Amid the steady decline of fully functioning Hip Hop groups in the 2000s, with solo artists now very much at the forefront of the game, one recent upshot has been the rise of one-off collaborative albums between rappers.
From superstar headliner duets by JAY-Z/Kanye West (Watch The Throne) and Future/Drake (What A Time To Be Alive), to the more subterranean stylings of Skyzoo/Torae (Barrel Brothers) and the long-rumored, appetite-whetting Roc Marciano/Brownsville Ka pair-up Metal Clergy — not to mention the numerous one MC/one producer projects – it’s proved to be an enduring trend that has crept into all corners of the Hip Hop landscape.
So against that backdrop, the tag team of Jadakiss and Fabolous — two veteran footsoldiers of the Diddy-inspired strain of late ‘90s/early ’00s NYC rap that delicately balanced hardscrabble street anthems with syrupy-smooth, radio-ready jams – makes perfect sense.
Friday On Elm Street finds the like-minded pair loosely adopting personas inspired by ‘80s slasher-flick villains: A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger (Fabo) and Friday The 13th’s Jason Voorhees (Jada).
The intro offers early promise, with Charles Bernstein’s “A Nightmare On Elm Street Theme” masterfully fused with EPMD’s “You’re A Customer” beat to create a startling backdrop for Loso to compare himself to ol’ razor glove, taking vicious swipes at his detractors as he spits: “It’s getting spooky out here/Whole lotta Nino Browns done turned Pookie out here.” The instrumental then flips for Jadakiss’s part, as Biggie’s “Dead Wrong” drums are threaded through a disorientating loop of the “Friday The 13th” score to introduce his Jason character.
While it’s indicative of Jada and Fabo’s impressive vocal chemistry on display at times during the album, the Freddy vs. Jason standoff concept set out here is only occasionally referenced later on, and remains a vague concept lurking in the background that is never fully fleshed out.
“Can We Talk,” which features Teyana Taylor on the hook, is projected as the album’s socially-conscious centerpiece, in which both Jada and Loso take a stridently political approach, reflecting on the Black Lives Matter movement, Colin Kaepernick’s stand (or, more accurately, knee) against injustice, and the inequalities of the American school system.
With lines such as “We need a one-on-one, before it goes gun-on-gun/ People skip the front page till they see their son on one/ Now it’s too late to talk, the topic has changed/ They shooting at black targets like these cops at a range,” on the surface it seems a vigorous, bold examination of police brutality and gun violence. However, given that both Jada and Fabo built their early mixtape reps with hard-rock lyrics suggesting first-hand knowledge with the business-end of a revolver, the track’s sentiment ultimately rings hollow, and comes off as more than a little contradictory.
“Ice Pick” — a Jadakiss joint that features fellow LOX member Styles P — is a punchy understated gem in which Jada serves up some “Vincent Price shit” and modestly compares his verses to novels. But Styles P’s “killing for sport” motif on his verse awkwardly conflicts with the earlier BLM perspectives of “Can We Talk.”
Speaking of guest spots, “I Pray” sees an at-best-fuzzy religious theme further clouded by a terrible Swizz Beatz feature, with Swizzy once again indulging in his time-honored habit of dropping dreadful hooks on tracks (see also: “Summer On Smash” and “Welcome To The Jungle”).
“Nightmares Ain’t As Bad” is better executed, offering a positive, rousing counterbalance to the earlier sociological despair. But its running time is barely two minutes, with Loso riding solo on mic duty, rendering the track disappointingly brief and serving essentially as a skit.
Musically, the album recognizes that Hip Hop’s center of gravity tilted firmly and irrevocably southward many years ago, and offers a few awkward concessions in that direction, which unfortunately fall flat. Any track where Future teams up with Fabolous and Jadakiss would have to be well-balanced to work, and their collaboration, the trap-heavy “Stand Up,” quickly unravels.
Instead, it’s during the throwback-styled joints that Jadakiss and Fabolous are in more familiar territory, and truly find their focus. “Marvin (Theme Music)” — the album’s standout cut — drips with breezy, vibrant soul, while the pounding drums of “Soul Food” carry faint echoes of those early ’00s NYC mixtape Just Blaze-soundtracked glory days when Fabolous and Jadakiss were on the rise. Which, in the end, is part of the underlying problem with Friday On Elm Street.
Jadakiss and Fabolous may be certified NYC rap royalty, and the album certainly reaffirms their rapping ability, but the broader Freddy vs Jason theme is never really defined or explored, suggesting the duo were unwilling to step outside of their Big Apple #BARS comfort zone into something more conceptually ambitious.
Ultimately, it leaves the album with a makeshift mixtape feel.
you can’t review something without it digesting. smh. please stop with click bait
WRiters get albums early for fucks sake. Duuuuuuuuuuuuh.
Yet, you give it a 5/5. Fuck outta here..
On point. 2 weeks from now i wont remember this album. Beats and themes couldnt match the rapping talent
Fire
Weak. I never want to hear this again.
Is it 2002?
This was a solid project
Pretty accurate. They just have nada to say and have the exact same flow. Respect to both but after 3 tracks I was zzz
These to not even has-beens, more like never-were! Shit is mad trash, not even gonna listen to some shit like this.
New York still top notch with the raps. NY needs more of such projects. Don’t worry what the South is doing, do you with confidence.
50 and DMX should do a project.
2 legends but dissapointed..
Highly
Wait just you wait for that new Uncle Murda…..Man New York Rap is back baby!!!!
Shit go hard !!!
Even this review seems better than a 3…… hater
Bit monotonous and boring in parts nothing really stands out
Fab talks too much about hoes & cheating. Waiting for that real shit from Uncle Murda. -Texas
Wack. Disappointed. Production was garbage.
We should’ve gotten another Bad meets evil from Em and Royce instead of this wack ass disappointing shit they would toss these 2 around sorry
I would give it a 3.5
The Intro, Theme Music, Talk About It, Nightmares Ain’t As Bad, Soul Food, and Principles are the best songs.
As great as this could’ve been, it turns out this i a complete let-down. No purchase for me. Whomever this was intended or, I don’t think that crowd will listen either. But whatever the intention was, it’s not for me. What a damn disappointment!
*Anybody new to this comment section please understand most people here are just trolling,they don’t even hear the music
I’m a fan of both of these guys and this album is a big let down. A lot of the guys I grew up on in the late 90’s to early 2000’s need to hang it up. It’s like a former boxing champion that just doesn’t know when to hang it up. Example Roy Jones Jr. they are just hirting their legacy in the long run. I get it though. They are just doing it for the money with little to no effort put in.
I agree 100 percent
I give it 4/5 I’m a big fan of these two and when it comes to bars and hooks they never let down. The album is good for when you’re in a lyrical feeling vibe, or the night time ride out with the homies. The stand up track with Gotta &Jeezy is straight fire
While certainly not a classic this is obviously better than 95% of what is considered hip hop these days. The writer actually faults them for talking violence and social justice on the same album which makes one wonder if he grasps the concept of hip-hop music. Either way he shouldnt be working for a hip hop website. Reviews like this perpetuate idiotic mumble rap and are the reason hip hop is dead.
This review is “frighteningly muddled”. This album is mad nice not a classic but it’s Ill. Im giving it 5 to even out the bs scores!
We waited so long for this album and it wasn’t that good. The beats were trash and way too many features. New York rappers need to find there own identity again.
Fact. Those beats were complete trash, and Stand Up is shit.
Intro and Ice Pick the hardest songs….i hate to say this cause them my guys but that shit was kinda wack
Did the writer of this article just start listening to Hip Hop? Smh!
Exactly. Every article reads this way. Since fuck boy hunte took over
It’s the dopest thing to drop this week. So how about we just settle for that and enjoy it
That was a poor review becuz I would give this album a 4. The fact that both their peers are loving this album says alot about this album. They both came off dope on this album. Fab really shocked me I was never a Fab fan but he got me to change my mind after hearing this album. Fab sounds so polished on this album and of course Jada killed it. Much respect to both emcees for blessing this joint album. This is some real Hip Hop for the older crowd. Lyrics and beats that’s wassup.
Powder.
Hugh is a white guy from London. So his review will not make any sense.
This is the same website that gives mumble rap albums 4+, you’re credibility is lost…btw how do you review albums so quickly? It literally just came out, you can’t consume, digest, and give an opinion in a matter of hours. I’m calling bs
They got it early.!
Yeah, the trap influenced records sucked. Lay off the water sprinkler hi-hat. Sounding cheap as fuuuug
Who ever wrote this review obviously doesn’t listen to rap… Your reviewing skills gets a 0
As the lyricists that Fab and Jada are, they’ve never really delivered that one “classic” album in their catalogues. It’s always either inconsistent beat choices, suspect features (Jada is a repeat offender of this) or it’s just too long. And I’ll say that this is the best project that either one of them has put out. Unfortunately, it’s still not classic, it’s not even that great. It’s just an above average collabo with a few missteps. Stand Up being the worst on the album and still don’t know why rappers still use Swizz and French for hooks. My personal rating is like 3.75 but I’ll round it up to a 4.
Features on this album alone make it a 0 out of 10 for me Future 2 times French Montana Yo Gotti and Jeezy S M H. I will pass 10x harder and faster than Tom Brady on 3rd and 15.
Just came out Friday and you already got a review smh
how long are they supposed to wait? unfortunately “journalists” (if you even wanna call the ‘great’ writers on this site journalists) dont get advance copies months in advance anymore due to leaks and what not.. it’d be a little too early if they put a review up the day of (assuming the album doesnt leak before that), but I think a long weekend is long enough to get a decent review together, assuming you sit with it and listen many times over said weekend.
FOES is Fire !
Fab and jadakiss Always disappoint they never made a classic. Now they are 40 years old and still talk this fake gangsta stuff. Grow up you aint some 12 year old kid. And whats up with these wack features Young Jeezy, Yo gotti? Really?
This is my review, i believe picking the song “Stand Up” as a single really hurt the perception of the album, people were expecting a concept album something more dark Freddy VS Jason, i would expect some Araab Musik dark beats and Swizz Beats (DMX Style ) type joints, the first song in the album was amazing and they should it ran with that concept for the entire album, for collaborations they should it grab the new school spitters, Don Q, Dave East and A Boogie for the single, no disrespect to Styles P but he shouldn’t be featured in this album they should it hold that track for their next Lox album and featured NAS or JAY Z since they both on Roc Nation, the album is hot, but compare to Drake & Future, Jay Z and Kanye this album falls right behind it.
GREAT COLLAB RECORD!
I love fab & Jada but this album is all over the place. It would have been decent if they left out the political stuff. It felt super out of place and barely scratched the political surface other than the typical “Donald trump is bad”. it’s pretty hypocritical to talk politics and say that the country needs to be changed in the same album where you’re talking about killing everyone and selling drugs. You can’t scream for change then advocate for the problem on the same disc..
Great concept, not-so-great execution!..and that’s unfortunate, considering I’v been listening to the LP non stop since it dropped. Feels sorta like a “quick flip” hit the industry for a lick and kept it moving. *SIDE NOTE* Jadakiss may have the closest thing to perfection when it comes to wordplay vs. timing on a track…the homie NEVER misses. *SIDE-SIDE NOTE* Fabs been better recently….see Summer Time Shootout vol 1.
Man y’all crazy, straight bars! Jadakiss
I love these 2 Mc’s but this aint freddy vs jason. The intro was so promising but then they both caved into the current trap beats of today. I thought this album would sample different horror movie cues and fused them with hip hop beats. Sounds like a sick idea right?? Not the case here. This is a missed opportunity for all Fabo and Jada fans. 1.5 out of 5 my only favorite track is the FvJ intro.
Same vision i had homie…sinister horror samples on some rap battle shit…maybe a havoc produced track. Seems like they couldn’t get clearance on alot shit so they turned it into an album..
Its actually a dope project the Teyanna joint is trash and Stand Up (and the remix no one wanted) is hot garbage but the rest the tracks are fire Jadakiss has the better bars Loso barely acknowledges the Freddy vs Jason theme
its decent.. not great, not wack. if you remove the 3 horrible trap beat songs- both versions of stand up (dont know why they thought they needed to include 2 versions- i dont even want one version of it) and the moroccan montana featured trash.