Fat Joe Preps New TV Show, Single With Rick Ross And French Montana

Fat Joe is back and better than ever. Fresh off a prison stint for tax evasion, the Bronx rapper has returned with a new TV show and a new attitude.

“I’ve always been able to be cool with a certain amount of success and look at it like, ‘Okay, it's good enough,’ but [now] I’m going in,” said Fat Joe during an interview Friday (March 28) at the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan. "I’m a lion out here."

Joe is one of four hosts who have joined forces with Major League Baseball and MTV for the new television show Off The Bat From The MLB Fan Cave. Executive produced by Boston Red Sox and David Ortiz, the show will merge baseball with pop culture.

“This is a show that has nothing to do with statistics but has everything to do with the person,” said Joey Crack, while cohost Melanie Iglesias explained a little deeper the inside access the show will provide. “You get to find out everything from what they’re listening to on their iPods to what they think about what’s going on in the media," she said. "You never get to really see that when they are on the field.”

Other cohosts include resident MTV analyst Sway and Guy Code comedian Chris Distefano. “I like to say that this is almost like the Saturday Night Live of baseball,” said Joe. Besides giving insight into the lives of major league players, he said, viewers could expect sketches and even spoofs.

In addition, the show’s resident Yankees fan is gearing up for the release of his new single featuring French Montana, Rick Ross and Tiara Thomas, which will debut this week. The “Lean Back” rapper said fans could also expect some big songs coming this summer, with one being a song dedicated to the World Cup.

Fat Joe has also put his efforts into his business venture with Market of America, an Internet-based marketing company where he serves as president of the Latino division. “It’s a unique business because it's teaching people how to be entrepreneurs and make six figure income in just two to three years with only 8 to 15 hours a week,” he said.

The Bronx-bred rapper is also trying to mend broken fences. He recently spoke with former Terror Squad member Remy Ma, who is currently serving time in prison stemming from a 2008 assault charge, and said she seemed to be in good spirits. “She sounded very humble on the phone,” he said. “If she could keep that same attitude while being successful, then the possibilities are endless for her."

While the now-Miami-based rapper sees a lot of great things happening in the near future, he doesn’t predict a Terror Squad reunion to be one of them. “It’s too soon,” he said, adding that, for now, fans should just “get ready for the New York City turn up.”

Off The Bat From The MLB Fan Cave premieres Tuesday, April 1, at 11 p.m. ET on MTV2. —Christina Garner

Previously: Here’s A Sneak Peak Of MTV’s New Baseball Show