A-Wax - Nightmare On Elm Street Vol.1

A-Wax - Nightmare On Elm Street Vol.1

There are only a hand full of mixtapes that I seem to enjoy each year, if that. Maybe its the DJ putting stupid ass gun shots or sirens in the background, djs who cant use turntables or just wack songs, but I just am not as big of a mixtape fan as back in the day. These days I seem to prefer the original production mixtapes from dudes like DJ Fresh or some of Dj Green Lanterns work. Or on some old school shit with good mixes and remixes by the likes of Dj Mark 7 or Dj Chong Wizard.

Awax has been on the grind the last year with a dope street album, a colab album with Regime member Gonzoe and now vol1 of this mixtape right here. All of which are enjoyable and worth your time and money to check out.

NFES starts off with a crazy track called NIGHTMARE which is produced by the underrated "Equivalent Exchange", which has a slappin ass beat that will have you looking over your shoulder the whole time. I love it when a producer can flip something ridicolous like this, one of the better beats ive heard this year. Im not 100% but I think there are samples from Nightmare on Elm Street on here and the way this was done from Equivalent Exchange is hot as fuck.

Sometimes a dope first track sets the tone for a great album or its a trick and the rest of the album sucks. But with this project right here its just a taste of whats to come.

Yes most of the beats (I think all of them besides the first one) are from other rappers songs, but there is a nice selection and Awax brings his A game.

First thing you notice after the first listen of this mixtape is that its album quality, the recording is good, the lyrics top notch and Wax is just spittin hard as fuck. There are some disses on here and they are no joke. Im not gonna lie here and be 100 with everyone, Mob Figgaz are one of my favorite groups, Smigg Dirtee is a beast on the mic who ive always enjoyed. So most might think that fans of those that I listed wouldnt like or listen to Awax, but I cant front the dude has lyrics, swag and lately great beat selection and a good flow.

Mic Down is another great track that has Awax just ripping the mic apart and taking no prisoners. Not only does Awax make good D-boy gangster music, but hes got some deep and complex lyrics at times aswell, can cover all areas it seems lately.

Stayin Up is that D-Boy music from the start to the end of the song. A song I could see on a movie like City Of God, Menace II Society or City Of Men. The hook is also enjoyable and will have you singing along or nodding your head in no time.

Against Time is on some more relaxed deep shit that anyone can enjoy or relate to. The last two songs are Awax at his best to me, either with the D-Boy shit or the meaningful deep tracks. And once again the chorus is well made and instead of being annoying or ruining the song like seems to be happening alot in rap these days.

Fair One is one of my favorite songs on the album as Bandana tha Rag joins
Wax for a hood as fuck track. Bandana The Rag shows he is improving with every track, he spits major heat on this song and steals the show, which is damn hard to do when Awax is on the track. Both mcs do a great job though, Wax holds his own and as usual sounds good when sharing a track with Tha Rag. Gonzoe gets a few shots sent his way as Awax spits vicious lyrics the whole time.

Passive Aggresive is another hard ass track that has Awax smackin rappers outside the face with hard lyrics. This is not only a dope diss but creative aswell, as Awax rocks some commentary inbetween his verses while his enemy is rapping.

Other songs I enjoyed are Soul, Up & Down and Obviously, which feature Awax at his best and very consistant. This mixtape is up there with the newest Jadakiss mixtape, Dj Mark 7's latest and the latest Jeezy as my favorites so far this year on the mixtape circuit.

The whole mixtape is a great listen and there really isnt many bad things to say about this album. Some songs are better then others but no songs that make me skip them. To me personally Awax has done some great work with his last three projects, call me impressed, this dude keeps getting better and better. Usually to many diss songs bore me or get on my nerves but I cant front, this shit right here is hot.


SCORE = 9/10