Riding high on the success of one pop-crossover single after another (Trade It All, Can't Let You Go, Into You), Fabolous kept the cash registers ringing in 2003 with a timely holiday-season release, More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape. A thrown-together compilation of his previously street-released mixtape tracks, this follow-up to his Street Dreams album from earlier in the year consists mostly of freestyles (Fabolous rapping over the instrumentals of previously released songs by others), along with a couple of standout remixes, a couple skits, and more. The relatively brief 45-minute sum is surprisingly listenable given its hodgepodge nature, surely attributable to Fabolous' considerable MC skills. The rapper may be best known for his pop-crossover hits, most of which are anchored by sugar-sweet RB hooks, but he's a hell of a rapper, and that comes to light particularly on these street-oriented recordings, where Fabolous doesn't compromise his skills for the masses. In particular, the remixes stand out: Fabolous steals the spotlight on the impressive remix of Joe Budden's not especially impressive Fire single, and Just Blaze totally flips Can't Let You Go for its remix, serving up a hot song with little relation to the original. Elsewhere, Fabolous hijacks (often in conjunction with co-conspirator Paul Cain) the beats from Half-A-Mill's Some Niggaz (here retitled Niggaz), Eve's What (Now What), Kelly Rowland's Make You Wanna Stay (Make U Mine), R. Kelly's Who's That (Faboloso), Jay-Z's Renegade (Renegade), the LOX's Fuck You (F You Too), and Lil' Kim's This Is Who I Am (B.K. Style). If you're mainly a fan of Fabolous' radio hits, you'll be disappointed by the utter lack of sappy slow jams here (and perhaps also by the edgy gangsta posturing). Yet if you're more a fan of Fabolous' rapping and the street side of his persona, you should find much to savor on More Street Dreams, assuming you don't mind wading through a little filler. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi

1		Niggaz
2		Now What
3		Rims
4		Now Ride
5		Think Y'All Know
6		Chicks
7		Make U Mine
8		Faboloso
9		Fire
10		I Usually Don't
11		Renegade
12		F You Too
13		B.K. Style
14		Medley

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