At first glance John David Jackson hardly seems like a troublemaker. However, the lanky Brooklynite, who has quietly notched almost a decade in the rap game as the rapper Fabolous, seems to attract a lot of negative energy despite the feel-good vibe of hit songs like “Can’t Deny It” and “Throw It In The Bag.” Whether it’s being shot in the leg in 2006, being linked to a robbery of boxer Zab Juda or the murder of his childhood friend, Shamel McKinney, “coppers is watching with nighttime binoculars” making him appear more felonious than fabulous.
So maybe it makes sense that he would name his next project, Loso’s Way, inspired by the Al Pacino flick, Carlito’s Way. “The story of him coming out and being from the streets, coming out of jail and wanting to do bigger and better things ran parallel to my story of me coming from the streets,” Fabolous explains. “I didn’t come from the same prison stint. I’ve been arrested and stuff before. But that’s where the similarities and stuff began for me.”
Knowing that there are at least two sides to every story The Urban Daily caught up with Fab to talk about the new project, past troubles and if the world really needs another song about shopping.
TUD: Before we get into all of the new album promo I have to ask you from one Brooklynite to another what you think of Jay-Z’s “Death Of Autotune” record.
Fabolous: I think the “Death of Autotune” record is good. Because I started feeling like Autotune became a trend. At first it was done by a couple of artist and it was original, something different. Then like 10 artists maybe started coming out of nowhere doing their whole albums and singles with this effect on their voice. And I think only because they heard a couple of other artist, whether it be T-Pain, Lil Wayne, or Kanye with the effect and it was working, it was successful for them. So it became like a trendy thing. And like anything that’s trendy, it has to die out. And Jay took the stand with sticking the knife in Autotune and saying people need to get back to just showcasing their talent without trying to make it melodic or sing-songy with Autotune. Certain people it worked in their craft and in their talent. [But] certain people I don’t believe they even know it’s a craft or a talent they just saying “hey let’s just use this to make [music] cause this is what everyone is doing. So I think that’s why “D.O.A” is a statement record. We’re tired of everybody just jumping on that auto tune band wagon.
Do you think people will stop using it now?
Fabolous: Of course (laughter). It’s something that a lot of people were thinking. I don’t really think it was a personal diss against any artist.
Is there any Autotune on your new CD, Loso’s Way?
There is NO Autotune on Loso’s Way. Im sorry to say. That’s not Loso’s way. (laughter)..Literally
OK, so talk to me about Loso’s Way. How is this different from or similar to past Fabolous albums?
First of all it’s very different. I’m a little more personal with this album and things I’m talking about. Things that I’ve went through [I’m] puttin’ that into songs. What I’m trying to do with this project [is] still keep myself in the same realm of everything I was doing in the past but also become a little more in touch and personal with the audience and get acquainted with myself as well. So with Loso’s Way, I was inspired by the movie called Carlito’s Way. The story of him coming out and being from the streets, coming out of jail and wanting to do bigger and better things ran parallel to my story of me coming from the streets. I didn’t come from the same prison stint. I’ve been arrested and stuff before. But that’s where the similarities and stuff began for me. Because we both tried to do bigger and better things and not try to backpedal into a street life and go back to the bad things we had done in our past. So I took that story and made it relatable to my story.
OK, so let’s talk about some of those trials and tribulations you’ve had. Is there someone out to get you? In February the police pulled over your tour bus and seized 500 pounds of Marijuana, but they couldn’t charge you with anything. This seems to be a trend going back to the Zab Juda robbing. Are they trying to turn you into the next Suge Knight?
I don’t know. I’m in the same boat you are my man. I’m trying to figure this out myself. Of course they have this thing that everybody is aware of called the hip-hop cops along with the media itself. Sometimes the media takes stories and sensation [makes them] top stories, when they’re really like gossip and rumors. That tour bus thing was a complete falsified story. It was some guy who might have mentioned my name or something like that. But that was not my tour bus. I wasn’t on a tour bus, I didn’t take a tour bus to Phoenix.I had no connection to that. So I never even got questioned by police about that altercation because they didn’t believe that story anyway. The story didn’t even add up.
Other things in the past, a friend of mine that I knew had gotten killed at a club and they associated me with his death and saying I was in the club with him. When it was actually on Thanksgiving night and I never even left my house that whole day. It’s funny how people will take stuff that’s not factual and just put it out. Rumors or gossip they usually will put on in the gossip section, “Page 6” or whatever. Now the “Page 6” information is going on the cover and that’s becoming the main state of the paper.
I’m not in everybody’s life but from what I know I don’t see this big great underground, underworld organized crime ring where they make people believe is going on.
Speaking of make believe, let’s talk about this first single, “Throw It In The Bag.” Real talk, it’s a recession, do we really need another song talking about spending money and shopping?
You could take “Throw it in the Bag” any way you want. Maybe it’s a song about you going in there and throwing it in the bag illegally. That song was really like a fun radio record to pull those commercially driven people who use those kind of songs into the album. Just like the same way, certain people are more street driven than others. When they hear a street joint it pulls them in. So that record was for those people who are commercially driven and listen to the radio. And you need the radio in certain sense to pull people into their album. So thats what “Throw it in the Bag” was. It really doesn’t depict much of what Losos’ is about. It’s just a record to do that. Some of my fans who are more street won’t judge the album by “Throw it in the Bag.”
Ok, one person I can cosign shopping for is your kids and you recently added the title of father to your resume. How is that treating you?
That’s a good thing. It’s another thing we touched in on the album. It’s something that happened between the last album and this album. So I wanted to share that and the feelings of it. It was a very personal song to me because I never knew this feeling until I actually had a son. I heard other fatherhood songs and they have the meanings for how that artist feel. It worked with the Carlito’s Way theme because there was a part in the movie where she told Carlito’s, he was expecting his first son.
I’m sure that your home movies will be interesting. You went on to test out your comedy chops with this Damon Dash impersonation. What made you do that?
I was a fan of the video [of] Dame barking on Def Jam.Even though he got the title of being an asshole, he was an asshole for his team. He went hard to make sure no one played his team. Most people are shy to be the asshole for the team. I had a meeting in Def Jam in that same conference room. When I came in I started playing around and everyone was dying laughing and said I needed to tape it. That shit was so funny. I just put a little twist on it, about the pizza party. We taped it, I thought it was funny and gave people a little bit of my personality. Prior to this project, a lot of time you would not get my comedic side. With this project coming, you’re going to get a lot more of that. Seeing me acting, and seeing situations in the movie. I think people will get to see a lot of character and personality as a whole.
Make sure to check out Fabolous’ new website Myfabolouslife.com!
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