More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape – Fabolous

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, All Music Guide