These days, I buy albums on CD or at digital stores like iTunes in roughly equal measure, and usually there's not much logic to what I buy where, unless one version or the other has bonus tracks or I really want the CD to bump in the car. But with Fabolous's new album, Loso's Way, I made a point to grab it on Amazon MP3 expressly to avoid ending up with a physical copy with the bonus DVD 'movie.' I just don't think I'm ready to sit through Fab's own Streets Is Watching. Hell, I could barely get through Jay's. Plus that faux-trailer video for "My Time" was pretty cringe-inducing if that's an indication of what it's like.

I'm definitely not going to say my recent commenter's concerns about Loso's Way aren't warranted; "a normally dead-eyed rapper trying and failng to be more dynamic than usual" sums it up pretty well, actually. The extra effort to add emphasis and inflection to his delivery isn't really necessary anyway, since it just makes his wit seem less dry and nonchalant, which is a big part of his appeal for me. I am at least relieved that he doesn't try to get as animated as Lil Wayne to keep up with him on "Salute" in that super-embarrassing way Pharrell did on "Yes."

Fennessey's recent Voice piece gets at the central paradox of Fabolous pretty well, although it maybe overstates that it's even worth wondering who he is or pretending to be disappointed every time he fails to make an album that's more hardcore rap than R&B crossover. Everyone jokes about Fab having a singer on every other track, but "Feel Like I'm Back" is a harsh reminder that he's generally best not left to his own devices for hooks (or, for that matter, spoken intros, although I always LOL @ "if you happen to bump into the streets, can you please tell 'em I'm back?"). Like any Fab album, it's only as good as its songs, and this one generally has a good batting average, especially as far as modern-sounding synth squiggle beats like DJ Khalil's on "Imma Do It" and Ryan Leslie's on "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere." And there's one absolute banger, "Pachanga," and the perfunctory 'personal' song "Stay" actually kinda works for me. So I'll just say that it's definitely better than From Nothin' To Somethin' and leave alone whether that means anything at all.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 10:53 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.