We list some of the most famous fat rappers you can add to your playlist. Most of these rappers are comfortable in their own skin and aren’t afraid to express themselves through their music. Over the past decade, the body positive movement has grown, encouraging people to love themselves as they are, regardless of whether they fit a body ideal widely perpetuated in western society. On the other hand, normalizing being overweight and having obesity while ignoring the associated health concerns has received lots of criticism. Nonetheless, most of these rappers have focused their mindset to become the best version of themselves and create music that fans have come to love.
1. The Notorious B.I.G.
Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. started taking rap seriously after spending nine months in jail for dealing crack during his late teens. Biggie’s first full-length album, Ready to Die, debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart at a time when west coast rappers like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre had their grip on hip-hop’s throat. One of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, Ready to Die would go on to shift over four million units. Unfortunately, his success in the music industry was short lived. On the night of March 8, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. attended a large party in Los Angeles promoting his new single “Hypnotize” and his new album. In the early morning hours on March 9, he and his entourage were fired upon by unknown assailants as they were returning to the hotel after the party. Notorious B.I.G. was killed; he was 24 years old.
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Read more:
- Life after death: How the Notorious B.I.G. lives on years after his murder
- How Biggie Smalls became a rap legend
- Notorious B.I.G facts: 26 things you didn’t know about Biggie Smalls
2. Rick Ross
Rick Ross is best known for his singles “BMF” and “Hustlin”. Despite his legal troubles and infamous rivalry with 50 Cent, Ross is a respected and prolific artist. He’s part of a well-established group of Florida rappers. He founded his own music label, Maybach Music Group, in 2009 and represented Miami with grim and glorious drug-trade tales. Ross has several Billboard hits. His debut album Port of Miami, and all nine subsequent studio albums, including the Grammy-nominated God Forgives, I Don’t (2012) and Port of Miami 2 (2019), have entered the Top Ten of the Billboard 200.
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Read more:
- Rick Ross: A Timeline of His Legal Troubles
- Rick Ross Is Still Reminding Everyone to Never Stop Hustlin’
3. Fat Joe
Fat Joe started his career in the music industry as a unit of a hip-hop organization called- Diggin’. After that, he created a solo profession and built his tags. Joe became Fat Joe Da Gangsta and released his debut album, Represent, in 1993. To the surprise of many, this small-time Spanish rapper scored a No. 1 hit with the track “Flow Joe.” He became a sensation in the New York hip-hop scene and continued to ride the wave two years later when he came out with Jealous One’s Envy. Fat Joe caught the eye of fans across America for rapping from a true “gangster’s” perspective, about the harsh realities of the world he grew up in.
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Read more:
- Fat Joe Explains His Usage Of The N-Word, Says He Won’t Stop
- Fat Joe Opens Up About the Day His ‘Heart Turned Black’
4. Big Pun
New York rapper Big Pun is considered one of the greatest MCs of all time. His debut solo album, Capital Punishment, reached the #5 position on the Billboard 200 charts after it was released in 1998. However, his success was short-lived. Pun struggled with a weight problem for all of his adult life. His weight fluctuated in the early 1990s between obese and morbidly obese. On February 7, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack and respiratory failure while temporarily staying with his family at a Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains, New York, during a home renovation. Pun was pronounced dead at the hospital after paramedics could not revive him. He was 28 years old and at his highest weight at the time of his death: 698 pounds (317 kg).
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Read more:
- 20 years on, Big Pun’s Capital Punishment continues to inspire a new generation of Bronx rappers
- A Thorough Look Into The Career Of The Big Punisher
- Packin’ A Mac In The Back of The Ack: Big Pun’s Sickest Verses
5. E-40
E-40 is also an old school veteran who has done collabos with rap icons such as Tupac Shakur, Too $hort, Lil’ Jon, C-BO, Snoop Dogg, Spice 1, Richie Rich, Mac Dre, Mac Mall, The Luniz, The Outlawz, and many more. He is well-known for his 28 studio albums that have come up in various movie soundtracks. E40 has also made memorable appearances as a host on ‘E-Freezy Radio,’ which appeared weekly on the ‘San Francisco hip-hop’ radio station KMEL. He released his solo album in 1995 called ‘In A Major Way,’ which gave him recognition to the audience.
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Read more:
- VICE: E-40 Has Been Ahead of His Time Longer than You’ve Been Alive
- Billboard: E-40 Wants Your Respect, And To Help Younger Rappers
6. Action Bronson
Action Bronson used to be a respected fire-flame gourmet chef in New York City, but gave up cooking for a rap career and still frequently raps about food in his songs. In March 2016, Bronson powerfully continued his meteoric rise with the cable television premiere of F*ck, That’s Delicious. As host of the series, Bronson plays the rap game’s Anthony Bourdain, marrying his passion for food and music. Each episode is nothing short of an immersive culinary adventure documenting Bronson’s globe-trotting lifestyleand exquisite palette. He also released several mixtapes, such as Rare Chandeliers (2012), with American hip-hop producer The Alchemist and Blue Chips 2 (2013) with longtime producer Party Supplies, before releasing his major label debut, an extended play (EP) titled Saaab Stories, with frequent collaborator Harry Fraud, in 2013. He released his major label debut album, Mr. Wonderful, on March 23, 2015.
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Read more:
- Action Bronson Interview: New Book, Weight-Loss Journey
- Cooking up trouble with Action Bronson
- Action Bronson Won’t Be Limited By Your Insecurities
7. Heavy D
Heavy D was a Jamaican-American rapper, singer and former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a hip hop group which included G-Whiz, “Trouble” T. Roy, and Eddie F. The group maintained a sizable audience in the United States through most of the 1990s. In the 2000s, he was most visible as a counselor on the Fox high-school drama Boston Public, which lasted for the next several years, as he worked on albums by Babyface, Jay-Z, Fabolous, and Timbaland. During the rest of the decade, he had recurring roles on The Tracy Morgan Show and Bones, while he also recorded Vibes, a convincing and enjoyable album of reggae-pop. On November 8, 2011 — several weeks after releasing a rap EP, Love Opus, and less than a month after performing at the BET Hip Hop Awards — Heavy D collapsed outside his home in Beverly Hills and passed away. He was 44 years old.
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8. Bone Crusher
Before his solo success, Bone Crusher was one of the Lyrical Giants, a crew that worked with Too Ugly and Erick Sermon and whose other members were Baby B and Bizar. Both appear on Bone Crusher’s debut album. He debuted in 2003 with his first album AttenCHUN! which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and featured the single “Never Scared”.
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9. J-Live
J-Live, is an American rapper, DJ and record producer from New York. In November 1995, J-Live was featured in The Source magazine’s Unsigned Hype column, and he signed to Raw Shack Records where he began recording his debut album, The Best Part. After J-Live spent four years as an eighth-grade teacher in Brooklyn, The Best Part was officially released on J-Live’s label Triple Threat Productions in 2001 to critical acclaim. J-Live’s music, old and new, continues to be a staple of inspiration for listeners of underground Hip Hop.
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Read more:
- J-Live Revisits His Classic Album ‘All of the Above’ | Interview & Anniversary Retrospective
- New York City Rapper, DJ and Producer J-Live Is a Walking Master Class of the Genre
10. Fat Trel
Fat Trel has collaborated with numerous notable artists, including Wale, Chief Keef, Master P, Fredo Santana, Young Thug, and French Montana. In 2011, Fat Trel released “Respect With The Tec” produced by Lex Luger. He was selected to perform with Juicy J, Smoke DZA and Joey Badass. In 2012, Fat Trel released the mixtape Nightmare on E Street featuring Kirko Bangz, Cuz Quette, Red Café, Rick Ross and Big K.R.I.T. and also worked with Chief Keef on “Russian Roulette”. On July 8, 2018, Fat Trel was found with a .40 caliber ghost gun pistol with ten rounds of ammunition in the car. Fat Trel told police the weapon was his and he was arrested and sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He quickly reconnected with Rick Ross, who remains close with Fat Trel despite him no longer being part of the MMG label.
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Read more:
- Fat Trel breaks silence after prison release: “We definitely ready to drop for the streets”
- Why Fat Trel Was In Jail, As Fans Celebrate The Rapper’s Release
11. Chubb Rock
Chubb Rock released several successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s. He was discovered and produced by his first cousin DJ / Producer Howie Tee. Chubb first appeared on the national scene with his 1988 self-titled debut Chubb Rock and 1989’s And the Winner is. His 1990 release entitled The One reached No. 13 on Billboard’s Top Hip-Hop/R&B chart for that year. Three singles from that release, “Treat ‘Em Right”, “Just The Two of Us” and “The Chubbster”, made it to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rap Singles chart list for the same year. Chubb Rock was also a member of the 1995 incarnation of the Crooklyn Dodgers, a rap act that also featured O.C and Jeru The Damaja.
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Read more:
- Chubb Rock On Flatbush, Hitman Howie Tee and How Racism Inspired “Treat ‘Em Right”
- How A Cypress Hill & Chubb Rock Beef Created “Insane In The Brain”
Honorable mentions
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