The first time I ever heard Fab was when I was 12. I heard “Can’t Deny It” and realized that he was beyond nice. You see, Fabolous is a gladiator. You can throw him in the octagon and he’ll walk out unscathed. I always refer to him as the Vince Carter of rap because at any moment, he could unleash an array of tricks that could leave you in awe. Fab is an extraordinary talent that can mesmerize you with his pen game. Lyrically, he’s been as consistent as anybody else in the rap game. Every time he drops a bar, you’re liable to do the ugly face. That’s rare nowadays. Despite all of that, Fab also had moments where you questioned his motor. Like Vince, there would be times where I pondered, “Damn, is that it Fab?” Like many fans, I was left craving more because I was hoping that he would one day crack open that seal of potential and take the proverbial crown of New York.
For the past month, Fab’s inner beast has been awoken. We all know that Fab’s success as a lyrical specimen emanated from desecrating freestyles and features. He’s always had a penchant for flaunting that decadent flow of his whenever he had the chance to. For whatever reason, Fab linked up with his old partner in crime DJ Clue and dedicated his Fridays to dropping freestyles over old school beats. Instead going to La Marina for the thots, Fab entrapped himself in the studio to show that his jumper is still cash money. Can you say, “Lituation?”
We decided to rank his Friday Freestyles from worst to best this Friday.
"B.A.S. Freestyle"
"B.A.S." served as Fab’s first Friday freestyle and it was a pretty strong grand opening. For his first try, Fab decided to hop on Dre’s "B.A.S." from his classic album The Chronic. “This makes me feel like I’m back in 98’,” said Loso. “If it’s a bunch of y’all, ain’t no complaints either./He do them jobs with a MAC, name ain’t Steven/Straight off a iPhone, a text and you’re done/Don’t get caught up in my wordplay, a text is a gun.” "B.A.S." was a great start for Fab, but in contrast to his other freestyles, this was pretty light. Fab still caught a body on this, but it just wasn’t as a strong as his other freestyles.
Best Lines: "Let’s get technical, son, all you n*ggas is foul/out here singing, “Try Me” and sendin’ n*ggas to trial/You ain’t Dej Loaf, you took a hand raised oath/pick a side and stay on it, you can’t play both."
"Ain't Nuthin' Ta Fuck Wit Freestyle"
Fab kept it New York again with a freestyle over Wu-Tang’s “Ain’t Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit.” I was a little disappointed because the freestyle was only two minutes long. Though the freestyle was considerably short, he still had a handful of gems. “No hockey, just riders, no jockey/Chinese food, less beef, more broccoli/my fortune cookie said stay humble, flow cocky/call the jeweler A$AP, time to go Rocky.” Fab is pretty multi-faceted when it comes to rapping. He can give you that work on any kind of beat.
Best Lines: "Fly a little joint, her weave just hang different/Bought her that Malaysia, she went plane missing/I put her in that fast lane, no more lane switching/Told her keep curvin’ them n*ggas, don’t change pitches."
"Told Y’all Freestyle"
For this go around, Fab visited Jay Z’s “Me, Him, and Her.” A lot of people have done carnage on this beat. Here, for the first couple of bars, Fab was untouchable. “Bang her on the low, like a gun with a silencer/Swag champ back, you just one of the challengers/The day you beat me ain’t on none of these calendars/You throwing shots but you’re a little under my caliber/We play with heavy metal, boy I run with Metallica.” Fab pounced on the Jigga beat and kept it so N.Y.
Best Lines: "Like 50 and Taraji, how do it relate?/Try to build an Empire and n*ggas in power wanna hate."
"Been Around The World Freestyle"
Can you say body bag? Fab obliterated this track with ease. Bar after bar, he just kept firing clips without any hesitation. He revisited the 1997 Bad Boy opus and did more than give us his best Ma$e impression. “Look I talk it cause I live it/Stand on my own pivot/I don’t need credit and you ain’t got it to give it/All I do is Phil up banks, aunt Viv it.” There’s a paucity of rappers who can both rap and flow. Fab has the ability to do both and illustrated that on here.
Best Lines: “They know who the hell I be, I’m L-I-T//I pass one to French like ‘c’est la vie’//Ju L-I-E, stay off the L-I-E//The 2 Chainz made a single no L-I-E//
"Take It Easy Freestyle"
Fab was relentless when he flowed over Mad Lion’s “Take It Easy.” He had a slew of bars ranging from “I’m just over you n*ggas, Suge Knight in the Range,” to “Have the wolves on you again, make you a Garnett.” We're big on the sports punch-lines here, and Fab had a bunch to pick from. “In New York, I’m a Giant, I’m like Victor/Cruz with chicks to choose/Met a chick at Sue’s, her dress fit so well/Best catch you done seen since Odell.” He also spared some love advice for you hapless romantics. “Take you to the star shit, he just take you to starlets/Never let a stock boy take you off of the market.” Facts.
Best Lines: "Make enough dough to make biscuits for the whole block/I don’t spend time, I hit the district for a gold watch/My lil’ homie, his biscuit is a old glock/He catch a square and put the triscuit in a gold box."
"Quiet Storm Freestyle"
Fab just loves going off on Mobb Deep beats. Just like "Shook Ones," Fab went IN. Fab borrowed the Mobb’s and Kim’s flow and owned it completely. "Man these bum ass rappers need to make a sign/They say will rap for food, for real scrap you’re screwed/I put the paws on you and lil’ scrap you dudes/My goons in the audience still clap when cued/Put the Hawk in your chest and Millsap you dudes." After toying with the Mobb’s flow, he test drove Kim’s flow and did the damn thing. "I’m like hot damn ho here we go again/Your n*ggas cut you off broke scenario again/No more felipe you eating cereal again/No more lipo you big as Terio again."
Best Lines: "Don’t let the songs on the last album trigga you/You ain’t Trey, you poo nah nah/Look what you done started, ooh nah nah"
"Shook Ones II Freestyle"
What we loved about his rendition of "Shook Ones" was that it was the perfect combination of grit and bars. The dark, grimy instrumental was analogous to Fab’s hunger. Fab always had a penchant for swag rap. But, every now and then, he would don the mask of a lyrical assassin who fancied attacking hard beats. He started off the track with a bang. "You gotta fuck with my realness/I’m sick with it, like I’m stuck with illness/It ain’t luck that I’m still rich/Just more reason for me to tuck and conceal this." Fab continued with more heat with lines like, "I’ll give it to you n*ggas on some AIM Blast shit/Then give it to your sons on some Dame Dash shit, boy." You gotta love it when Fab shows no mercy on these pseudo rappers.
Best Line: "I drive through with the mask on looking like Westbrook"