Fabolous, shot in the thigh and arrested last October, is back to cranking out hype the old-fashioned way. His patented persona—sleepy-eyed, sneering, cool-as-fuck—oozes off this album’s trio of prerelease club hits, including the latest burner, “Make Me Betta.” But for our money, nothing touches “Brooklyn”: Over a classic boombap beat, Fab trades verses with his neighbor, Uncle Murder, and their shift supervisor, Jay-Z, who hasn’t sounded this hot since, well, he lived in Brooklyn.
From Nothin’ to Somethin’
Fabolous; Def Jam; $13.98.