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Fabolous
Background information
Birth name	John Jackson
Also known as	Faboloso, Loso, Los, Fab, Real Talk Of New York, Ghetto Fab, F.A.B.O., Spider Spizz, Lambo Loso, William H. Bonnie, King, Rich Yüngsta, Ferrari Fab, Carat Jeter, Canary Bonds & First Time Fab
Born	November 18, 1977
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	1998–Present
Label(s)	Elektra Records/Desert Storm (2001 - 2003) Atlantic Records/Desert Storm (2004 - 2005) Def Jam Recordings/Desert Storm (2006 - present)
Associated acts	DJ Clue Joe Budden Lil' Mo Mike Shorey Stack Bundles

John Jackson (born November 18, 1977^[1]), better known as Fabolous, is a rapper of African-American and Dominican descent from Brooklyn who became a mainstream star after his debut single "Can't Deny It" (a remake of Tupac Shakur's "Ambitionz Az a Ridah" from All Eyez on Me) from 2001 (see 2001 in music). Since then, he has had several additional successful releases.^[2]

Before receiving mainstream popularity, Jackson released a single entitled, "If They Want It" in 1998 under his old moniker, "Fabolous Sport". This song was released by Def Jam Recordings on the album DJ Clue? The Professional. It is also available on the DJ Kool Kid Mixtape entitled "Pound For Pound" featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss. In the year 2000, he released a second single through Elektra Records entitled, "Gotta Be a Thug". This track can be found on DJ Clue Presents Backstage Mixtape (Soundtrack).^[3]

Contents 1 Biography 2 October 2006 shooting incident 3 Discography 3.1 Albums/Mixtapes 3.2 Mixtapes 3.3 Singles 4 References 5 External links

In his early years, Jackson grew up in the Breevort Housing Projects, located in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He was raised by mother Deborah Jackson, of African American descent. However, Fabolous was not raised by his father of Afro-Dominican, and met him for the first time at the age of 14 at his father's funeral. Fabolous has a sister Vonja Jackson, a brother Paul Cain (also a rapper signed to Fabolous label),and has two nieces and a nephew. Life engulfed him from an early age, as he had to resort to drug dealing in order to make a living. In an interview with Blender Magazine in October of 2001, Fabolous was quoted as saying of his days growing up, "I was just trying to make a living, hustling, playing ball, whatever." (Fabolous interview with Blender) Fortunately, he was also talented as a rapper. A music executive heard him rhyming one day and was able to land him a spot on a local New York mixtape radio show, where famous beat-maker DJ Clue was the host. Clue was impressed with what Fabolous rhymed that day and subsequently signed him to his Desert Storm label. A comment made at the time of his discovery led to the nickname, Fabolous, the moniker he is most known by today.^{[citation needed]}

Fabolous has made guest appearances on tracks by many different artists including Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Don Omar, Christina Milian, Cassidy, Amerie, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Lil Mo, Lloyd Banks, Benzino, B2K, P. Diddy, Young Jeezy, E-40, Joe Budden, Nate Dogg, The Game, Xzibit and Janet Jackson, as well as an upcoming collaboration with Korean singer Se7en. As of 2006, his latest release is the mixtape "Loso's Way". The lead single is "Smokin' and Sippin'" featuring Paul Cain and Magno which was produced by CHOPS.

Fabolous' first popular single, "Can't Deny It", was released in late summer 2001. He would later be nominated for a Grammy for his collaboration on the remix of Dip It Low by Christina Milian in 2004. His popularity later grew when he remade one of Tamia's hits called "Into You" in 2003 along with Tamia - this has been one of his most popular singles to date.

After his discovery, DJ Clue hired a handful of producers, rappers, and vocalists for Fab's debut album Ghetto Fabolous. Fabolous was teamed with Nate Dogg to produce his first single. The song was charted in the Billboard Top 100, and the subsequent album, Ghetto Fabolous, achieved platinum certification. The Street Dreams (album) followed in 2003 with another platinum certification, and Real Talk was released in 2004, which went gold. His fourth studio album, From Nothin' to Somethin', was initially scheduled for release in December 26, 2006 , but was moved back following the rapper's shooting, first to March 27, 2007 , then even further back to April 17, 2007, and then even further back, to May 1, 2007, and more recently to June 12, 2007. ^[4]

Jackson is currently planning a clothing line released through the Rich Yung Society.^[5]

Def Jam has officially announced that Fabolous' album is going to come out on June 12, despite being pushed back five times, first starting with December 19 to February 27 then March 27, then to April 17, then to May 1, and finally to June 12.

The video for "Diamonds" is available on youtube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8a81g4hey4

On October 17, 2006, Jackson was shot in the leg as he was leaving Justin's, a restaurant owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs. After his SUV was stopped by police following the incident, two loaded guns were found in his car, including one with an altered serial number. Consequently, Jackson was arrested (along with three other men) after being treated, ^{[6] [7] [8]} and was arraigned on charges of criminal weapons possession as a result of the incident. Jackson remains free on $15,000 bail pending trial.^[9][10] Boston Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair was supposedly under investigation for possible involvement. Prior to the shooting, Telfair had a $50,000 chain stolen from him outside the same restaurant and was seen making a phone call. ^[11]

	Ghetto Fabolous Released: September 11, 2001 Chart positions: #4 Billboard Top 200 Last RIAA certification: Platinum (February 6, 2003) [12] Singles: Can't Deny It (feat. Nate Dogg) (#25 US), Young'n (#33 US)
	Street Dreams Released: March 4, 2003 Chart positions: #3 Billboard Top 200 Last RIAA certification: 2x Platinum (September 22, 2003)[12] Singles: Can't Let You Go (#4 US, #14 UK), Into You (#1 US, #18 UK), This Is My Party, Trade It All (#20 US)
	More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape Released: November 4, 2003 Chart positions: #28 Billboard Top 200 Last RIAA certification: Singles: Make U Mine ft. Mike Shorey, Think Y'all Know
	Real Talk Released: November 9, 2004 Chart positions: #6 Billboard Top 200 Last RIAA certification: Gold (December 13, 2004) [12] Singles:Breathe (#10 US), Baby (#71 US)
	From Nothin' to Somethin' To Be Released: June 5, 2007 [4] Chart positions: N/A Last RIAA certification: N/A Singles: Diamonds

Fabolous has also released several mixtapes, the most popular of which, Street Dreams Pt. 2, released in 2003, which was charted at #28 in the Billboard Top 200. The following tapes were also released:

• 2003 Can't let u go [Remix]
• 2005 My life is
• 2006 Loso's Way - Rise to Power
• 2007 Loso's Way Part II
• 2007 DJ Trigga Presents: Return Of The Hustler

Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. R&B/ Hip-Hop	U.S. Rap	UK	Album
2001	"Young'n (Holla Back)"	33	17	8	-	Ghetto Fabolous
2001	"Can't Deny It" (featuring Nate Dogg)	25	13	11	-	Ghetto Fabolous
2002	"Trade It All Pt. 2" (featuring Jagged Edge and P.Diddy)	20	14	8	-	Barbershop Soundtrack
2002	"This Is My Party"	-	59	-	-	Street Dreams
2003	"Make U Mine" (featuring Mike Shorey)	-	93	-	-	More Street Dreams Pt.2
2003	"Into You" (featuring Tamia)	4	6	4	18	Street Dreams
2003	"Can't Let You Go" (featuring Lil' Mo and Mike Shorey)	4	2	2	14	Street Dreams
2004	"Breathe"	10	4	2	28	Real Talk
2004	"Tit 4 Tat" (featuring Pharrell)	-	-	-	-	Real Talk
2005	"Baby" (featuring Mike Shorey)	71	22	17	41	Real Talk
2007	"Diamonds" (featuring Young Jeezy)	-	-	-	-	From Nothin' to Somethin'

• Official BlackPlanet
• Fabolous Official Website
• Fabolous Fansite

v • d • e Fabolous
Albums
Ghetto Fabolous | Street Dreams | Real Talk | From Nothin' to Somethin'
Compilations
More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape
Singles
Can't Deny It | Young'n (Holla Back) | This Is My Party | Can't Let You Go | Into You | Make U Mine | Breathe | Tit 4 Tat | Baby | Diamonds