Fabolous Reflects on ‘Ghetto Fabolous’ Dropping on 9/11: ‘It Was Never Really Just About the Album Anymore’

Brooklyn rapper Fabolous discussed the release of his debut album, Ghetto Fabolous, on The Debut Live, which aired on September 18, 2001. The album was originally scheduled to drop on September 11, 2001, but the date was overshadowed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed 2,977 people and dominated global news cycles. Fabolous recounted the moment he learned about the attacks, stating, "I got woke up to the planes going in the building.

First thing, somebody's like, 'Turn on the TV.' We was like, 'Whoa!' So we not really thinking about the album anymore."

Initially, Fabolous thought Jay-Z's The Blueprint, released on the same day, played a role in canceling all of his planned promotional events for Ghetto Fabolous. He said, "My first thought when I first woke up, somebody was like, 'Everything is canceled.' I'm just waking up and somebody's saying everything's canceled to me. I'm like, 'Jay hating on a young Brooklyn n—a, man!'"

With the tragedy unfolding, Fabolous and his team shifted their focus from the album to understanding the state of the world. He added, "It was never really just about the album anymore... We didn't know if an album or anything mattered at this point. It was a very crazy time." Ghetto Fabolous debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 143,000 albums, while Jay-Z's The Blueprint topped the chart.