Fabolous - From Nothin' to Somethin'

It's hard to catch a break when you're Fabolous. Though his skills as a manufacturer of blazing-hot street bangers and pop-crossover hits have not gone unnoticed by the hip-hop hype machine, the Brooklyn rapper hasn't come close to matching 50-Cent and similarly gifted superstars in the sales department. Which accounts for his decision, with album No. 4, to do somethin' about it. From Nothin' to Somethin' rounds up a massive herd of talent--Akon is here, and so are Swiss Beatz, Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Jay-Z, Lloyd, Junior Reid, Ne-Yo, and T-Pain. It's a little hard to locate Fabo on "Change Up," the Akon track, but otherwise he goes about spreading his Fabolousness throughout: "Diamonds," a bling-centric track with Jeezy, benefits from a borrowed take-it-easy Southern drawl, "Brooklyn" brings it home for New York with a spirit seldom seen since the East Coast/West Coast war was at its nastiest, and "Return of the Hustle" solidifies a career built on street cred with an asphalt-hot beat. Start to finish, but especially on the Timbaland-helmed "Make Me Better," production is top-notch. If there's a disc that can restore the fabulousness to being Fabolous, Somethin' is it. --Tammy La Gorce Amazon.com

FROM NOTHIN' TO SOMETHIN'

VERY GREAT ALBUM. YOU CAN BUMP THIS ANYWERE YOU WANT AND THIS IS HOTT MAN IM TELLIN' U AND I WILL KNOW WHEN SOMETHIN'S HOT AND THIS CD IS. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT THEN GO GET IT NOW!!!!!!!!! June 30, 2008

i thought better of him

this album is typical fab. hiding behind rnb singers.i thought fab was gonna come out swingin because he said ny never left, how we gone bring it back. but he never represented any thing except rnb. June 16, 2008

DECENT ALBUM

FAB HAS HIS SWAGGER AND IF YOU DON'T FEEL HIS STYLE YOU PROBABLY WILL GET TIRED OF THIS ONE. FOR THE MOST PART, THIS ALBUM IS LIGHT IN NATURE LIKE STREET DREAMS WHICH IS WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT. December 12, 2007

2-1/2 stars -- Even President Carter can't save him

I've never been much of a Fabolous fan, but he still had some good songs from time to time, like "Young'n (Holla Back)" and "Breathe". Now that he's on Def Jam, that probably accounts for why his latest album is titled From Nothin' to Somethin' because he's now part of one of the most (if not THE most) successful labels in urban music. Sadly, he still doesn't have a whole lot to offer.

You can especially tell that this is a Def Jam album because it's littered with guest stars; aside from the intro, Fab is only alone on one song, "Yep, I'm Back". But that song is really the only song on here completely worth listening to. "Change Up" and "Make Me Better" (featuring Akon and Ne-Yo, respectively) are okay, but there are just too many shortcomings. Several of the songs have wack choruses, like "Diamonds", the hidden track "I Shine, You Shine", and especially "Joke's on You". Swizz Beatz also fails to impress with his usage of Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." on an already questionable "Return of the Hustle".

Fab also has a habit of using bad metaphors, especially when he's talkin' to the ladies, like "there's options in breakup/Don't you ever play pool?" ("Baby Don't Go") or "you need to leave them burgers alone and make a steak upgrade" ("Real Playa Like"). And the obligatory dancehall crossover, the Junior Reid-assisted "Gangsta Don't Play", really isn't about anything. There's also another Lil' Mo collaboration on here, "What Should I Do", which has teenagers writing to Fab about their problems. Who told him he was Dear Abby?

For some reason, Fab and company also keep mentioning something about "coming through the window like Brotha Man" (makes me think about that Martin marathon on TV One a few weeks ago). Fabolous may be on the Def Jam roster now, but it doesn't do anything for his album because it's more nothin' than somethin'.

Anthony Rupert December 2, 2007

From Something To Nothing

This CD is mad corny, theres only like 5 good songs in this... DONT BUY IT!!! DOWNLOAD THE SONG DIAMONDS IN ITUNES, OR RETURN OF THE HUSTLE...DO NOT BUY THIS CD November 5, 2007

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