Mixtape Review: Fabolous And DJ Drama-There Is No Competition 2

Posted On: March 6, 2010
Posted By: odeisel
Comments: 1

By Odeisel

There Is No Competition 2 finds Fabolous returning to the streets on the vehicle that brought him to prominence: the mixtape. After a disappointing Loso’s Way, Fab finds himself recentering himself returning to the style, presence and cleverness that are his trademark. Audemars (yes now you can spell it like you know what it is) and black diamonds are in full abundance as are Spider-Man (red & blue) colored cars and the shutting down of (insert club/party/event). Also in abundance are the incessant drops by DJ Drama for the duration of the tape. While those would seem to detract from the overall product, along with constant allusions to killing the competition, Fab delivers with such force, that these issues are relegated to sidecars.

The first thing you find is that Fab is totally at home with the freestyle format, without being saddled by song construction and free to just rip, there are few that can keep up with him once he gets rolling. The album really starts its rise with “Hard” which finds Fab along Kobe, La The Darkman, and long time homie Paul Cain. The autotuned intro interpolates Rihanna’s original with harder lyrics and then Fab just rips it to shreads. “Time to send them flowers and cards with our regards, a special rest in peace goes to all you cowards and frauds/Like water in the freezer that’s how I go hard ,fly in your bitch’s legs twin tower your broad” is repeated twice for rhythm and then it’s lights out. The guests bring flavor like the old G-Unit mixtapes; mic passing and ripping it with different styles. La crushes on the closing verse.

From there here takes the crayon writing off “Oh Let’s Do It” and changes his flow up to accommodate the beat. Paul Cain returns with Freck Billionaire for the smooth, plodding “Suicide 2.” Freck kills it for West Philly with a simple yet effective flow with solid punches. Fab plays closer with tight lines like “Your future looks as bright as a suicide bomber” and “sleep is the cousin of death and you wearing pajamas.”

Freck sticks around for “It’s Going Down” with a corny kiddie chorus, but the body is solid. Freck doesn’t really change rhyme patterns and is a bit limited in delivery but he’s a solid placeholder on these songs. Fab once again comes through to bring it home with killer punches like I’m Paul Blart, all I do is Mall (Maul) Cops. “Roger That” is more of the same.

The pace picks up with “Impeach the President” driven “Love Come Down” which finds Fab hitting a nice groove and dancing all over the track, a stark improvement to the Dirty Money that littered the track previously. From there, Paul Cain and Fab hop on that “Popular Demand” for a serviceable remake that neither eclipses the original nor pales in comparison.

“Mr. R.I.P.” continues the “killing the comp” theme with an aerie melody. The song is not bad but the chorus adds to the repetition. Killa Cam drops by to double drums and strings and his trademark post Roc flow and wordplay. That Harlem arrogance is in effect as is the tough talk of shot guns and body bags, but Fab rises to the occasion and rips with a combination of Cam’s steeze with a bit of BK on top. Next up, Fab hops on the tail end of Lloyd Banks banger “Beemer Benz or Bentley” and touches the track just right taking an already good cake and making it around the way soufflé. Illness.

“For The Money” featuring Nicki Minaj should be way worse than it is with the syrupy break but surprisingly it works very well. She acquits herself ably next to Fab. So much so that she sticks around for the Red Café guested “Tonight.” The muted 808s really pop on this and Minaj delivers on the anchor leg. Trey Songz sounds like Kellz lite on “All The Way Turnt Up” by foolishly following in the R’s footsteps thinking he can rap. Their cadence is eerily similar. This song is a lull full of lame punchlines that are only clever if you are in the mood. Another interpolation “Say Somethin’ Nigga” which mans up Drake’s “Say Something” is the right way to ape a track. Not as smooth, but certainly credible. The muzak of “Funeral Service Music” gives a pleasant backdrop to the clever, yet brutal flows of the Street Fam crew and Fabolous is locked in lyrically on this one. Paul Cain also delivers Macho Man elbow drops to the beat.

The penultimate song “Bring Death To ‘Em” stands as Fabolous’ summation/cherry on top with a dramatic minimalist track that allows Fab to “Blackout…Meth, Red” on the beat. No chorus, no guest spots, just funeral Fab doing what else, KILLING THE COMPETITION! The final song, Exhibit F is Fab’s attempt to outbox Jay Electronica’s Just Blaze-produced instant classic. It’s cool but pales before the original, however the line “I’m Jive records, I dump clips (Clipse) niggas” was pretty dope.

In a nutshell the tape takes proven beats and melodies and smartly interpolates or replaces the original compositions for very dope songs. There are a couple missteps, and the album gains momentum after the first couple songs. It’s also a bit long and “Bring Death To ‘Em” should have closed it out. However the tape is very strong. Congrats Drama and Fab. Consider the comp killed…and killed… and killed.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.livemixtapes.com/download/11020/fabolous_there_is_no_competition_2.html

Subscribe To Planet Ill