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John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous was born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. During his senior year of high school, he started to pursue a career in hip-hop. Jackson got his rap name while freestyling and accidentally spelling the word “fabulous” wrong. After the name eventually stuck, Fab’s visibility started to increase. He was invited to rap live on record producer and music executive DJ Clue‘s radio show on Hot 97. Clue was so impressed that he subsequently signed Fab to his label, Desert Storm Records. Fab’s features on DJ Clue’s and a host of Roc-A-Fella artists’ mixtapes earned him a distribution deal with Elektra Records.

On September 11, 2001 he released his debut album Ghetto Fabolous. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling over 140,000 copies in its first week. The rest has been history. Since then, Fab has released six studio albums (Street Dreams, Real Talk, From Nothin’ To Somethin’, Loso’s Way, The Young OG Project, Summertime Shootout 3: Coldest Summer Ever) and countless mixtapes including his critically acclaimed There Is No Competition and S.O.U.L. Tape series. He’s known for his razor-sharp lyricism, smooth delivery and unwavering confidence. How could we forget the drip? Over the course of his career, he has built a legacy that deserves its flowers.

This past weekend (November 18th), Fab turned 46 years old! The Grammy-nominated artist celebrated the special milestone at Sei Less in New York City. The Friday event kicked off with an intimate private dinner with close friends and family. Guests were spotted toasting D’USSE specialty cocktails to the Brooklyn-native around the dinner table as Fabolous was presented with his celebratory birthday cake.  

Shortly after, the vibrant restaurant opened to a wide group as VIP guests like Lil Kim, Remy Ma, Jim Jones, Meek Mill, Dave East, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Benny the Butcher, Maino, Rowdy Rebel, and Big Fendi as they descended upon the closed-out venue. Check out some photos from the star-studded event below. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO FABOLOUS!