New Music: Fabolous “Been Around The World”
April 18, 2015 @ 9:10 AM EDT
Song
Passport Gang.
Fab delivered this week’s freestyle a few hours late, but some things are worth waiting for. Over Puff and Ma$e’s collabo, here’s his latest. Yeah, we like it too.
I think Fab might be the most consistent rapper in history. Never to went to high or to low, but always had bars.
Always make somebody do that ugly face if u know what i mean…bars!
i just made the face and came down to the comments to see who first.lol
Between 1996 and 2013 Jayz dropped 15 albums. Thats consistency and he wasn’t dropping wack shit either, he dropped some of the best Hip Hop music this generation has ever heard. Fab is dope and probably the best pick if Jayz wanted to pass the torch to somebody from his hometown and he’s consistent but I don’t see nobody touching the consistency of Jayz. There are some rappers who put out more albums then Jay but he was consistent on the highest levels of Hip Hop music.
He dropped a couple of wack albums kingdom come bp3 vol 3 Bp 2 so no he’s not most consistent honestly you gotta go scarface or nas
Whats wack or not is a matter of opinion. The standard Jay is held to is not the same standard Scarface is held to when they drop an album. You say Kingdom Come was wack? Some would say Nastradamus is wack, you say Jays double album is wack, some would say Nas’s double album is wack but all of these albums contain songs it would be impossible for anybody who’s not a hater to front on. Dope or wack is a matter of opinion but consistency is more concrete then that. You could say those albums from Jay were wack but they still came out on a consistent basis. Did they have hits? Check. Lyrics? Check, Dope beats? Check, conceptual meaning? Check etc… The musicality is opinion based the “consistency”? Not as much as the opinion over musicality. On top of that when Jay comes out its a required of him to have the hottest album of that year, a number one record with multiple hits, the most upper echelon beat makers and the illest of lyricism… Scarface and Nas are not held to these kinda standards and if they were they didn’t check all these boxes back to back for as many consecutive years as Jayz did.
BP2 is wack?!! smmfh!
I think he means consistent when it comes to really spitting I mean even you can agree jay could never spit a verse like the 96 jay right now fab spitting like he did in 98 maybe better I can’t really think of anyone 2 be able maintain that through damn near 20 years so he’s right I give it 2 fab.Now career wise that’s a different argument fab not top 5 I
Jays not supposed to rap like he did when he was 25/26 cause that wouldn’t make sense. You supposed to evolve lyrically. Jay didn’t get worse he just offers an older more wiser perspective. Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, The Black Album, American Gangster, Magna Carta is all the same Jayz just with a wider range of perspective each time. If 1996 Jayz could listen to the We Made It freestyle from last year he’d probably think he’s a better rapper today then he was 18 years ago. Even with Fab, there’s no way old Fab can fuck with the weight of an older Fabs punchlines in terms of meaning. The young Fab had better gun bars though… I say that to say as he got older his content matured and his battle raps started to turn into song lyrics.
Nah this fab is older more mature fab but the thing is he still sounds hungry jay doesn’t have that I mean half of his verses are lazy nowadays I mean even hardcore jay fans admit he fell lyrically magna Carta jay is nowhere near reasonable doubt jay or blueprint which is understandable because it’s nothing left to prove for him but still I think Nas still spit fire Jada still spit fire it’s still ogs that still go in but jay is not one them sorry but career wise still top 4 for me
If Jay aint hungry then I don’t know where all those albums came from cause he’s dropped alot. Now granted now a days he comes out every other year but still if he aint hungry the music shoulda been stopped. Imo he been sounding like he still aint ate. Even on his biggest record Empire State, the nigga sounds like he’s almost growling or some shit LOL. Magna Carta is not supposed to be like RD. I mean Holy Grail, Picasso, Oceans, Somehwereinamerica, Crown, Heaven, FUTW, Open Letter etc… could never have even existed with the fresh off the corner Jayz but he was still rapping like a mothafucka on them songs imo.
Also another factor is Jays life probably depended on the success of RD and he had 25 years of life to create it. Almost two decades later of course he don’t sound the same.
Na fab is nice strictly cuz of longevity but he still comes up with lines like “her shoes are killing her I call it shoeicide” that boggles me. I personally like holla back fab rather than his latest material. Maybe it’s the beats cuz he’s killing these old tracks
Fabs fucking underrated……. This that classic new york feel…….
My nigga still got it
Love this – imagine if puff signed him in1998 ?
HAHAAAA. ..THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!!!! THNKS FAB!!! SORRY FOR THOSE OTHER BAMAS BITING YA SHIT!!! LOL FK YO FEELINGS!!!
biting what shit? he didnt invent the freestyle or remix, nigga wishes it was 96 so bad
This ain’t been around the world da fuq
This was the remix with Carl Thomas, young’n
THIS IS THE REMIX…..WHERE WERE YOU IN THE LATE 90’S?!?!?! THEY EVEN MADE A VIDEO FOR THIS VERSION!!!!
Fab easily the most consistent since 98 the lady joints, the streets, features/remixes, club shit with bars. Clue tapes, No Competions, Soultape Series, Fab coming into the top 5 all he need is that timeless Classic album keep this up and hes forgiven for putting out that Young OG sht
Fabolous is retrogressing. What better way to explore diversity in hip hop that to have innovative artists exploring, creating and sharing their philosophies like Manolo Rose, I Love Makonnen, Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan and Drake.
IS THAT YOU GIVENCHY? YOU CHANGED YOUR ACCT NAME AGAIN FK BOI!!! FK YO FEELINGS!!!
He bodied the track dam is it 97/98
GOT HEEEMM.
All this freestyling over old beats, is getting , well, old…move on it aint working fab
FUck that noise, im enjoying these shits.
Id rather a new soul tape to make up for that young og bullshit..
YOUNG OG IS A HOT ALBUM I DOUBT IF YOU GAVE IT A LISTEN!! FK YO FEELINGS!!!!
lol GET THESE NEW NIGGAS OUT OF HERE !! “ALL THIS FREESTYLING OVER OLD BEATS” IS WHAT THE GAME WAS BASED ON WHEN SHIT WAS A1 !!! FAB IS TAKING IT BACK TO THE ESSENCE . FREESTYLING OVER “NEW BEATS” IS CALLED MAKING A NEW SONG DICKHEAD. fake fans/listeners like you are the reason the game is the way it is . FOH BOY!!!
Lol @new niggas…you dudes crack me up..everything u are telling me is old news, it was done in the past, keyword past…its time to create new styles and new music..and stop living in the past…you csnt see whats ahead if u always looking back..
Rapping over a new beat is called making new music. Fab just did that on Young OG in December 2014. Some people didn’t like the album, I thought it was dope but it was all new music. These type of songs are meant to display skills. Fab aint using a song writers technique with these freestyles, he’s using a battle rappers technique. Its all wordplay without song context but that in itself is a skill. On top of that the past shit is still a bit better then this new shit today.
again, i understand what you guys are saying completely…in my opinion he should be focusing on his strongest projects to date and his weakest and sort out whats hot and whats not, fab obv is tryna garner a buzz with these flashback freestyles, its not all about lyricism…this in my personal opinion isnt going to do it..i think he’s worried that if drops original material its gonna flop again.
All albums are gonna flop unless your mega popular so thats not the issue. What’s hot is a matter of opinion but if you want original material he’s got a ton of that already. Soul Tapes were all original and alot of people said it sucked when they dropped only to come back later and say they wished he made more shit like the Soul Tapes. Unless your name is Kendrick or Drake or Cole people will say its sucks no matter what and it will flop so its back to lyricism now.
the insane part bout this post is that i was literally about to say that last sentence in a diff way only…fab is now doubting himself cuz of them and j.cole sales and what not..
Its no need to doubt himself because he been popping. These is all victory laps at this point but now sales equals lyricism in people’s eyes. Its not about bars, its about how many Taylor Swift fans support your music first week and if you can sing like Drake. Fab taking it back to lyricism because these new niggas forgot what lyricism is which s why their albums is half R&B and jazz cafe poetics and harmonizations.
i dnno, hes kind of dabbled in the new cats styles and shit with some of his songs…but hes in his own lane and has been for a minute…he just needs a hit and not to try and show” these dudes anything..
Yeah but his own style is dope and when he uses the 2 Chainz delivery (which is the reason for all these new cats styles cause it stems from all those delivery switch ups and turn ups from 2 Chainz early mixtapes) he still has wordplay. If he made a hit people would say it sucked because he’s not popular with Katy Perry fans so therefore everything he makes will be labeled wack unless a pop star comes out and cosigns it or sings on it. I say fuck all that, keep doing these classic beats and keep dropping bars. Fuck a hit and fuck these Hip Pop niggas first week sales.
You talk to alot fans to today and skills isn’t even a part of the conversation anymore. Its all about sales, twitter followers and “relevance” and if you even bring up bars they say oh well Hip Hop isn’t all about lyricism… Fuck that, yes it is.
u right, but the people who say it aint bout lyricism is also right as well..music is music..
Yeah thats why opera music isnt about lyricism but Hip Hop? I can make the argument that it is about lyricism because why is having skillful lyrics consider dope and not having lyrics considered wack? Why when people start naming greats its always somebody with lyricism? Thats cause actually Hip Hop is about lyricism to a very significant degree. So much so that it extends beyond musicality to the point where we consider lyricism as having skills. If it was about music then Timbaland would be considered a greater MC then Fabolous but thats not the case.
u just said it yourself, think about how many grammys timberland has gained artists….
Yeah but the grammys aint a branch of Hip Hop music. Its an award show that really has had very little to do with Hip Hop other then searching for who’s the most popular at the time to give them an award. If Hip Hop wasn’t about lyricism then nobody would think I was crazy if I said Timbaland was one of the best lyricists? Why cause they would factor in musicality along with the lyrics but people don’t do that. They isolate lyricism as a determining factor on whether one is considered great or not. Or considered dope or not.
yet at the end of the day all the rappers in the industry want a grammy..
Yeah because its an award show. The purpose of an award is for recognition but Hip Hop culture doesn’t define lyricism based upon whoever has a grammy. The grammys was around before Hip Hop and again the grammys has almost nothing to do with Hip Hop. I cant say Taylor Swift is a better lyricist then Nas because she has grammys.
you are missing the bigger picture here.
I don’t think so. Go ask anybody who their top 5 is? 99.9% all five will be a lyricist. Why is all five lyricist in most people’s opinion when it comes to Hip Hop? There is no way that Nas should be over Puff Daddy in the top 5 but the reason he is is because people made lyricism a determining factor on even being in the top 5 at all period.
oh, believe me nas felt that grammy burn…heavily
Believe you? You didn’t speak to Nas about his true feelings about the grammys. The grammys isn’t even a Hip Hop forum in no way at all. Winning a grammy in Hip Hop isn’t even based on musicality or rhymes, its based on how many people from outside Hip Hop culture did your music reach and you have to sell millions of records to win. They not searching for who has the best lyrics in Hip Hop. It would be like Nas being mad that he didnt win a best album award in Great Britain. He’s not supposed to.
u sound like a desperate lawyer trying to win a case right now…but youre not.
Hip Hop is not and never was about who has a grammy or not. Hip Hop developed outside of the grammys so therefore the grammys is not the measuring stick of lyricism in Hip Hop or even Hip Hop music period. In fact the grammys didn’t televise any Hip Hop in the early days or even want Hip Hop to participate at all to begin with.
are you done rambling in the court?
I could be cause your argument certainly was slaughtered like a farm animal.
Stfu he soned you. Go enjoy your hip-pop and let us enjoy this fabulous display of lyricism over classic beats.
im sure you guys are going to hear it again on your local radio stations real soon, sike..
Who the hell listens to the radio in 2015 lol dummy
i guess thats why iheartradio is so popular…lmao
The grammys feel like how you do about Kendrick’s new album. Its nigger music to them. Its meant to be hated (unless its Eminem or Iggy) so its no way that the grammys has any say over the importance of lyricism in Hip Hop.
CMON BAMA THE MAN JUST DROPPED A DOPE ALBUM NOW HE’S DROPPING SOME NICE FREESTYLES ON US WITH HOT ASS VERSES. ..HE CAN AFFORD TO DO THAT!!! THESE OTHER FK BOIS DONT IT NOW AND HAVENT DROPPED A ALBUM IN 10 YRS IF THAT! !! GIVE FAB A BRAKE AND STOP HATING MOFO!!! FK YO FEELINGS!!!!
FAB BEEN POPPING!!! NOW EVER BODY DROPPING FREESTYLES OVER FLASHBACK BEATS OUT THE BLUE!!!
FK YO FEELINGS!!!
FOH
Cosign
Nobody not fuckin with FAB bar for bar PERIOD!
WHAAAT? Fab is one of the nicest. He’s better than everyone. Don’t be stupid.
Duhh I said nobodys not fuckin with him….
That means everybody is fuckin with him. A double negative equals a positive. Nobody fuckin wit him is what you should’ve said. You can’t even slang right. Shame on you.
NY is back.
Wow I usually hate freestyles over other ppls beats but this shit is dope! Fabulous always flow perfect!
Passport gang? That’s tony yayo’s slogan lol
Mase’s offspring
Bodied. So dope to hear that Clue echo.
Remix of the remix. HOT!!
I’M GLAD HE’S SHOWIN WHAT BARS LOOK LIKE, SO THE YOUNG BOYS GOT SOMETHIN RESPETABLE TO AIM FOR