Album of the Day: Fabolous & Jadakiss - Friday On Elm Street
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January 2, 2018
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I preface this with saying I will not accept any slander regarding this album.
It's day three of the new year, I'm doing really well
with this an album a day challenge. *Pats self on back* Today I was going to
listen to Gucci's El Gato... but after track two it was looking like it was
something I would have to come back to. Nothing wrong with the album, just
something I wasn't vibing with at the time. After closing that out and looking
for what would be my album of the day, I stumbled on to Fab and Jada’s 'Friday
on Elm Street'. Now I had listened to The Breakfast Club interview when these
two were promoting the record. A lot of doubt was cast because we had been
waiting so long on this to drop. To be honest I had forgotten that they were
even still going to release a collab. Me being a longtime fan of Fab and a supporter of any underdog, this was the album I was going to rock out with today.
Track one 'F vs J Intro' they set the mood and
start the track with horror movie ad libs. This beat can be best described
as if a rapper went to a morning radio show to spit a freestyle, they
gave them a beat and added an organ to it. Now imagine that and go listen to the
track. Was I accurate? Moving on past the first 30 seconds of the track, Fabulous and Jadakiss take a couple bars to
introduce themselves as their horror film counterparts. On paper, this album
sounds like a terrible idea. Two ol’ heads get together for a collab album and
rap as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. But as an album, it worked out in
their favor. I never had any doubt about these two MC’s ability to spit bars, I
was just nervous as to how they could pull this off. After finishing the first
track and continuing the rest of the album, most of my worries were put to ease.
Some of my favorite tracks:
- Soul Food (A song my mom and I can both bop to)
- Principles
- Stand Up (Remix)
In 2017 there was a lot of rap with substance (Jay-
Z, Vince Staples & Kendrick) and well as rap without it. No shade, I’m not
going to list it but we all know the rap tracks from this past year without
substance. This album is for the people who needed to fill the void between the
two. Yes of course
there’s political and social commentary (‘Talk About It’ & ‘Principles’) on
the album, but mostly it’s a throwback to an era when rap lyrics were more
focused on wit. In Soul Food fab drops:
We all need a little culture/A little time away from bird ass niggas and vultures/I tell you what you need to hear and not try to insult you/I'm too old to kid you, I gotta adult you/Listen, the shit is getting outta hand/Like fumbles in football, I humbly put y'all/In y'all fucking place, that's my OCD/I give a bitch a little bit, but it's mostly D
Also later
in the song Jadakiss spews:
Do something
and stop stalling, that's silly (haha)
The bul over
there just drawlin', that’s Philly (woo!)*
*(That’s in
no way a hot line, I just get really hype because he references Philly slang)
That’s a track you bob your head to the entire time because
the beat and lyrics are equally fire. The one pull back I’ve heard regarding
this album is the fact that it’s past due. If this had dropped after Loso's Way in '09 or '10,
I guarantee that would have been a banger. But just because it was released
after it was supposed to be, doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a solid
record. On the track 'Theme Music' (which samples Marvin Gaye's 'Far Cry') they take a moment to touch on the fact that this "that theme music, some back on your deen music". Essentially calling this album somewhat of a throwback. It’s definitely not the greatest that was dropped of 2017. But it’s
still a great record, refreshing and something that is pleasant for any rap fan to listen to. I believe
it’s their sort of “Don’t sleep on us” record. If you haven’t taken a listen
yet I suggest you do.
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