Fat Joe is still reeling from losing both parents in quick succession. On Saturday, May 3, the rapper paid tribute to his mom, Marie Del Carmen Cartagena, sharing news of her passing just days before Mother’s Day. His father, Ernesto Delgado, passed away in February.
In an Instagram carousel, Joey Crack remembered his mother as a “real one” who “didn’t have much but gave us everything.”
“Anyone who knows my Mom knows she had a heart of gold, she refused to move out the projects for many years even though i had money,” he wrote in the caption.
The photo collection featured solo shots of Marie, plus a family picture with her, Joe and Delgado. The Bronx legend shared that his mother “loved her community” and embraced her son’s rap crew, calling herself the “Terror Squad Queen.”
“She was sooooooo proud of us meaning everyone in the crew,” he went on. “She asked about Remy [Ma], [DJ] Khaled, Rich, Terrell everyday. I have to give thank’s to the father my God for letting me have her in my life this long, truth is she died of a broken heart 60 years with a man and he recently just died, my Dad wanted her with him.”
Joe wrapped up by thanking his parents’ families for the “outpouring of love” before sharing final words for his mom.
“Mommy till i see you again you were my world, my heart, my everything. I’ll continue to make you proud,” he wrote.
During a chat on Club Shay Shay last year, Joe revealed his mother encouraged him to be the primary caregiver for his son Joey, who was born with autism and Down syndrome.
“So, the doctor tells us, ‘I got bad news to tell you… [your son] has Down syndrome and it’s gonna be a big challenge,'” Joe shared in the clip above. “I’m there with my mother, my father, and his mother. And [my son’s] mother said, ‘Yo, I can’t do this, I’m going to have to give him up for adoption.’ My mother was like, ‘You crazy, bitch…And so, we raised him.”
