Onyx is a hip hop group from New York City. The group consists of Sticky
Fingaz, Fredro Starr and Sonsee (formerly Suavé and Sonee Seeza).
The late Big DS was also a member, but left after the group's debut
album.
The group was formed in 1988 and Onyx released its first 12" single, "Ah,
and We Do it Like This", in 1990. The song revealed a jazz influence,
unlike their later work. In 1991, Onyx was going to present a demo
to Jam Master Jay at Def Jam, but Big DS and Sonee Seeza (then only
known as Suavé) were in Connecticut at the time, so Fredro
Starr called up his cousin Sticky Fingaz (who lived in Brooklyn).
Once Sticky Fingaz joined the group, the group released Throw Ya
Gunz in 1992.
[edit] Career
After the track Onyx inked a deal with Def Jam and were promised
an album which became 1993's Bacdafucup LP. The album met with great
commercial success, including heavy airplay on radio and MTV for
the single "Slam". Onyx also performed with Biohazard on
the tune "Judgment Night", taken from the soundtrack album
of the same name. Onyx also received critical acclaim, winning Soul
Train's album of the year.
Big DS left the group during the recording of All We Got Iz Us because
he felt he wasn't getting enough time on the microphone.[citation
needed] In 1995, Onyx released their second album All We Got Iz Us.
While the album was much less successful commercially, it proved
to be a critical success. In the August 2008 issue of VIBE, All We
Got Iz Us was listed as the best produced rap album of 1995 and one
of twenty albums every fan of hip-hop must own.
The release was followed by another gap in albums, but the members
remained in the public eye by appearing in several movies, including
Clockers, Sunset Park (1996), and Dead Presidents (1995). Both rappers
continue to appear in movies and television, appearing on the FX
Network on The Shield and on HBO's The Wire.
Onyx returned in 1998 with their third album Shut 'Em Down, which
featured appearances from DMX, Lost Boyz, Raekwon, Method Man, Big
Pun, Noreaga and a then-unknown 50 Cent. This album found critical
as well as commercial success. The album produced two singles "React" and "Shut
'Em Down", the latter featuring DMX. After leaving Def Jam,
the group returned in 2002 with Bacdafucup Part II and "Sa'ad
Part 4" released on Koch Records, Followed by the 2003 release
Triggernometry on D3 Entertainment.
[edit] Later career
There has been a low-level argument between Onyx member Fredro Starr
and 50 Cent. According to the Rap News Network, 50 Cent started a
confrontation with Fredro Starr at the 2003 Vibe Awards.[1] In a
2003 interview Fredro Starr explained, "50 Cent basically started
shit with me, started a scuffle, and a bodyguard broke us up. He's
a punk. He's disrespectful to Jam Master Jay ever since he passed".[1]
In an interview with the Source magazine, Fredro Starr said that
50 Cent had been disrespectful towards the Onyx rap group even though
Onyx had given him his first breakthrough on a song called "React" from
the 1998 album, Shut 'Em Down.
In the summer of 2006, Fredro released a project known as Yung Onyx.
In June 2008, Onyx released their debut DVD: "Onyx: 15 Years
of Videos, History and Violence". The DVD contains every Onyx
video digitally remastered with optional commentary, all solo videos,
and over an hour of rare footage all the way back from 1992.
A new Onyx album, titled The Black Rock, was rumored for a 2006/2007
release but did not surface. The album is now scheduled for a release
at the end of 2010, with a new title, 100 Mad.[2] Before the album
is coming, Onyx release this summer a new project which is called "Cuzo".
In January 2010, Onyx featured on a song called "Vrijeme je" by
Croatian rappers Nered and Stoka.
They are to be featured on French rapper Soulkast's album due out
in early 2011.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Onyx discography
* Bacdafucup (1993)
* All We Got Iz Us (1995)
* Shut 'Em Down (1998)
* Bacdafucup Part II (2002)
* Triggernometry (2003)
* Cold Case Files: Murda Investigation (2008)