Fabolous Album: “From Nothin' to Somethin' [PA]”

From Nothin' to Somethin' is Fab's 4th Studio album and I have to say that after one listen to the whole album, I was not disappointed. Many people complain about Fab's delivery when he raps on this album....said his flow is lazy, monotone, and repeated...Well, Fab has always had that laid-back flow so I knew not to expect more than Fab's usual formula: Club Bangers. With that said, this album has many, many single potential....with three successful singles in constant play already (Make Me Better F/Ne-Yo, Return of the Hustle F/Swizz, Diamonds F/Jeezy)...I have no doubt that this album will go platinum. From Nothin' to Somethin' is Fab's best album to date, the beats are top-notch, His flows/word play has stepped up from "Real Talk" and the production on this album is as good as can be expected for a Fabolous album...and thats saying alot! People need to quit complaining about Fab enlisting an artist on nearly every track...When your hot, people want to be on your album and when your signed to a label as major as Def Jam...you best believe there are gonna be lots of collaborations! This here is a Home Run for Fab!

David's Favorite Track In The Following Order:

1. Make Me Better F/Ne-Yo (Crafty Production By Timbo, Great Hook/Verse by Ne-Yo & Fab's Laid-Back Flow...what more could you want?)

2. From Nothin' to Somethin' Intro (This Beat is Crazy Nice!)

3. Diamonds F/Young Jeezy (Another great Beat and Jeezy's Verse is Fire!)

4. Return of The Hustle F/Swizz Beatz (This beat screams Club Bangger!)

5. Gangsta Don't Play F/Junior Reid (Great Beat & Lyrics...Love the Hook!)

6. First Time F/Rihanna (Could/Should be the 4th single!)

7. I'm The Man F/Red Café (Another Great Beat...Some lyrics are a bit cheesy but good track none-the-less)

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

I think Fabolous stepped it up with this album. I thought that before this, certain individual songs showcased Fab's talent better than whole albums, kind of like Jadakiss. The production is for the most part on point, and so are Fab's raps. The intro and "I'm Back" are ill. "Change Up" with Akon is dope, as is "Make Me Better" with Ne-Yo and "Baby Don't Go" with T-Pain. The "Gangsta Don't Play" joint with Junior Reid is cool too, though people were ODing a little with the Junior Reid features after "One Blood." I didn't like Diamonds at first, but after a little while it grew on me... a little lol. The joint is aright. "Brooklyn" was pretty hot, although I'm not a big Uncle Murda fan. "I'm the Man" is sick. It's one of my favorite joints on the album. I don't know why this wasn't a single..... Aright I gotta make this short lol I'm running outta time here.

All in all, I think the album is well balanced and diverse without sounding too much like a mish-moshed compilation. Fabolous is great at doing witty street songs as well as R&B/Pop songs like "Make Me Better" and "Baby Don't Go," so why not use that talent? My favorite cuts are "Change Up," "Make Me Better" (although it got MAJORLY played out at the time) "Baby Don't Go," "Brooklyn" and "I'm the Man." I hope Loso's Way is just as good. So far it seems like Def Jam and Fabolous are a good team.

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!!!!!!!!!