His first record was the hottest rap debut of 2001 (despite an ominous release date: 9/11), and
Fabolous consolidated his commercial clout, if not his artistic importance, with a safe sophomore record called
Street Dreams. There's little doubt that
Fabolous has rapping talents to match his name, with the smoothest flow of any East Coaster and dozens of great ideas. To capitalize on what made
Ghetto Fabolous such a big hit,
Street Dreams has plenty of club tracks ("Can't Let You Go," and "Trade It All, Pt. 2" featuring
P. Diddy) and a few that advertise his hardcore credentials ("Not Give a F***," "Up on Things" featuring
Snoop Dogg, "Keepin It Gangsta" with
Styles and
Jadakiss). Elsewhere he dismisses a raft of female admirers ("Call Me," "Into You" featuring
Ashanti) and shows a level of general disinterest to rival anyone with a major-label deal. One of the singles, "This Is My Party," is one of the worst tracks on the album, a lame mid-tempo grind with a one-note chorus featuring
Fabolous intoning "This is my party, so get fly if you like to" over and over. The productions are much better than the songs, with good work coming from
Tone & Poke,
Timbaland, and executive producers
DJ Clue and
Duro.