Photo Credit: Power 106

In DJ Felli Fel’s words, Fabolous is “one of the most consistent artists in hip-hop.” The multi-Platinum Grammy-nominated rap icon and legend hails from Brooklyn and always puts on for the East Coast, the same place hip-hop was birthed. The 42-year-old has unleashed endless hits since the early 2000’s, including  “Can’t Deny It,” “Trade It All,” “Young’n (Holla Back)”, and of course, “Can’t Let You Go” and “Into You.” Now, he continues the momentum by returning with his highly-anticipated new tape SUMMERTIME SHOOTOUT 3, which arrived on Black Friday. The projected skyrocketed to #1 and gave Fab his seventh Top 10 chart debut in his two-decade-long career.

After a short discussion of Fabolous establishing himself as a brand, Felli brings up the fact that DJ Clue had just called Fab before they got started — someone who was detrimental to sparking his name in the rap game. “This time now, I’ve grown as an artist. I’ve found my niche. I know what works with me, I know what feels good with me. I know how to pick my own beats. I know how to navigate through my whole career, especially at this point. It’s not as direct on the creative side, but it’s still a bond, a friendship we’ve had over 15+ years. It’s still like you said: call, pick up the phone, chop it up — even if it ain’t about anything creative.”

Fab continues to stress the importance of relationships. “Things that keep you around for a long time, it’s the elationships. Relationships go further than sometimes ‘you hot right now.’ You keep a relationship or develop a strong relationship, you can always circle back, chop it up with people you had a great relationship with.”

Dating back to before Clue and the Desert Storm days, Fab talks about his influences. “My environment, because I saw how much hip-hop connected to my community. I saw people enjoying themselves. We come from poverty, we come from the struggle. People not having a lot of money, not having a lot of opportunity. But the music brought people together. I don’t care what kind of event it was. If it was a barbeque, if it was playing basketball, if it was just sitting out in front of a building, music brought people together. I saw that union and that inspired me, how music is a universal language.”

Next, Fab talks the evolution of hip-hop from the underground to becoming the art form it is today. This leads to a discussion between records in the early 2000’s to the late 2000’s, and how technology affects the impact of records. Watch above as he chops it up with DJ Felli Fel!