In 2001 Fabolous dropped his debut album Ghetto Fabolous, branding himself as a Brooklyn MC, with a smooth delivery and witty punch lines. Ghetto Fabolous is arguably Fab’s best album to date, with his current album Loso’s Way as the runner up. Throughout Fabolous’ discography, he released chart topping singles, radio friendly music, and still remained relevant to hip hop. With his latest LP, he decided to make it more appealing to the streets with a theme of a gangster movie. The album title alone is inspired by Carlito’s Way, hence the title Loso’s Way.

3.5/5 – Mafioso

“And now for our feature presentation”, that’s how the album begins insinuating that Loso’s Way is a cinematic album. Fabolous kicks off the album with “The Way”; a no-hook, interview themed intro, produced by Streetrunner. Fab goes in on the industry, and gossipers with lines like:

These bitches talk shit out the same mouth they kiss you
These niggas kiss ass with the same mouth that diss you

Then wrapping up the track referencing gangster movies on this excellent opener of an album. The track is then preceded by one of the albums singles, “My Time” which features Jeremih. The Runners lend production to this motivational track, which could easily be suited for Rick Ross, or Ace Hood. To add to the street oriented opening of the album, Fab drops “Imma Do It” about him and his gun Nadia, and one of the albums highlights “Feel like I’m Back” (not to be confused with “Yep I’m Back” from his previous album).
Fab manages to make a balanced album with tracks that appeal to mainstream radio and also the streets. A good example is the follow up to “Feel like I’m Back”, “Everything, Everyday, Everywhere” featuring the beautiful Keri Hilson. Loso flows nicely over the Ryan Leslie beat dropping clever lines about living it up. Another example is the albums lead single “Throw It in the Bag” with The-Dream. While The-Dream hook and production on the track is cliché, Los drops some amusing bars about spoiling the ladies.
The-Dream isn’t the only big name that appears on this album, Fab got appearances from Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Jay-z, and others. A known guest appearance doesn’t necessarily make a song. It’s evident on the Weezy assisted “Salute” where it features an uninspired, army-style instrumental, with a subpar appearance from Wayne. Another disappointing feature is “When the Money Goes” with Jay-z. Originally “When the Money Goes” was supposed to appear on American Gangster, (click here to check out the original Jay-z track) but it didn’t make the album and it now appears on Loso’s Way.
The album closes excellently with the last four tracks. Starting with the tale of betrayal on “Pechanga”, Fab bigs up Nas with the hook on the track with a reference to Nas’ “The Message”:

a thug changes and love changes
And best friends become strangers, Pachangas
Pa-Pa-Pachangas, Pa-Pa-Pachangas

Another standout closer is the gritty, Mafioso sound of “Lullaby”, and “Stay”. “Stay” shows a different side of Fabolous where he spits about being new to Fatherhood. Marsha Ambrosius impresses with her appearances as usual on this track, as she harmonizes over a smooth melodic instrumental. The final track “I Miss My Love” ends the album on a dope note. Fab tells the story about his woman who sadly gets gunned down similar to the 90’s classic track by The Lost Boyz “Renee”.
Overall Loso’s Way is a decent album. The production is on point, the clever rhymes and punch lines are there, and as usual there are the songs for the ladies. The album shows growth from Fabolous with its balance and storytelling tracks. This is easily his best album since his debut.