Fabolous Says He Made “Breathe” to Break Away from Female-Friendly Radio Hits [Video]

If you ever wondered how Fabolous came up with the motivation behind his “Breathe” track, the answer simply stems from his not wanting to be typecast.

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In a recent interview with Carmelo Anthony and Mero on “7PM in Brooklyn,” the rapper reflected on his hit single and why he chose to make it.  Throughout the years, Fabolous has been known to release songs catered to women, such as “Can’t Let You Go” and “Into You,” featuring Tamia.  While these tracks reached major success, they left Fabolous feeling boxed in creatively.

“I’m going too far one way, and it might get to a point where people don’t even know you rap,” he explained. “At the time, radio was dominated by you had to make those songs to get on. I go back a little bit. That’s where ‘Breathe’ came from — I’m going too far one way.”

The single, released in 2004, gave his audience something outside of the R&B norm. Produced by Just Blaze, “Breathe” marked Fabolous’s return to a grittier musical style. It also showed that the New York star could step out of the box and deliver bars that topped the charts.

In a separate conversation during the interview, Fabolous also praised Lil Wayne for his contributions and impact on rap.  In the wake of the heated discussions about Wayne not performing at the upcoming Super Bowl, Fabolous acknowledged Wayne’s impact.

“There’s a lot of influence with Lil Wayne,” Fab said. “The face tats, the dreads, the skinny jeans, whatever—all of that came from a lineage of Wayne bringing that to the game.  I’m not even saying he created it on Earth, I’m just saying a lot of guys have taken some of that and did their own thing with it.”