By Datwon Thomas, EIC/COO of Global Grind
Throw in an understated lyrical swag, witty word play, the penchant for murdering hip-hop soul features and the ability to start Twitter trending topics at the drop of a hashtag and you have Brooklyn's heir to the Hov throne in Def Jam's marquee playboy, Fabolous.
His ascent to the upper crust of the crafty MC list is a long time coming since the kid (in hip-hop years, anyway) already has nearly a decade under his belt. All of his albums can be categorized under the "LL Cool J School for the Rap Balladeer," yet the mixtape mainstay (in his earlier years) can whip up a mean 16 if you let him change out of his Fabolous attire into his Loso streetwear.
With the arrival of Loso's Way, Fab took a page out of the Big Homie's concept album book. He created his own gangsta paradise in which his well spun tales of Scarface-ish rags-to-riches-to-regret laid heavy on a personal journey to get closer to fans through creativity rather than cornball boasting. He nearly pulled off the feat, yet let the concept get away from him a bit.
There is no question that he has that thing that all MCs of his elite caliber would like to possess, which is the ability to make you catch their hot lines at a later date. If you are an occasional rap listener, it takes at least a few days for a Fab line to properly incubate. Yet, his slow, steady, never-in-a-rush flow makes him an easy target for the masses to enjoy. Rare vocal inflection may be a drawback as he continues forward, but judging from his most recent guest spot on Ghostface's new album Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry, Fab is ready to test new ground in story rhymes and humor tones he didn't try in his early years.
Personal style — which is a huge selling point for today's hottest MCs — is Fab's strong suit. Never one to spill his swag juice cup, you can find him asking his over 200,000 twitda-did-da fam which outfit he should rock on stage. A stark difference in approach to connecting with fans from almost anyone on the Hottest MCs list.
What about his realism and street cred factor, you ask? He's been shot! 'Nuff said.
By Elliott Wilson, Founder and CEO of RapRadar.com
They say persistence overcomes resistance, and never has that been more evident than in the case of Fabolous. BK's finest young rapper has spent most of his career being overshadowed by rap heavyweights like Jay-Z, but it's his consistency that has kept him in the conversation for the past eight years.
What did F-A-B-O do so special in 2009 to finally be recognized as one of the game's hottest MCs? Man, he just stuck to the script. Loso's Way is another solid album in the guest-spot master's catalogue. Street bangers ("Imma Do It", "Lullaby") merged with commercial muscle ("Throw it in the Bag," "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere") packed with personal tales of betrayal ("Pachanga") and fatherhood ("Stay"). And on top of all that, as far as rap artists goes, he's the Twitter king. Salute him.
Justin Bieber is 15 years old, from a small town in Canada and definitely having a moment. This particular moment had what felt like a bazillion little girls lined up around the Hard Rock Café in Times Square to catch Justin's performance at the third annual "Tiki Rocks the Square for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals" event in New York.
"My manager and my people got the call and I was like, 'It's an awesome organization,' so I'm here now," he told us about the chance to play a set at the event, which also featured rapper Fabolous. "I'm very excited. Fab is awesome."
We arrived to interview Justin — who had both Justin Timberlake and Usher battle it out over who would get to mentor him (Usher won!) — about his upcoming album, My World, due out in November.
We also wondered what it was like to become so famous so fast, and it seems like he hasn't yet adjusted to all the attention. It's clear that he appreciates all the opportunities that he has been given, like playing a charity event to a swarm of fanatical teenage girls. And it's also clear that he's still not used to it all yet. Which is fine, because we're sure that with all the attention he's getting these days, by the time his album hits stores on November 17, he'll be an old pro, and by the time he's 16, he'll be unstoppable.
And, in case you're not yet familiar with Justin, MTV News will be rolling out articles about and interviews with him over the coming days.
No sleep 'til Brooklyn. During rush hour, it takes about 90 minutes to get from Manhattan to BK, but horrendous traffic couldn't deter stars current and past from the Def Jam label from traveling to the world's most popular borough for VH1's sixth annual "Hip-Hop Honors." Right in the heart of Crooklyn at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the red carpet for the event was filled with heat (literally — it felt like it was about 120 degrees) and love.
KRS-One must have hugged former Def Jam franchise player DMX on the carpet. The Blastmaster said a definitive "Him!" and pointed to X when asked who was one of the artists that defined the label over the years.
Meanwhile, there's clearly no more bad blood between Ashanti and Ja Rule, as she smiled brightly when talking about performing with her former Murder Inc. labelmate.
Ludacris arrived with Player's Circle and Titi Boy took home the award for flashiest bling with a iced-out 747 hanging off of his chest.
As the carpet came to a close, Method Man ran into Kid Rock and the compliments went flying. Meanwhile, Fabolous said hello to fellow BK native Foxy Brown. Inside, Foxy and Onyx's Sticky Fingaz exchanged numbers before going to their seats.
Check out the rest of our "VH1 Hip-Hop Honors" photo gallery, featuring Ludacris, Kid Rock, Ghostface, Chuck D, Trey Songz and Flavor Flav! And be sure to check out the show, which airs on VH1 on Tuesday, October 13 at 9 p.m.!
There's no shortage of stars streaming into New York City for Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards (in fact, MTV News traveled with 3OH!3 as they made their way from their Colorado hometown to the bright lights of the big city). But there are also plenty of stars who call New York home. Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Jimmy Fallon, Alicia Keys and others won't have very far to travel when they make their way to Radio City Music Hall on Sunday. Another notable New York resident, Fabolous, stopped by the venue yesterday to chat with MTV News correspondent Sway about what the "Throw It in the Bag" rapper likes about shopping in New York.
"You gotta keep in in your budget," explains the rapper, reminding everybody that we're still in a recession. "Some people might want to hear Fifth Avenue, there's a bunch of stores there if your budget is there. Or you can hit Soho too, they got a lot of vintage stuff there. Those are my top shopping areas."
Fab also expressed excitement over the Michael Jackson tribute that will be lead by his sister Janet and is set to open tomorrow night's show. "I thought it was great," he told Sway. "You know how it hit her when [Michael died], so just to see somebody from the family getting to pour her heart out about Mike is going to be a great thing to see."
No matter where stars choose to shop during their time in the Big Apple, they'll have plenty of opportunities to look fresh once the cameras start rolling tomorrow night at 8 p.m.
Today marked the premiere of Asher Roth's video for "She Don't Wanna Man," the latest clip from his smashing debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle. The song and video features a guest spot from Keri Hilson, who is rapidly becoming one of the best guest stars in music. While Rihanna may have grabbed the most recent headlines with her hook in Jay's "Run This Town," Hilson has quietly built her resumé. In "She Don't Wanna Man," Hilson plays the titular girl who is only in the club to dance. Her silky smooth delivery on the hook combined with her offbeat sexiness makes for an ideal guest spot. Even though she's only in charge of the chorus, she totally takes over the song, which is no easy feat in the presence of an MC as charismatic as Roth.
But the Roth video is only the latest in her series of scene-stealing performances. Check out the video for Kardinall Offishall's "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)," in which Hilson coos the hook (a sample of "The Tide Is High," a reggae song made popular by Blondie) and gyrates in her off-beat manner. Once again, she totally jacks the clip from Kardinal, a lively performer in his own right.
But the best Hilson drop-in is in the video for Fabolous' "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere." Again, Keri delivers the hook with a rugged sweetness and does little more than give the camera a thumbs-up, but she is so endlessly compelling that she steals the entire four minutes. She's got an easy sexiness, but there's also a sense of danger to her. Plus, she's got great hair. Of course, Hilson's own songs are phenomenal (especially "Knock You Down"), but the best way to grab some attention and give your track (and video) some attention is to sign Hilson up. Take note, MCs.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Fabolous was living it up Monday night. The Brooklyn MC celebrated the release of his fifth LP Loso's Way at Manhattan night spot Griffin.
Like his album, which arrives in stores and online today, the event was full of stars.
Faboulous was joined by Keri Hilson, Wale, Ryan Leslie and Nina Sky, among others. DJ Clue manned the turntables. And hit after hit that Fab's contributed to over the years blasted over the speakers throughout the night.
(Click here for more photos from Fabolous' Loso's Way launch party in New York!)
Prior to the shindig, 'Loso was joined by big chief L.A Reid and a mix of Def Jam execs and media members for a screening of the accompanying DVD production of "Loso's Way," the film that comes as a part of the deluxe set.
It's not the biggest surprise on the world, but DJ Khaled is predicting that Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap will be the primo album in the land come tomorrow.
Khaled also spilled the beans that his Miami friend is already working on Deeper Than Rap's follow-up. "I'm probably not supposed to tell you," Khaled joked while on the set of Ace Hood's "Overtime" video. Khaled worked closely with Ross on Deeper Than Rap, serving as the project's A&R, and hinted that fans can expect more of the same from the Boss' next opus.
Meanwhile, Khaled will continue to work with a plethora of other Def Jam artists. (He's the president of Def Jam South and has his own label, We the Best, which Ace is signed to.) Look for Khaled to be sliding beats to acts such as Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Fabolous and new singer Cherlise.
NEW YORK — The city that never sleeps is often the city that never runs out of options. Tuesday was one of those nights when it felt like everybody came out — there were parties and concerts all night long. Joe Budden decided against heavy fanfare and posturing and kept it gully with a party at the New Era flagship store in lower Manhattan to usher in the release of his latest LP, Padded Room.
Meanwhile, The-Dream was pumping up anticipation for his Love Vs. Money album, which drops on March 10. He performed at B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill.
The major event of the night, though, was the party for King magazine. The home of busty and lusted-after models and female celebrities celebrated its 50th issue. Cute-as-a-button Christina Milian — who was recently linked romantically with The-Dream — got the cover-girl honors for the issue, and although Milian wasn't in attendance, the mag’s founder, Datwon Thomas, and editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall welcomed lovelies such as Danity Kane's Dawn Richard (who, in addition to speaking with us recently about the Danity Kane split, has a spread in the Milian issue) and radio personality Free. Meanwhile, fly guys such as Fabolous were spotted in the crowd while Busta Rhymes was a guest of Ron Browz onstage.
Read more...
By Adrienne Day
Get your "American Idol" fix here! We follow the first batch of the top 36 as they sing through Billboard magazine's Top 100 hits, and we live-blog the show last night.
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way explains why their new album will be "very direct, very honest" — and a return to the band's Jersey roots.
Fabolous reveals who's numero uno in his life — his 1-year-old son — but explains there's still room in his heart for the ladies, as evinced by his upcoming album, "Loso's Way," featuring Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry and The Dream.
Kurt Loder reviews Polish director Andrzej Wajda's dark World War II masterpiece, "Katyn," nominated for an Academy Award in '08 but only now getting a US release.
Our Movies Blog gets wind of a new Robert Rodriguez flick — and this one, a futuristic thriller, has an actual release date!
