Back in the day, the late nineties to be exact, the independent magazine world was riddled with beef. We’ll give you one guess as to who was always at the centre of it. Yep, yours truly had beef with Ego Trip, we still don’t think they’re talking to us. There was the infamous set-to backstage at the first Big L tribute concert where the Fat Lace Crew were thugged out by the Ego Trip massive, they were literally massive. We’ll leave names out as we’re all respected journalists in our own right and old enough to know better. It was pretty funny in hindsight. Then there was our domestic beef with Fatboss Magazine. Again, the founder is now an established DJ / producer and all praises due to the next man’s hustle but back then it was a war kid. For the record, Fat Lace Magazine launched before Fatboss, we dropped Feb 1997, Fatboss came late ‘97 but over our dead bodies was there going to be another ‘Fat’ magazine in London. Verbal insults ensued, various figureheads in the local hip-hop scene pledged their allegiances and even a scuffle broke out on once occasion. It was all a bit gay to say the least. Water under the bridge might we add.
So with all this beef you may ask why we constantly sing the praises of our then sworn enemies, ‘Boss and ‘Trip alike? Well let’s face it, before blogging was invented there was a massive void left unfilled after the key independent hip-hop press at that time shut up shop. Damn, we used to read Ego Trip in awe that such printed perfection was even conceivable. Of course we came along and did it better. They wrote a book. We wrote a book. They did a T.V. series. We bowed out graciously. They ran for president. OK, we gave up at the T.V. bit. And Fatboss, well credit where credit is due, they took a classic cover and flipped it into a magazine. We did it later with Ice T’s ‘Power’ album but they did it first, so props. Touching on A.T.C.Q.’s album for a minute. Who the hell would put another rapper or non-affiliated DJ on their cover these days? Rappers were so secure back then. Damn, we can’t even see Kanye putting Common on his album sleeve. It’s everyone for themselves. So back to Fatboss. Even your Fat Lace editors made it onto their magazine cover. Those in the know will spot us. We’ve enlarged them here and here for you to examine. It was beef back then, make no mistake but everybody was so gentlemanly about it.
17 responses so far ↓
1 bse // Feb 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Theres some proper don’t-care-where-they-are-now faces on there.
Also a whole bunch of people looking a whole bunch younger.
Fatboss was cool but it has some really hard to read articles with text over images. My eyes!
Why did Ego Trip have beef with you lot? I’m sure I’ve heard this story before but I can’t remember which end of it I heard.
2 Koaste // Feb 19, 2008 at 3:49 am
You didn’t really do a book did you?
Some of my lyrics got quoted in Fatboss once. They were from an unreleased track. I still don’t know how they ever heard it…
3 Una Stubbs // Feb 19, 2008 at 4:26 am
Wasn’t the Fatboss bloke also on that early reality TV Show Paddington Green with Roy?
4 david rambo // Feb 19, 2008 at 6:12 am
ha ha, of all the copies of that mag I own I don’t have that one, fatlace on point again. Wasn’t it Matthew somebody who was on that reality show, hilarious, maybe theres a clipon youtube.
5 brian beck from wisconsin // Feb 19, 2008 at 6:42 am
The infamous Fat Lace vs. Ego Trip beef was over Fat Lace’s Biggie autopsy piece, wasn’t it? Wasn’t there also extra beef with Brent Rollins who said that Fat Lace was biting Ego Trip since you’d both used the same design software? Shit is real, yo.
The best bits of Fat Boss were generally the non-hip hop pieces about weird stuff. Good mad but not on the same level as Fat Lace.
On The Go also needs to get props. Their singles reviews were godly, although i remember a few friends of mine not understanding how they were able to praise both Radiohead/Agent Orange AND It’s All About The Benjamins.
6 Drew Huge // Feb 19, 2008 at 6:53 am
As co-editor of this site, I have to go on the record and say I thought fat boss sucked. looked great, read shite. However, that cover is a classic, even with our ugly mugs on it. As for Ego Trip beef, that wasn’t down to Biggie (that was Supernatural we upset with that. How’s the LP coming Nat?), it was down to fonts, straight up and down like 6 0′clock
7 brian beck from wisconsin // Feb 19, 2008 at 7:32 am
Stick to ya fontz
Font for all
You can’t font (shit is real)
Tonz o fontz
etc
8 Skinny Miracles // Feb 19, 2008 at 7:35 am
I remember the infamous Fat Boss vs. Fat Lace night @ The Social in London, magazines were getting ripped up and thrown onstage. It was ugly. I broke up a fight with Drew (FL) and DL (FB) on some increase the peace/stop the violence/all in the same gang type steez.
9 Pete Knocka // Feb 19, 2008 at 8:18 am
Is that Pete Cashmore, late of HHC, top right? Damn, that kid’s extended metaphors were tight. Where is he now?
(I work for Nuts and The Guardian Guide)
10 lace da booze // Feb 19, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I can only just about remember wathcing it but the bloke on Paddington Green was Matty C wasnt it? didnt he work at Profile at one point?
11 bse // Feb 19, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Ain’t no future in yo fontin.
Nuts magazine has a Hiphop dude? How did all these Hiphop/Spankrag connections happen?
12 Doc Sociology // Feb 19, 2008 at 11:24 pm
“Where is he now?”
Rehab?
13 The Fatboss // Feb 20, 2008 at 11:56 am
Yo – Drew, man…can’t we all just get along!?
Ha…I love it! You STILL have a problem with THE FATBOSS…..
I do have to agree with you tho’ a lot of the writing was shite – some of it utter rubbish – but the covers were great, no?
I remember hooking the cover up – called all these emcees to appear on the thing. To be honest – I had no idea who most of them were. ha! But props to all that turned up – it was done all in one day. Hey, wasn’t I crazy-nice getting the Fatlace crew on there too?
Props to Jennie B who took the main photo, Root Manuva who got his ras painted, Tori who photoshoped the shit and me, who came up with the idea (biting ATCQ)…..
Props to my man Greenpeace for remembering THE FATBOSS!!!!
Oh – and you know what? – I never bit you dudes. I named the magazine after this dude called MATT ROSS who used to work for Sony. I used to call him FATBOSS (it rhymes, you see) – and when it came to choosing the name for the magazine – I called it that….
Anyway…….y’all old-school heads be good, ya heard……
Back to HIDE OUT…..HooooOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
14 Mr Lawson // Feb 26, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Great cover…even I was on there. It’s my claim to fame. I remember the night at the Social too, Dubplate style.
15 JMCN // Mar 8, 2008 at 10:17 am
Yes, that night at the Social was bananas. I’d love to hear those dubplates again. Some very funny shenanigans went down.
16 al b. // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:00 am
biters! eat a dick.
17 Pete Knocka // Sep 20, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Hi Doc Sociology,
So, I guess I either fucked your bird or took work from you. Which one is it?
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