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March 29, 2024

News: Fabolous Covers Rolling Out Magazine

Rolling Out Fabolous

Fabolous covers the latest issue of Rolling Out Magazine where he talks about The Young OG Project, his career in the music game for over 15 years and being a father. Ha also touches on his Soul Tape mixtape series and much more. Take a look at some of what he had to say below and head over to Rolling Out to read the full interview here.

Rolling Out Fab

Rolling Out: With The Young OG, you reference the ‘90s era a lot. What made you go back and focus on that era with the new album?
Fab: Some of it came from the different music that people were sending to me that had samples from the ‘90s. I also saw how some of the kids of this generation were dipping back to the ‘90s with their style of dress. So it showed me that they had an appreciation for it at the same time. I was one of the guys who grew up on hip-hop in the ‘90s. I wanted to go back and try to show this generation where those styles came from. I came from that era and that was the golden era of hip-hop for me. It was kind of like my tribute to the ‘90s.

Rolling Out: One of the things that has separated you from other rappers is your ability to use wit within your lyrics. Although lyricism appears to be a lost art these days, why is it important for you to hold onto a high standard of lyricism?
Fab: I challenge myself not to write the same one-liner hooks. Lyrics have gotten simpler because the listener’s patience has gotten shorter. But sometimes it can just be a catchy line that sticks with people as well. With me, I just try to challenge myself, challenge the listeners a little bit, and express myself in different ways. Even if I’m selling the same story, there are all these different things happening where you could say it in a different way. There are different ways of creating music. So I think that people can explore that and exercise it. Don’t just say, ”all right, we’re going to make a song and just say turn the club up.” There are other ways to say that.

Rolling Out: You recently signed with Roc Nation, but you’ve known Jay Z for a while. What have you learned from being around Jay Z?
Fab: I’ve even seen his progression as an individual, as a man, as a human being, and as an artist. That’s what I’ve seen the most. One of the key things is that he shows you how to move in a room full of vultures. That’s one of the things that I have definitely seen Jay be able to do. You can put Jay in any room and he’s going to be comfortable. You can put him in the ‘hood in Zone 6 Atlanta, or you can put him in Midtown Manhattan, or put him in the Brooklyn projects and he’s able to navigate each one of those places well. That’s a gift. Everybody can’t do that. There are certain people who would be able to do one and can’t do the other. [There are] certain people who would be able to do two and not all three. That’s one of the reasons why he is so successful today. He is able to move in those rooms and also be able to deal with the people that are in those types of rooms. I’ve seen that. That’s one of the key things that I’ve seen from being around Jay.