failures, it’s about triumphs. It’s about going through dark times and knowing you can smile at the end.”

Explaining that he’s “so proud” of Joey, he celebrated him as the “Don of the family.”

“He inspires me. He’s such a blessing in our life, he’s almost like an angel,” said the rapper. “It’s the gift that keeps giving, little Joey, and I’m so proud of him.”

Fat Joe, who raised Joey as a single father from the age of 19 with the help of his parents until the time of his marriage, reflected on his fatherhood journey while celebrating Joey’s birthday last December.

“How do you tell someone who’s given you so much joy in life thank you???. How do you tell your best friend and most loyal one thank you??. I am so proud of Joey he’s my heart & soul,” the “All The Way Up” rapper shared.

“I love you Joey, we all love you Joey, thank you for being my Biggest blessing in life! Happy Birthday Joey, God bless you,” he wrote.

Appearing on the A&E series Origins of Hip Hop earlier this year, the rapper spoke about his wife Lorena, whom he wed in 1995.

“We made an oath,” the hitmaker said. “We said, ‘No matter what comes our way, we’re gonna always be together.’ We live by that rule. We want to show our people that you can be a family man. You can be with your wife and still be successful and show people a great example.”