NY hip-hop artist Fat Joe, aka Joseph Cartagena, will be heading to Europe to perform for the first time in his career. The tour will take the hip-hop artist through Switzerland, France, Germany, the UK and Spain. With the tough-as-nails demeanor that comes with growing up in crime-ridden streets, the hip-hop artist has been afraid to fly for over 10 years; now with that behind him he is ready to take his brand of NY hip-hop overseas.

Fat Joe's 7th solo LP, "Me Myself & I" will be released independently and features collaborations with fellow hip-hop and rap artists The Game, and Lil Wayne as well as production from Scott Storch, The Runners, LV, DJ Khaled, STREETRUNNER and many more. Lyrically and musically this album puts you in the mindset of Joe's earlier releases including "Represent" and "Don Cartagena." "This album is really my most up close & personal you''ve ever heard. I''m showing all sides and letting fans really get to know who I truly am. Lyrically I''m showing my vulnerable and gangster sides. One of the most personal songs on the album is ''Maria'' which I dedicated to my mother. I was able to open up and talk about very personal events in my life that I haven''t been able to put into my rhymes before." The first single "Clap & Revolve" was produced by The Runners and has already been receiving favorable feedback from radio even being added into rotation on WKYS in Washington, DC as well as receiving heavy airplay on hip-hop 99 JAMZ in Miami.

Fat Joe only dreamed about going over to Europe to tour and meet all his overseas fans, his fear of flying kept him grounded. Two years ago, he began flying the friendly skies easing back into it on private jets. Since then he has become comfortable flying on commercial airlines. He has become so at ease with flying that he agreed to be one of the hosts for Europe's version of "Pimp My Ride," and taped episodes earlier this year in Amsterdam, Poland and England. Now, Joe will finally be able to see some of the cities that he has only been able to dream about all of his life. "This tour has been something I''ve wanted to do for years. I''m so glad I''ve found peace with flying and am able to finally hit the overseas market. This will definitely be the first of many European trips for me. I''m excited to finally see all my fans overseas that have supported my hip-hop career over the past 14 years."

Tour Dates for Fat Joe Overseas

    July 28         Torre de Moncorvo, Portugal        Carvisaic Festival

    July 29         Gollhofen, Germany                 Diva Palace

    July 30         Paris, France                      Elysee Montmartre

    July 31         Zurich, Switzerland                Volkshaus

    August 1        Amsterdam, Netherlands             Paradiso

    August 3        Munich, Germany                    Crowns Club

    August 4        Braunschweig, Germany              Jolly Joker

    August 5        Chemnitz, Germany                  Splash Festival

    August 6        Lausanne, Switzerland              Cult Club

    August 7        Copenhagen, Denmark                Vega

    August 8        Oslo, Norway                       Rockefeller Venue