Riding high on the success of one
pop-crossover single after another (
"Trade It All," "Can't Let You Go," "Into You"),
Fabolous kept the cash registers ringing in 2003 with a timely holiday-season release,
More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape. A thrown-together compilation of his previously street-released mixtape tracks, this follow-up to his
Street Dreams album from earlier in the year consists mostly of freestyles (
Fabolous rapping over the instrumentals of previously released songs by others), along with a couple of standout remixes, a couple skits, and more. The relatively brief 45-minute sum is surprisingly listenable given its hodgepodge nature, surely attributable to
Fabolous' considerable MC skills. The rapper may be best known for his
pop-crossover hits, most of which are anchored by sugar-sweet
R&B hooks, but he's a hell of a rapper, and that comes to light particularly on these street-oriented recordings, where
Fabolous doesn't compromise his skills for the masses. In particular, the remixes stand out:
Fabolous steals the spotlight on the impressive remix of
Joe Budden's not especially impressive
"Fire" single, and
Just Blaze totally flips
"Can't Let You Go" for its remix, serving up a hot song with little relation to the original. Elsewhere,
Fabolous hijacks (often in conjunction with co-conspirator
Paul Cain) the beats from
Half-A-Mill's
"Some Niggaz" (here retitled
"Niggaz"),
Eve's
"What" (
"Now What"),
Kelly Rowland's
"Make You Wanna Stay" (
"Make U Mine"),
R. Kelly's
"Who's That" (
"Faboloso"),
Jay-Z's
"Renegade" (
"Renegade"),
the LOX's
"Fuck You" (
"F You Too"), and
Lil' Kim's
"This Is Who I Am" (
"B.K. Style"). If you're mainly a fan of
Fabolous' radio hits, you'll be disappointed by the utter lack of sappy slow jams here (and perhaps also by the edgy
gangsta posturing). Yet if you're more a fan of
Fabolous' rapping and the street side of his persona, you should find much to savor on
More Street Dreams, assuming you don't mind wading through a little filler. ~ Jason Birchmeier
