''From Nothin' to Somethin is the fourth studio album by American rapper

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

. The album was released on June 12, 2007, by

Desert Storm Records Desert Storm Records is an American record label founded by Skane Dolla, Ken Duro Ifill, and DJ Clue, DJ Clue? in 1997. The label was formerly distributed through Elektra Records, Elektra and Atlantic Records, Atlantic and is currently distributed ...

, Street Family Records and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. The production on the album was handled by

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his m ...

and

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

, among others. ''From Nothin' to Somethin was supported by four

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

: "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

", "Return of the Hustle", "

Make Me Better "Make Me Better" is the third single from Fabolous' album ''From Nothin' to Somethin. The song features Ne-Yo on the hook and is produced by Timbaland. Song Content Timbaland is quoted as saying that: : "''the beat is unique sounding and the s ...

" and "

Baby Don't Go "Baby Don't Go" is a song written by Sonny Bono and recorded by Sonny & Cher. It was first released on Reprise Records in 1964 and was a minor regional hit. Subsequently, following the duo's big success with "I Got You Babe" in the summer of 1965 ...

". The album received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 159,000 copies in its first week. It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Commercial performance

''From Nothin' to Somethin debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 159,000 copies in its first week. This became Fabolous' fourth US top-ten debut. In its second week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, selling an additional 59,000 copies. On June 24, 2007, the album was certified

by the

(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. As of October 2009, the sold over 566,000 copies in the United States, according to

Nielsen Soundscan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Sample credits * "Baby Don't Go" contains interpolations from "Finer Things In Life", written by Vincent Bell. * "Return of the Hustle" contains resung lyrics from "

C.R.E.A.M. "C.R.E.A.M." (an acronym of "Cash Rules Everything Around Me") is a song by the American hardcore hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released on January 31, 1994 by Loud Records, as the second single from their debut studio album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

", written by Dennis Coles, Robert Diggs, Gary Grice,

Lamont Hawkins Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow tha ...

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

, Jason Hunter, Russell Jones, David Porter, Clifford Smith, and Corey Woods. * "Diamonds" contains interpolations from "Do the Damn Thang", written by John David Jackson, Jay W. Jenkins, and Sharif Slater. * "Brooklyn" contains samples from "Biggie Tupac Live Freestyle", written by

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

and Christopher Wallace, as performed by

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot ...

and

Big Kap Keith Carter (February 26, 1970 – February 3, 2016), also known as Big Kap and The Wardin, was an American hip-hop DJ who was born in New York City and was later based in Atlanta. Career In 1995, he was a member of hip hop supergroup The Flip S ...

. * "Joke's On You" contains samples from "Born of a Gentle South", written by

Bo Hansson Bo Hansson (10 April 1943 – 23 April 2010) was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental progressive rock studio albums released throughout the 1970s. Early life and musical career Hansson spent his early life in a remote vil ...

and

Kenny Håkansson Kenny Håkansson is a Swedish musician, best known as the bassist for the Hellacopters. The Hellacopters were founded by Håkansson's childhood friend Nicke Andersson as a side project to his role as a drummer in the heavy metal band Entombed. ...

, as performed by Bo Hansson. * "This Is Family" contains a sample from "I Can't Believe You're Gone", written by Angelo Bond and

William Weatherspoon William Henry Weatherspoon (February 11, 1936 – July 17, 2005) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work for Motown Records in the 1960s. He co-wrote "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", an international hit for ...

, as performed by The Barrino Brothers.

Personnel

* Chris Athens – mastering * Ashaunna Ayars – marketing * David Brown – engineer * Shari Bryant – marketing * Miguel Bustamante – mixing assistant * Don Cannon – producer, engineer * Jermaine Dupri – producer, mixing * King Khaliyl - producer * Aaron Heick – saxophon * John Horesco IV – engineer * Josh Houghkirk – mixing assistant * Ken Ifill – executive producer * Terese Joseph – A&R * Just Blaze – producer, mixing * Jeff Kievit – trumpet * Tai Linzie – photography, art coordinator * Jonathan Mannion – photography *

Rob Mathes Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

– arranger * Darryl "Big Baby" McClary – keyboards * Steve Morales & Sarom – producer * Sandra Park – violin * Wen Qian – violin * TaVon Sampson – art direction * Alan J. Stepansky – cello * Phil Tan – mixing * Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson – drums, producer * Versatile - producer * Andrew Roettger "Versatile" - producer * Timbaland – producer * Dan Tobiason – mixing assistant * Steve Tolle – mixing assistant * Ryan West – engineer, mixing * Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young – engineer, mixing * Rebecca Young – viola

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2007 albums Fabolous albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by Akon Albums produced by Timbaland Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Just Blaze Albums produced by Polow da Don Albums produced by Don Cannon Albums produced by Andrew Roettger