Ghetto Fabolous

10/22/2001 3:33 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

After making his name on DJ Clue's mixtapes, Fabolous has been plenty fab in '01. Summoned by Mariah Carey and Lil' Mo, among others, to add his rough-and-ready verses to their albums, the 21-year-old Brooklyn MC finally debuts solo. His skillful flow is comparable to a more aggressive Jay-Z...which is good, to a point. Fabolous has Jay's style down cold on tracks like the lead single, "Can't Deny It" (with Nate Dogg on the hook), and the shuffling, piano-laced "One Day." But the similarity becomes unflattering by the time you peep Fabolous's far more limited imagination; songs like "Keepin' It Gangsta" add about as much as you'd guess to that overcrowded genre, and there are plenty more like that one here. With Jigga's own new one now seeing the light of day, the discerning head may feel like just dropping change on the real thing.