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It was entirely possible that the first single from the third Fabolous album would be a club track or a soft-styled pop-oriented number aimed at the female audience. "Breathe" is nothing like that, the roughest chart hit of Fabolous' career. All grit, no gloss -- Just Blaze works a chest-cracking break, a needling piano run from '70s art rockers Supertramp, and a doctored vocal sample (top that, Kanye West). Whatever flashes of high promise Fabolous hinted at before are fulfilled and then some, his slithery voice intensified and commanding like never before. Two lines into the first verse, the track shows all the necessary signs of being a hip-hop classic -- one that fills all other MCs with envy while sucking the energy out of every other maximum-rotation radio hit. "Breathe" has the same dwarfing effect on the rest of Real Talk, and noticing its 13-spot placement on the album does nothing but raise the false expectations of first-time listeners. On most other releases, "Breathe" would be slotted second or third, not nearly so deep and de-emphasized. Tucking it near the end turns out to be a smart move, because an early role in the track order would've given the album a quick drop-off. Throughout, Fabolous once again spreads himself too thin. He's versatile, sure -- he is capable of branching out to several styles, but this overvalued trait is traded for a steep cost. Erratic and neither convincing nor satisfying from track to track, the album strolls through another mixed bag of satisfactory-to-strong crossovers, factoring in the South, the West, the silky, the grainy, the laid-back, and the amped-up. A pile of producers weigh in, including the Neptunes (who go one-for-two), Scott Storch (ditto), Trackmasters, Flame Throwers, and a handful of relative newcomers. There's enough quality material to help fill out a Fabolous best-of, but the touch-all-bases formula inhibits the album's potential of being any better than Ghetto Fabolous or Street Dreams.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Duro, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Black Ice, Performance
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jovonn Alexander, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Robert Larow, Additional Keyboards - Jeremy Skaller, Additional Keyboards - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Jovonn "JV" Alexander, Producer, Instruments
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Terrance Lovelace, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - "Hotrunner" TL, Producer - Dwayne Muchinson, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
K. Khaled, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - DJ Khaled the Beat Novacane, Producer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
The Neptunes, Producer - Pharrell Williams, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Pharrell, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Coleman, RecordingEngineer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Jeremy Skaller, VocalProducer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Bram Tobey, AssistantEngineer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Derryck Thornton, Writer - Duro, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Jeremy Skaller, Additional Production - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Mike Shorey, FeaturedArtist - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Supa Engineer DURO for No Question Ent./Loreal Inc., MixingEngineer - Flame Throwers, Producer - The Chairman, Additional Production - Scott Jacoby, Additional Keyboards
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
J.C. Olivier, Writer - Samuel Barnes, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Tone and Poke, Producer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Charlie Murphy, Vocals, Writer, FeaturedArtist - Keith Wilkins, Producer, Writer - Gerard Harmon, Producer, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jonathan Rotem, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Rondu (R.I.P.), MixingEngineer - J.R., Producer - Jasmine Lopez, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jay Jenkins, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Young Jeezy, FeaturedArtist - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Reefa, Producer - Sharif Slater, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Cynthia Loving, Writer - LIL' MO, FeaturedArtist - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Reefa, Producer - Sharif Slater, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Justin Smith, Writer - Sean Paul, FeaturedArtist - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Just Blaze, Producer - Sean Henriques, Writer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Richard Davies, Composer - Duro, MixingEngineer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - ROGER HODGSON, Composer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Just Blaze, Producer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Dave Brown, Assistant Mixing Engineer - Justin Shturtz, Assistant Mixing Engineer - Ryan West, RecordingEngineer - Ken 'Duro' Ifill, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
P. Williams, Writer - The Neptunes, Producer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Pharrell, FeaturedArtist - Andrew Coleman, RecordingEngineer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Mike Shorey, FeaturedArtist - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Scott Storch, Producer, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Jazz Ming Mackey, Background Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Teraike Crawford, Writer - Phillip Pitts, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Bryana Shaw, Additional Vocals - Dangerous, LLC, Producer - Myasia Davis, Additional Vocals - Tashai Fletcher, Additional Vocals - Hailey Campbell, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Scott Storch, Producer, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Paul Gregory, RecordingEngineer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - John Bender, AssistantEngineer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - Cameron Houff, RecordingEngineer - Thara, FeaturedArtist
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Nathaniel Hale, Writer - Paul Cain, Writer, FeaturedArtist - Jonathan Rotem, Writer - Nate Dogg, FeaturedArtist - Kenisha Pratt, Writer - Duro, MixingEngineer, ExecutiveProducer - Fabolous, Rap, MainArtist, CoExecutiveProducer - Chris Athens, MasteringEngineer - JOHN JACKSON, Writer - Webb, CoExecutiveProducer - Clue, ExecutiveProducer - Skane, ExecutiveProducer - Stephen George, RecordingEngineer - Cheo', CoExecutiveProducer - J.R., Producer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Album review
It was entirely possible that the first single from the third Fabolous album would be a club track or a soft-styled pop-oriented number aimed at the female audience. "Breathe" is nothing like that, the roughest chart hit of Fabolous' career. All grit, no gloss -- Just Blaze works a chest-cracking break, a needling piano run from '70s art rockers Supertramp, and a doctored vocal sample (top that, Kanye West). Whatever flashes of high promise Fabolous hinted at before are fulfilled and then some, his slithery voice intensified and commanding like never before. Two lines into the first verse, the track shows all the necessary signs of being a hip-hop classic -- one that fills all other MCs with envy while sucking the energy out of every other maximum-rotation radio hit. "Breathe" has the same dwarfing effect on the rest of Real Talk, and noticing its 13-spot placement on the album does nothing but raise the false expectations of first-time listeners. On most other releases, "Breathe" would be slotted second or third, not nearly so deep and de-emphasized. Tucking it near the end turns out to be a smart move, because an early role in the track order would've given the album a quick drop-off. Throughout, Fabolous once again spreads himself too thin. He's versatile, sure -- he is capable of branching out to several styles, but this overvalued trait is traded for a steep cost. Erratic and neither convincing nor satisfying from track to track, the album strolls through another mixed bag of satisfactory-to-strong crossovers, factoring in the South, the West, the silky, the grainy, the laid-back, and the amped-up. A pile of producers weigh in, including the Neptunes (who go one-for-two), Scott Storch (ditto), Trackmasters, Flame Throwers, and a handful of relative newcomers. There's enough quality material to help fill out a Fabolous best-of, but the touch-all-bases formula inhibits the album's potential of being any better than Ghetto Fabolous or Street Dreams.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 18 track(s)
- Total length: 01:15:01
- Main artists: Fabolous
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Elektra Records
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp For the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
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