Yeah, I'm probably gonna have some issues of consistency here.
So, imagine yourself as a young barber in South Jamaica, Queens NY, circa 1980s. (Humor me, dude)
Despite your age, you are the absolute biggest barber on the market. Everybody is dying to get a haircut from you. Of course, with the growing culture of hip-hop on the cusp of sweeping the fucking planet, back then nobody knew any better. To some, it was religion. To others, like your young self, it was the cool thing to do. Of course, you're already making some pretty sweet dough from this barber gig, but you wanted to do what the cool kids did. So you dabble in different attempts to be cool, like graffiti & breakdancing. And you fail horribly. So rapping is your only remaining door into cool skool, even though you've got a future SET in the barbering business but you make the jump, anyway. Long story short, you go platinum.... Because THAT makes sense.
How lucky is your talented ass?
If your name is Fred Scruggs, then you're very lucky, indeed.
I first heard of Onyx, as my fellow lonely soul knows by now, through the inclusion of their 1992 lead single, Throw Ya Gunz, in Def Jam Vendetta. Then, I heard of their breakout star, Sticky Fingaz, through Def Jam: Fight For NY, in which his role as the secondary antagonist was fucking awesome. Of course, since none of the members of Onyx made an appearance in the first game, I didn't know that Sticky Fingaz was one of them until GTA: Liberty City Stories on the PSP was released, and on its awesome soundtrack, specifically the Shut Em Down Remix featuring the late great Big Punisher and, um, NORE, I made the connection between him and his group. Needless to say, I was hooked. I discovered Wikipedia and YouTube not long after that, and through both, I became an Onyx fan.
So, after a failed Profile single sometime in 1989-1990 called Ah, And We Do It Like This, Onyx, then consisting of Scruggs AKA Fredro Starr AKA Mickey Billy (!), Tyrone Taylor, AKA Suave & Sonee Seeza the Monee Greeza, later shortened to Sonsee and Marlon Fletcher AKA Big DS from the Ghetto, met Jam Master Jay, legendary DJ of Run-DMC fame, by chance. He then influenced them to add Fredro's cousin Kirk Jones, who became Sticky Fingaz and the poster boy for the group. Fredro, who clicked with JMJ the most, rallied the others to switch to JMJ's new vision while he & JMJ picked up a local DJ by the name of ChySkillz who hadn't done any production yet as the sole producer for the group. Therefore, with a little outside inspiration from competing groups Das EFX & Naughty By Nature, a new hardcore group was born. They immediately started on a successful note with their new 1992 single Throw Ya Gunz which reached #1 on the charts while simultaneously being a critical hit, so JMJ decided it was album time. The resulting album, Bacdafucup, contained another even bigger smash, Slam, that still invokes excitement in clubs and pushed the album to sell 1 million copies Stateside, so SOMEONE must've bought it. Unfortunately, Big DS's health began to deteriorate following the end of his rap career in the mid-90s until he passed away from cancer. RIP.
22 years after this album's release, you're here to see if it still holds up.
1. BACDAFUCUP
I very rarely like a hip hop skit. This is NOT one of those times.
2. BICHASN***Z
So after the awe-inspiring album intro which was so awe-inspiring that I chose not to talk in length about it because it was so awe-inspiring, Onyx chooses to line up all four members to dish out your regular healthy serving of threats. Under the watchful eye of JMJ, ChySkillz' beat is perfect as an introduction to the album. Fun fact: Redman actually sampled Fredro's verse for Quo's first single. Which surprisingly sounded pretty good, despite the kiddie rap group showing absolutely & positively no signs of corporate cash-in, you know, because the 90s needed an Aussie kid who would grow up to be Wade Robson, the man who sued Michael Jackson after his death, to be in a rap group. Excellent first song.
3. THROW YA GUNZ
The aforementioned lead single. Hip-hop LOVED this song back then, and count me the fuck in: I was introduced to this shit before Slam so I have more feelings for nostalgia towards this track. Rest assured: You were in for a full-blown riot if this came on in the club back then. It happened so frequently, it was almost ritualistic. Many classic hip hop songs sampled this concoction: Easy Mo Bee sampled Sticky's verse for Biggie's Machine Gun Funk & DJ Premier sampled Sonsee's verse for Jeru The Damaja's signature song, Come Clean. Not the last time Primo would sample the Monee Greeza. Nice!
4. HERE 'N' NOW
Sonsee, who's the most underrated Onyx member behind the mic, starts this song, followed by Fredro with Sticky playing cleanup as usual. Onyx fans know that the group weren't above switching up the normal lineup, Fredro-Sonsee-Sticky, for each song in their beginning years, although they would take that to a whole new level on the next album. Anyways, this song contains the source of DJ Premier's sample of Sonsee in yet another Jeru song: "Whatever". No, that's actually the name of the song. What, don't believe me? Whatever. I didn't mind this one bit.
5. BUST DAT ASS
Insert lame joke about skits here.
6. ATAK OF DA BALHEDZ
Sticky starts shit off on this Kool Tee beat. Big DS sounds great on here. But the hook wins the day for me. By now, Onyx' flavor of music has been made pretty clear: hip hop music for the angry suppressed teen in all of us. I will give Onyx credit, though. They were more lyrical than they should be for angry teen hip hop, which is definitely a plus in my book.
7. DA MAD FACE INVASION
OK, now you're just pissing me off.
8. BLAC VAGINA FINDA
This shit screams Rush execs. That's literally the only reasonable explanation for a track called by this horrid name. Sorry, I got nothing more than that.
9. DA BOUNCE N****
...
10. N**** BRIDGES
Big DS gives us his final contributions as an Onyx member, before embarking on a solo career that consisted of only one song called Keep It Ill, a move which unfortunately ended his rap career with a whimper. From what I've gathered, he couldn't get as much screen time on Bacdafucup as the others because of him doing a prison term at the time, which is probably why he didn't have much variation in subject matter in his four appearances on this album. Nevertheless, his verses fit right in and here, he presents his best offering, but it's actually Sonsee who walks away with this song. Good song but asinine hook, though.
11. ONYX IS HERE
That album intro did have something going for it: the beat. Well, now Onyx rips said ChySkillz beat to shreds. This song marks the debut of Onyx' take on the back-&-forth duet style of rhyming, with Fredro and Sonsee usually being the parties involved. Loved Sticky's line about being "an endangered species and surprised to live to see today".
12. SLAM
The second single & Bacdafucup's signature song. With good reason, too, as it contains one of the best hooks in hip hop history. As for the lyrics? It must've been quite the effort to perfect a hardcore hip hop song with zero cursing, and it paid off big time. Sticky opened the punchline floodgates to masterful effect, and the other two kept up very nicely. This song WILL stick in your brain for days.
13. STIK 'N' MUVE
ChySkillz' goofy beat and the attempted English accents were not that good a fit for the subject matter, which is a storytelling rap about Sticky and Mickey's daily stickup shift. Mickey Billy, that is. Sonsee shows up at the start to throw some punchlines that don't really sting, and yet I still kind of enjoyed this because of the aforementioned goofy beat.
14. BICHASBOOTLEGUZ
I won't lie, I laughed the first time I heard the guy get shot because of the way it played out. The FIRST time. I don't now.
15. SHIFFTEE
The third single & my favorite song on this album. Mainly for ChySkillz' awesome beat & the fact that everyone came correct with the darkest punchlines on Bacdafucup, so far. All three MC's have at least one good quotable. Fredro, who was always the workman and hook-writer, delivered the verse that was my personal favorite: "Souls of the soldiers in the streets of survival/If you’re blinded by the blackness, here’s the gun to guide you". Good point. His verse is sampled by Shawn J Period for a favorite song of mine, Inherit The World by rapper Skillz, where Fredro's voice is distorted to make him sound like a fucking demon. I've always loved their early live performances of this song. Skit at the is also sampled by the Beatminerz for Black Moon's Enta Da Stage, the song.
16. PHAT N ALL DAT
Ugh, yet another damn cash grab for the clothing line Phat Farm, masterminded by the original Diddy himself, Russell Simmons. Nobody liked this type of cross promotion back then & nobody does now.
17. DA NEX N***Z
Kool Tee returns with a beat that is very foreign to this album's sound, courtesy of the returning Rush execs. It doesn't even sound like his previous contribution on Bacdafucup. Onyx utilizes the final song on the album for another storytelling rap where all three share their viewpoints on unfaithful women. And I must say: this is a damn poor way to end your debut.
18. GETDAFUCOUT
Not counting this skit, of course.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The East Coast Renaissance is a favorite topic of Boom Bap lovers like myself. A particular debate starter is its origins. Many people point to the Wu, Black Moon & Tribe. But I'll say it right now. Dead Serious, 19 Naughty III & especially Bacdafucup, considering its timing, are the albums that sparked this beautiful fire. Bacdafucup, in particular, was a major label's wet dream come true. Almost every idea they had was executed to perfection by the group, which says a lot about its members' talents. I always remember getting pumped for my fights in Def Jam Vendetta whenever Throw Ya Gunz came on, and it turns out there was a very good reason for that. JMJ mentored ChySkillz around the boards with masterful effect, as his beats here are the best he's ever done. For their part, Onyx made sure people remembered their voices and lyrics, one way or the other. This was an amazing discovery for me & it still holds up as well as it ever did.
WORTH IT?
Abso-fucking-lutely. There are some bad songs here and the skits are annoying, but the good shit will erase those out of your brain. Trust me.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
JUDGMENT NIGHT
The title track of the eponymous soundtrack of the eponymous 1993 movie. ChySkillz collaborated with metal band Biohazard, who also worked with them on the Slam remix, for a track that is his darkest yet. Certainly, the darkest that Onyx had rhymed over up to that point. Speaking of whom, Fredro and Sticky really shine here with otherworldly imagery and threats. A very nice addition to the album.
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Continue reading about Onyx' future rampage here
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