In the spirit of the holiday season, Fabolous and DJ Drama snuck fans an extra Christmas Day present with the release of There is No Competition: Death Comes in 3’s, the third and final installment of their mixtape trilogy. At the expense of the competition (or lack thereof), Funeral Fab gets back to bodying verses with DJ Drama overseeing the proper burial procedures.
After a teary eyed introduction from Mr. Thanksgiving, Fab gets down to business, rattling off vicious punch lines over street bangers. “Death Comes in Threes” and “Lord Knows” are the most lyrical affairs, with the latter finding Loso putting Ray J and Plaxico Burress in their respective places. “Death in the Family” is the project’s most complete effort, a dismissal of rap impostors—“I’m watching these dogs play with my old bones/I feel like niggas found one of my old phones/We in the house, y’all looking to hold loans/And when the market was up, you wouldn’t have sold, homes.” Guest spots from Meek Mill, Lloyd Banks and a Jadakiss/Styles P back and forth also bolster the tape, as do classic DJ Drama moments like his bellowing out “Happy Dramakah!”
There’s certainly no questioning Loso’s lyrical abilities, but Death Comes in 3’s does have a couple of sluggish appearances. Tracks like “Swag Champ” and “Spend it” hold the project back from being as impressive as There is No Competition 2, or his last mixtape, The S.O.U.L. Tape, which showcased the Brooklyn MC in a smoother, more laidback element. Even so, Death Comes in 3’s is still a very strong body of work that fans can kick off the new year with. Considering Fab’s mixtape resume is second to none, it will always be a hard task to meet the standards he’s set for himself. Even harder for the competition. —NMB
