Review: Fabolous – Loso's Way
In this day and age it’s quickly becoming evident that albums are no longer the most succesful business model for the music industry. In the onslaught of individual song downloads and ringtone sales who can be bothered with creating a cohesive collection of songs encompassing a beginning, a middle and an ending? The unexpected answer seems to be Fabolous, an MC who was never known for his consistency throughout his previous albums recently announced that his latest record ‘Loso’s Way’ would be a concept album loosely based on the movie ‘Carlito’s Way’.
Adapting the greatest of the Brian de Palma & Al Pacino collaborations certainly raises the expectations for ‘Loso’s Way’. The story of Carlito is a tragic story about a man who’s given a second chance in life after his jail sentence is cut short but can’t seem to shake his past no matter how hard he tries. So how does this story of redemption fit into Fab’s situation and how does he seek to leave the wicked ways of the streets behind? After ‘being released’ in the positively bombastic opening track Loso sounds invigorared, there’s no vow to leave his old life behind here, just a man ready to live life to the fullest and not let detractors get a hold of him. The same vibe continues on ‘It’s My Time’ but is rendered unlistenable due to a autotuned chorus by guest singer Jermih that sounds like it should’ve been on an Enrique Iglesias track. We get the highpoint of Loso’s celebratory enjoyment of his comeback and freedom moments later in ‘Feel Like I’m Back’ but almost halfway the album he’s still basically celebrating, telling people he’s back without any personal insight or revelation about how he lost his freedom or how he’s going to use it now it’s been reacquired.
The biggest introspection on the first half of the album is the side note of ‘Money Goes, Honey Stay (When The Money Goes Remix)’ where the title pretty much says it all so a cliched rhyme like “She like shopping, but nothing trendy, a little Gucci, maybe Fendi” could’ve easily been left behind. He demands respect alongside Lil’ Wayne on ‘Salute’ which isn’t a bad track but by now some substance or a little variation would be welcome. Finally, Loso is done singing the praise of ‘The Fabolous Life’ on ‘Last Time (Gotta Go)’, where he talks to his girl while they’re driving to the hospital after something terrible happened due to his inability to leave his old life behind. “I’m sorry baby girl, I tried the best I could” he spits, but it sounds hollow since it’s the first time he actually drops a reference to changing his ways while the album is almost over. When did you actually try Loso? The last part of the album also contains the most introspective track, ‘Stay’, about how being a father changed his life and his promise to always be there for his kid.
While the story and introspective parts start rearing their head towards the end it’s too little too late. In ‘Carlito’s Way’ Carlito’s lawyer and friend David Kleinfeld is the major catalyst in pulling Carlito back into his old ways, despite his own best interests and efforts. It’s Carlito’s loyalty to his corrupt friend and ideas of honor that ultimately corrupt him and becomes his tragic demise just when he seems to have almost escaped his past. Though there are definitely some decent tracks on here it’s Loso’s inability to see that he’s his own David Kleinfeld that makes the overall arch of ‘Loso’s Way’ fall flat.
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