Fabolous and Jadakiss Go to the Dark Side With ‘Friday on Elm Street’ Album

Fabolous and Jadakiss are two of the most respected MCs in hip-hop. They are also two of the fiercest lyricists in the game. So it makes sense that the hip-hop vets joined forces for their excellent LP, Friday on Elm Street.

Originally titled Freddy vs. Jason, the project was first announced last February. When their plans for a collab LP were shared on Instagram, the creative process soon came to a halt when their schedules became a hindrance to put the project together.

"When it started as an idea, we let the cat out of the bag that it was going to happen," Jadakiss tells XXL. "We still had heavy schedules. Our schedules were booked up. So when the people were expecting it to come, Fab went on a tour with Chris Brown, I went on a tour with The LOX and a bunch of other stuff in the mix. Then the weather got warm."

With the shift in the seasons, the project didn't fit the aesthetic of warmer weather. "Like he said, this was a more dark, gloomy feel; it’s better for the winter," Jada shares. "So we put it on hiatus for a while went and did what we did and got back to it. And then, this is a microwave era. We want to give you real meal cooked in an oven, prepared and seasoned and sautéed and simmered and not just a Hot Pocket. We didn’t want to give fans that."

So they switched things up and delivered the final LP with a new name. Friday on Elm Street is a healthy listen, filled with solid wordplay and witty bars that would satisfy any hip-hop head. Swizz Beatz, Styles P, Teyana Taylor, French Montana, Yo Gotti and Jeezy add an assist with the collabs while Fab and ’Kiss each supply a healthy dose of lyrical skills—"Ground Up" and "Nightmares Ain't as Bad" are standouts. This project should be a study guide on how to spit for up-and-coming New York rappers.

"It’s dark; it’s coming from an authentic New York hip-hop place foremost," explains Fabolous. "We’re two lyrical artists out of New York City. That’s what we come up from and that’s what people know us for, so you can expect that out the gate. We talking about different subjects and topics and this is just us just going [in]."

"It’s like a gumbo," Jadakiss adds. "It’s like a nice meal, with starch, veggies protein, a little dessert, nice cool drink. You’ll get a good burp out of this joint."

The idea for the entire album was conceived by Fabolous. He approached Jadakiss with the plan and they began to execute it last year by dropping loose tracks like "Wicked (Freestyle)" and remixing Uncle Murda's "Right Now." Fans were eagerly awaiting more records and after a year-and-a-half, they got what they were clamoring for.

A project like this is a testament to their work ethic. Jada and Fabolous have been killing the game for decades. The two MCs have collaborated in the past on numerous songs. They worked together on Fabolous' "Keepin It Gangsta (Remix)" back in 2003, and sporadically throughout the years. However, they've always been fans of each other's work.

"It stemmed from the freestyles and we collabed in the past," Fab says. "You can take that chemistry and see that we’ve been able to do records. It’s not like putting NSYNC with DMX. We got mutual respect for each other. We’re fans of each other’s music and art."

The album finds Fab and Jada doing their best interpretation of the notorious Hollywood scary movie villains Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees as they drop bars after bars. Now, both rappers are far from bad guys, but they do hold certain similarities with the movie monsters.

"My name is Jason so that’s always the connection," Jada says. "The funny thing is I’m scared of scary movies I hate scary movies." Fabolous interjects, "I think there are other things that go into the villains too, even our styles. When I started thinking of it, I saw one or two of the movies. Freddy always have these one-liners and witty things and he’s a little more known for his hat and his sweater, different things like that. Jason was just kind of like hard, didn’t talk and you couldn’t get away from him or around him. I think there are similarities in the style just if you place it rap-wise too. I think that goes with me and ’Kiss as far as witty styles. Both villains complement our styles."

Now that Friday on Elm Street is finally out, fans are already looking ahead. This effort could be part one of a long series of releases. "I feel it can be traditional," Fab reveals. "The same way Thanksgiving meals is traditional, you might need this every once a year. We’ll see."

Good thing the wait for the first installment of Friday on Elm Street is over.

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