“Making commercial songs has become a niche for me,” says an a-matter-of-fact Fabolous when asked about his hit-making prowess. “But you will always hear that mixtape side of me. That will never die.” Such is the intriguing dichotomy of the Brooklyn-born spitter who helped usher in the East Coast’s new generation of MC’s in the late ‘90s. Along with the young and hungry likes of Jadakiss, Joe Budden, and 50 Cent, Fab found commercial and street acclaim by navigating the new complex terrain of hip-hop that was driven just as much by gaudy SoundScan album sales as it was mixtape dominance. And few played the game as skillfully as Fabolous.
But even after a decade plus career that has produced two platinum albums (his bold 2001 Ghetto Fabolous and follow-up Street Dreams), a string of song-stealing cameos and rewind-worthy punchlines, Fab is still playing both sides of the proverbial field. As he currently enjoys commercial success with the Ryan Leslie-produced single “You Be Killin’ ‘Em,” Fab has just dropped a conceptual project entitled The S.O.U.L. Tape, a dusty mixtape that could have easily been conceived in the heartfelt soul-sample era of Pete Rock. For Fab, who has dropped verses with a diverse contingent that includes Foxy Brown, Nate Dogg, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and Jay-Z, it’s par-for-the-course. This is Fabolous’ Full Clip.—Keith Murphy
CLICK ↓ TO BEGIN FAB’S FULL CLIP