Fabolous

Fabolous has been in a long-term relationship with Emily Bustamante, with whom he shares three children: two sons, born in 2008 and 2015, and a daughter, born in 2020.

Over the course of his career, he has faced several legal and safety incidents. In 2003, he was arrested in New York on unlicensed weapon possession charges, though his bodyguard subsequently provided proof of ownership for the firearm. In October 2006, Fabolous was shot in the leg after leaving Justin's, a Manhattan restaurant owned by Sean Combs. Following the incident, police discovered unlicensed firearms inside the vehicle transporting him to the hospital, leading to weapon possession charges. In March 2018, he was arrested on domestic violence charges in New Jersey involving Bustamante, which resulted in a grand jury indictment later that year and a plea agreement resolved in March 2019.

Born John David Jackson on November 18, 1977, Fabolous is of Dominican and African-American descent. He grew up in the Breevoort Houses within the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. During his youth, he attended the High School of Art & Design and City-As-School High School in Manhattan before completing his education at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn.

He began pursuing music seriously during his senior year of high school, originally performing under the moniker Fabolous Sport in reference to Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport clothing line. The unusual spelling of his name came about unintentionally when he misspelled the word during an early freestyle session. In late 1998, he appeared on DJ Clue's radio show on Hot 97, rapping alongside N.O.R.E. over the instrumental to The Lox's "Money, Power & Respect." Impressed by his delivery, DJ Clue signed him to Desert Storm Records the following day.

After making early appearances on DJ Clue's 1998 compilation The Professional and contributing to Lil' Mo's "Superwoman (Remix)," Desert Storm secured a major-label distribution deal with Elektra Records to launch his solo career.

Fabolous released his debut studio album, Ghetto Fabolous, on September 11, 2001. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number four, driven by the lead single "Can't Deny It" featuring Nate Dogg, which interpolated Tupac Shakur's "Ambitionz az a Ridah." Follow-up singles such as the Neptunes-produced "Young'n (Holla Back)" and "Trade It All" featuring Jagged Edge solidified his commercial breakthrough.

His second studio album, Street Dreams, arrived in March 2003 and achieved substantial crossover success. The project generated two top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Can't Let You Go," featuring Lil' Mo and Mike Shorey, and "Into You," featuring Tamia. Later that year, Elektra issued More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape, which showcased his collaborative trio Triangle Offense alongside rappers Paul Cain and Joe Budden.

In November 2004, Fabolous released Real Talk, his lone project under Atlantic Records. The album featured the popular single "Breathe" alongside collaborations with Pharrell and Young Jeezy. That year, he also earned a Grammy Award nomination for his guest appearance on Christina Milian's remix of "Dip It Low."

In 2006, Fabolous transitioned to Def Jam Recordings and established his own imprint, Street Family Records. His Def Jam debut, From Nothin' to Somethin' (2007), debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album featured "Make Me Better," a collaboration with Ne-Yo produced by Timbaland, which spent 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.

His fifth studio album, Loso's Way, was released in July 2009. Conceptually inspired by the 1993 film Carlito's Way, the project debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, marking his first chart-topping album. It was supported by successful singles such as "Throw It in the Bag" featuring The-Dream and "My Time" featuring Jeremih.

Throughout the 2010s, Fabolous maintained a strong presence through acclaimed mixtape franchises. He issued multiple entries in his There Is No Competition series with DJ Drama, yielding the hit retail single "You Be Killin Em" in 2010. He also launched The S.O.U.L. Tape trilogy, which featured him rapping over soul-sampled production and included guest appearances from J. Cole, Pusha T, and Wale.

In December 2014, he signed a management deal with Roc Nation and released his 1990s-themed sixth studio album, The Young OG Project, which debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200. In November 2017, Fabolous joined fellow New York rapper Jadakiss for the horror-themed collaborative studio album Friday on Elm Street, featuring guest appearances by Future, Swizz Beatz, and French Montana. He concluded his Summertime Shootout mixtape trilogy in November 2019 with Summertime Shootout 3: Coldest Summer Ever, which debuted in the top ten of the Billboard 200.