John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper and singer. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label Desert Storm Records, in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He rose to further prominence with his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" (featuring Nate Dogg) and "Young'n (Holla Back)." Adopting a further commercially-oriented approach, his second album, Street Dreams (2003), was supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" (featuring Lil' Mo) and "Into You" (featuring Tamia or Ashanti)—both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2004, Jackson signed with Atlantic Records—another subsidiary of Warner Music Group—to release his third album Real Talk (2004), which saw continued success as his only project with the label. In 2006, he signed with Def Jam Recordings—owned by Warner competitor Universal Music Group—and founded his own label imprint, Street Family Records. His fourth and fifth albums, From Nothin' to Somethin' (2007) and Loso's Way (2009), both yielded his furthest commercial success, peaking at numbers two and one on the Billboard 200, respectively. Between his studio albums, he amassed a number of self-released mixtapes, including several installments in his There Is No Competition, The S.O.U.L. Tape, and Summertime Shootout series. He released his sixth and seventh albums, The Young OG Project (2014) and Summertime Shootout 3: Coldest Summer Ever (2019), to continued positive reception.

Jackson's series of hits in the 2000s includes "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 his appearances on R&B singles such as "Superwoman Pt. II" by Lil' Mo, "Dip It Low" by Christina Milian, "Shawty Is a 10" by The-Dream, "Addiction" by Ryan Leslie, "She Got Her Own" by Jamie Foxx, and "Say Aah" by Trey Songz. Jackson has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Fabolous was born John David Jackson on November 18, 1977, and is of Dominican and African-American descent. He grew up in Breevort Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Jackson attended High School of Art & Design and City-As-School High School in Manhattan, and eventually Boys and Girls High School in Bed-Stuy. While in his senior year of high school, Jackson began to pursue a career in hip hop music. In the early years of his career, he rapped under the name Fabolous Sport, in reference to Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport line, however this was later shortened to simply Fabolous. The misspelling was unintentional; Jackson originally intended to be simply called "Fabulous" but incorrectly spelled it during a freestyle and it stuck. He was invited to rap live on American record producer and music executive DJ Clue's radio show, then on New York City's radio station Hot 97. Fabolous and N.O.R.E. performed over the instrumental to The Lox's song "Money, Power & Respect", and the following day, Clue signed Fabolous to his record label, Desert Storm Records as its second artist after Clue. Fabolous made his debut commercial appearance on Clue's The Professional (1998) on two of its tracks, one of which alongside Mase and Foxy Brown. In the following two years, Fabolous and Desert Storm were signed to Elektra Records (a subsidiary of Warner Music Group) through a distribution deal with the label. In a September 6, 2001, interview with Hot104.com, Fabolous said he never planned on becoming a rapper and told the website: "I was just trying to make some money, ya know? I got tired of being broke. This was something where I could make some money. It just happened for me."

Fabolous released his debut album, Ghetto Fabolous, on September 11, 2001. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling over 140,000 copies in its first week. The album's first single, "Can't Deny It", was produced by Rick Rock and features a chorus by Nate Dogg, who interpolates Tupac Shakur's song "Ambitionz az a Ridah". It charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, along with two of its follow-up singles: "Young'n (Holla Back)", produced by The Neptunes, and "Trade It All", which features vocals from Jagged Edge and was produced by label boss Clue and Duro.

Fabolous released his second album, Street Dreams on March 4, 2003. Powered by a Just Blaze beat and guest vocals from Lil' Mo and Mike Shorey, "Can't Let You Go" reached number one on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its follow-up, "Into You" with Tamia likewise reached number four on the latter chart. Also released on Street Dreams was the lead single "This Is My Party" and the single "Trade It All Pt. 2" which featured Jagged Edge (whom return from the Ghetto Fabolous version) and a new verse from Diddy, as well as a new instrumental.

Exactly seven months later, on November 4, 2003, Fabolous released the mixtape, More Street Dreams, Pt. 2: The Mixtape. It was an official release by his record label, Elektra. The album featured remixes and tracks not originally on the commercial release of Street Dreams. This album was also an outlet for his three-man crew, known as the Triangle Offense, consisting of himself, Paul Cain, and Joe Budden. The album features a remix to song Fire, which was originally on the latter's self-titled debut album (2003).