Fabolous: From Okay Album Sales to Mixtape King

I will be reviewing Fabolous’ mixtape There Is No Competition 2 (The Funeral Service) for this post.

Listen to the mixtape or download it here:  http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/11020/fabolous_there_is_no_competition_2.html

Background Information:

• Birth name: John David Jackson
• Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York   
• Influences: None Found 
• How long has he been doing music: Since he was in the 12^th grade.
• Type of Artist: Mainstream
• Genre(s): Hip-hop  
• Current Label(s): Desert Storm/Def Jam
• Similar Artists: Nas, Ace Hood, Jadakiss, T.I., and Papoose
• Fun Fact: He chipped his tooth by trying to impress a girl with a basketball.

            John David Jackson was born on November 18, 1977. He is one of the first East coast rappers to be influenced by the South and West coasts.  When he was in the 12^th grade Jackson began rapping. He later was invited to radio station Hot 97 to rap on DJ Clue’s show. Afterwards, he was signed to Desert Storm Records. Fabolous has release five albums Ghetto Fabolous (2001), Street Dreams (2003), Real Talk (2004), From Nothin’ to Somethin’ (2007), and Loso’s Way (2009). He also has a number of mixtapes, but his most notable are the installments of There Is No Competition. 


Introduction:

Fabolous is a Mixtape King because his last studio album, Loso’s Way, debuted in the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Yet, his album did not live up to his first two platinum albums, or his fourth album that went gold. The album was initially received well yet it was no competition for his previous CD’s. As far as his last two projects are concerned, Fabolous went from okay album sales to a Mixtape King. Fabolous most likely realized the fans didn’t like his album as much as he expected them to, so he decided to drop the second installment to his There is No Competition mixtape series.   

Favorite Line: The Wake- “It’s good to wake up look in the mirror and the only competition’s you, and even that [n!##@] ain’t seeing me. My reflection have a hard time being me.” http://www.songlyrics.com/fabolous/the-wake-lyrics/

Top 3 Tracks: (This list is ordered from the song I like most to the song I like least.)

1. The Wake- This song which begins the mixtape, opens with funeral music and a commentary that ends by starting the funeral service per Fabolous’ request; DJ Drama asks for a moment of silence, and the track actually gets quiet. In any other mixtape I don’t think that would work for me, but it was definitely befitting for a “funeral service”. This song really sets the tone for the whole mixtape. It exemplifies Fabolous at his best, so it was hard for me to pick just one line from “The Wake” to be my favorite because almost everyone of them were “niiiice”, as Fabolous would put it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNX1ALExjEk
2. For The Money- This song talks about significant others that are in love with money, and maybe love money more so than their mates. The instrumental is one that actually had me rocking, rather than nodding my head as I usually do. Fabolous once again delivered great lines, and so did featured artist Nicki Minaj. She had one line in regards to his chipped tooth that literally caused me to rewind the song to make sure she said what I thought she said. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUdd674txiE  
3. Roger That- Lil’ Wayne, Tyga, and Nicki Minaj originally rapped on this instrumental, but I didn’t really like their version. In my personal opinion, Fabolous’ version is at least 3 times better than theirs. Fabolous definitely kills the competition on this track; his lyrics, and featured artist Freck Billionarie both roger that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ermyyNbyw     

Bottom 3 Tracks: (This list is ordered from the song I dislike most to the song I dislike least.)

1. Love Come Down- I didn’t like the fact that Fabolous sang at the beginning of this song because he sounded horrible. The instrumental sounds a little creepy to me, and I do not like the Diddy sample he used. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZxHhlB8XoA
2. Beemer Benz or Bentley- Lloyd Banks’ original verse opens this song; I do not like much about his verse.  I don’t like most of Julez Santana’s verse either. Fabolous’ verse is the only one I like. The song would have been much better if it was just Fabolous rapping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Luxhrf5u-0
3. All The Way Turnt Up- I expected this song to be great when I realized Fabolous and Trey Songz were both on it. This song is good, but I imagined it to be much better than it was. Trey Songz rapped, but I would have preferred him to sing on this track. Also, this song was less dynamic than previous tracks. I did not like the transition from a better song, “Tonight”, to a mediocre one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Tsjy9U868

Overview:

I recommend the There Is No Competition 2 (The Funeral Service) mixtape to anyone that strives to be, or is competitive. With the exception of bad choice of feature artist and choosing to sing, this mixtape was all around good. Fabolous definitely did a better job on this mixtape than he did on his last album, so maybe he should have asked for the rights to release these tracks instead of releasing Loso’s Way. This mixtape is worth listening to, and I found that it is music that will keep you alert while you are driving. I cannot wait until he releases There Is No Competition 3, but he will have a hard time duplicating or improving the success of this mixtape.

Other Fabolous Related Links:

http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/home.aspx?artistID=7301

http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/fabolous/artist.jhtml

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1244543/bio

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/fabolous-biography/f946ed1b2c746b9448256ae700364891

http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=53757