DJ Drama & Fabolous' There is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service Mixtape: A Review

The split personality conceit is a time-honored trope in hip-hop. In terms of songs, think Biggie's classic Gimme The Loot or DMX's Stop Being Greedy. Album-wise, Cassidy's Split Personality and T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. (read review) immediately come to mind. And though he (unfortunately only) obliquely alluded to it on his last album, the uneven Loso's Way (read review), duality has been a hallmark of the career of the Brooklyn rapper known as Fabolous.

Fabolous has always been a skilled emcee, with a smooth, charismatic flow that earned early comparisons to Mase. And in Mase's absence, Fab took his lane: the smooth-talking player, the purveyor of slick rap/R&B hybrids designed for ladies only. But even on his most vapid records, Fab showed evidence of being one of the elite emcees of the last ten years. On street tracks like "Breathe", he murdered Just Blaze's beat with a barrage of metaphors and double entendres. It was a performance half as surprising as the debut of Nas'Ether, with fans surprised that Fab had it in him to create such a street anthem. However, his street material has long been potent, not as aggressive as say, 50 Cent or Fat Joe, but the smooth delivery makes his threats all the more sinister. He flows effortlessly over all manner of beats, and always has a couple of deadly punchlines handy. Which makes lyric-lovers yearn for the Fab of the mixtapes. Call it Fab the rapper vs. Fab the emcee. The mixtapes, such as this one, There Is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service, are all about the emcee.

There are few original compositions here, the increasing hallmark of quality mixtapes. Think Drake's So Far Gone, B.o.B.'s B.o.B. Vs. Bobby Ray (read review), or more recently, T.I.'s F a Mixtape (read review). But honestly, this isn't quite as necessary for Fab. Fans simply want to hear him body beats, and here, he does so with a gusto and precision that puts him on par with any elite emcee you can name. Really. Bar for bar here, his verses are up there.

There are numerous highlights, from the O Let's Do It freestyle to the Roger That freestyle, wherein Fab massacres the instrumentals. But the original compositions, such as Body Ya, For the Money featuring Young Money's first lady and hip-hop's current-it girl Nicki Minaj, and All The Way Turned Up featuring Trey Songz, steal the show. The subject matter is limited...don't expect any kind of social commentary here. But that shortcoming is nearly overcome by the fact that Fab is doing what he hasn't done consistently over the course of his career: release an equal mixture of street records and commercial records. It's just so damned refreshing to hear Fab cut loose that you almost forget that there is no substance behind it. But then again, Fab is, and never has been anything close to that dubious label of "conscious rapper".

The tape highlights the rapper's versatility, his ability to still spit, carefully crafted, Slaughterhouse-worthy bars without strain. The albums, of course, then reflect his ability to charm (R&B hooks, minimal street concessions). And cognizant of this dichotomy, There Is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service is a must for both fans of Fab the emcee, as well as any lyricist loving hip-hop heads.