Real Talk

by Fabolous

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	11/09/2004
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678375422

Tracks

1. Exodus
2. Don't Stop Wont Stop
3. Real Talk (123)
4. Gangsta
5. Tit 4 Tat
6. Baby
7. Girls
8. Church
9. Can You Hear Me
10. Do the Damn Thang
11. Holla at Somebody Real
12. It's Alright
13. Breathe
14. Young & Sexy
15. Round & Round
16. In My Hood
17. Ghetto
18. Po Po

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Fabolous   Primary Artist
Lil' Mo   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Sean Paul   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Thara   Primary Artist,Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Black Ice   Primary Artist
Shams Tharani   Primary Artist
Charlie Murphy   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Paul Cain   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Mike Shorey   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jeezy   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Nate Dogg   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Pharrell Williams   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Scott Jacoby   Keyboards
Jovonn Alexander   Various Instruments
Robert Larow   Keyboards
Jeremy Skaller   Keyboards
Jazz Ming Mackey   Vocals (Background)
Myasia Davis   Vocals
Bryana Shaw   Vocals
Tashai Fletcher   Vocals

Technical Credits

Just Blaze   Audio Production,Producer
The Neptunes   Audio Production,Producer
Trackmasters   Audio Production
Richard Davies   Composer
Stephen George   Recording
Chris Athens   Mastering
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Executive Producer
John Bender   Assistant Engineer
Charlie Murphy   Composer
Fabolous   Producer,Executive Producer
Michael Goldberg   A&R
Crystal Streets   Stylist
Anita Marisa Boriboon   Design,Art Direction
Kenneth Pratt   Composer
Roberto Fantauzzi   Producer
Jovonn Alexander   Composer,Producer
Ken "Supa Engineer" Duro   Mixing Engineer
Cameron Huff   Recording
Khaled Khaled   Composer
Hailey "Silence" Campbell   Composer
Skane   Executive Producer
Keith Wilkins   Composer,Producer
Andrew Coleman   Recording
C.M. Murphy   Composer
Justin Smith   Composer
Paul Cain   Composer
John Jackson   Composer,Composer
Jeremy Skaller   Producer,Vocal Producer
Pharrell Williams   Composer
Roger Hodgson   Composer
Jennifer Lopez   Composer
Poke & Tone   Producer
J.C. Lopez   Composer
DJ Clue   Executive Producer
DJ Khaled   Producer
Paul Gregory   Engineer,Recording
Samuel Barnes   Composer
Bram Tobey   Assistant Engineer
Jay Jenkins   Composer
Gerard Harmon   Composer,Producer
Reefa   Producer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
Sharif Slater   Composer
Javonn "JV" Alexander   Producer,Instrumentation
Hotrunner "TL"   Producer
Derek "Big Tank" Thornton   Composer
James Lopez   Product Manager
David Brown   Mixing Assistant
Cynthia Loving   Composer
Teraike Crawford   Composer
Jonathan Rotem   Composer,Producer
Phillip Pitts   Composer
Terrence Lovelace   Composer
Scott Storch   Composer,Producer
Flame Throwers   Producer