John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Jackson’s career began when he was a senior in high school and ended up rapping live on American record producer and music executive DJ Clue’s radio show, then on Hot 97. Jackson was subsequently signed by DJ Clue to his label Desert Storm, and later secured a distribution deal with Elektra Records. Fabolous’ first release, Ghetto Fabolous (2001), spawned the hit singles “Can’t Deny It” (featuring Nate Dogg) and “Young’n (Holla Back)”, which led Jackson to prominence. His second release was 2003’s Street Dreams, which was supported by two Top 10 singles “Can’t Let You Go” (featuring Lil’ Mo) and “Into You” (featuring Tamia or Ashanti).
Including the aforementioned songs, Jackson’s series of hit singles extended throughout the 2000s, including “Trade It All, Pt. 2” (featuring Diddy and Jagged Edge), “Breathe”, “Make Me Better” (featuring Ne-Yo), “Baby Don’t Go” (featuring T-Pain), “Throw It in the Bag” (featuring The-Dream) and “You Be Killin’ Em”. He is also known for appearing on several R&B singles, including “Superwoman Pt. II” by Lil’ Mo, “Dip It Low” by Christina Milian, “Shawty Is a 10” by The-Dream, “Addiction” by Ryan Leslie, “I Can’t Hear the Music” by Brutha, “She Got Her Own” by Jamie Foxx, “Say Aah” by Trey Songz, and much more.
In 2004, Jackson signed to Atlantic Records (another subsidiary of Warner Music Group), after leaving Elektra, where he released Real Talk, his first and only album under Atlantic. In 2006, Jackson was let out of his contract with Atlantic and officially signed with Def Jam Recordings (owned by Warner competitor Universal Music Group). Also in 2006, Jackson founded his own record label, Street Family Records. In 2007, he released From Nothin’ to Somethin’, under Def Jam. In 2009, he would go on to release his fifth album, Loso’s Way. Throughout the years Jackson has released several mixtapes, including several installments of his highly acclaimed There Is No Competition series and The S.O.U.L. Tape series, respectively. He released his sixth album, The Young OG Project, in 2014.