From out of nowhere,
Fabolous swooped onto the hip-hop scene in summer 2001 with this big-money debut album and a sure-fire hit ("Can't Deny It"). It also didn't hurt that
Fabolous' rhymes happen to fit right in the with the zeitgeist of the moment, exhibiting somewhat of an East Coast variation of the bling bling style synonymous with Southern rap. Besides
Jay-Z's occasional departure into materialism and/or hedonism à la "I Just Wanna Love U," the East Coast didn't really have a young, icy player -- at least not since the popular downfall of Bad Boy following
the Notorious B.I.G.'s death. So if all this sounds a bit calculated, that's probably because it is. The flagship for
DJ Clue's Desert Storm label,
Fabolous is targeted at a specific niche, and he's well positioned. You know this before even hearing the music, just by glancing over the credits: big-money, of-the-moment producers like
the Neptunes,
Rockwilder, and
Timbaland drop beats, and big-name, all-over-the-airwaves rappers/vocalists like
Ja Rule,
Lil' Mo,
Jagged Edge, and
Nate Dogg contribute some hooks -- these are can't-miss artists capable of propelling an unknown like
Fabolous to overnight stardom. And that's exactly how it worked, thanks to the
Rick Rock-produced,
Nate Dogg-graced "Can't Deny It," a song that conveniently lifts a trademark
2Pac line for its hook ("I can't deny it, I'm a f*ckin' ridah," from "Ambitionz as a Ridah"). As calculated as it may be, it's an irresistible hook; unfortunately, the remainder of the album isn't nearly as alluring. ~ Jason Birchmeier