You didn't think I was done with everyone's favorite group of certified loons, did you? You did? Well, when life gives you lemons...
Speaking of which, the late great Jason Mizell aka Jam Master Jay, of hip hop royalty Run-D.M.C. and the executive producer of Onyx' entire Def Jam tenure, was unfortunately murdered in 2002. Jam Master Jay was a pioneering DJ that was a premier showcase of the importance of the DJ to hip hop. JMJ's contribution as founder and developer of the art form simply cannot be overstated. His murder was a devastating incident that still hurts his family and friends, along with those who established a connection with him either personally or artistically. On a lesser note, he impacted so many influential hip hop figures, who never were quite the same after losing him.
Speaking of which, the late great Jason Mizell aka Jam Master Jay, of hip hop royalty Run-D.M.C. and the executive producer of Onyx' entire Def Jam tenure, was unfortunately murdered in 2002. Jam Master Jay was a pioneering DJ that was a premier showcase of the importance of the DJ to hip hop. JMJ's contribution as founder and developer of the art form simply cannot be overstated. His murder was a devastating incident that still hurts his family and friends, along with those who established a connection with him either personally or artistically. On a lesser note, he impacted so many influential hip hop figures, who never were quite the same after losing him.
Because, since the trio lost their mentor, (who actually committed to the very last Run-D.MC. album at least a year before his murder, so they might've lost his creative input even before that) Onyx have been on a downward spiral with their releases for over 13 years, with the notable exception of Sticky Fingaz' Black Trash. Releases like Firestarr, on the other hand, broke my heart. One of the many reasons is that you'd expect a guy who produced a bona fide CLASSIC album (All We Got Iz Us) to at least take control of his own goddamn album in a similar manner, but noooo, he's only an executive producer whose horseshit at executive production while something named a Davinci fucks up his and Onyx' albums. (Don't even get me started on Bacdafucup Part II. Think I'm fucking kidding?) and the less said about their group & solo ventures with D3 Entertainment, the better. In all honesty, all this confusion that Onyx went through might also be attributed to Fredro Starr signing his deal with Koch, a label notorious for luring some of the biggest acts in hip hop history who have either lost their way or no longer know what they're doing in the game, with a few exceptions. To top it all off, they seem to have lost unannounced 4th member, the late Bruce "X1" Sandlin (who filled the spot of original member and co-founder, the late Big DS. RIP both.) among all the confusion.
I mean, come on. Everybody who's read the past few posts knows how much of an Onyx fan I am, so it's only right that I call them out on their bullshit.
Which leads us to 2008, where Onyx found out that their best days might be behind them. Of course, we all know that now, but clarity is always nice. So, the group tried to mount a comeback in the independent market and, to be honest, they had some interesting ideas. First of all, Sticky secretly compiled never-before-seen footage of live performances and interviews of the group and released them with his narration on a label he currently runs called Major Independents, which has since released numerous music videos for Onyx and two rap musical movies (A Day In The Life & Caught On Tape. They're the first of their kind and very impressively cast, might I add) all under his direction. Anyway, the resulting DVD (Onyx: 15 Years of Videos, History & Violence) is actually pretty fascinating. Along with it, Onyx decided to release every single obscure song they had in their collection at the time in the compilation I'm choosing to review today. Which amounted to about 15 songs and an intro.
Now, this compilation came across my attention during one of my Wikipedia voyages. I remember the time so perfectly, because it was my very first assignment away from my hometown. The loneliest month of my life, so far, was also the first of many times that I dove headfirst into my hip hop journey, with these divings becoming the highlight of most of my days. I distinctly remember listening to the following albums for the first time: Gang Starr's Moment Of Truth and their Full Clip compilation, Celph Titled's Nineteen Ninety Now (which singlehandedly began my DITC fandom), Cypress Hill's Temples of Boom, and Onyx' Cold Case Files. It also reintroduced me to Cypress Hill IV, which took me back to my Twisted Metal 4 days. Good times.
Cold Case Files was released by Iceman Music Group, which also released Sonsee's debut Tytanium, an album that I still haven't been able to finish listening to, in 2009. Iceman Music Group also released one of Killah Priest's smorgasbord of solo albums in that two year period, which is The Exorcist and All In Together Now Raw, a tribute by Brooklyn Zu to ODB, which I'm sure is a sweet gesture and all but I don't think many people heard it. Matter of fact, I don't think many people know or even give a shit about Iceman Music Group, a fact majorly emphasized by the fact that it hasn't released anything else yet. Oh well, I digress.
So, what is in this compilation exactly?
1. U.S.G.
An aborted intro from a 90s Onyx album. Even if this was released on one of their albums, you only needed to hear this once.
2. GHETTO WAY OF THINKING
An early smash! Onyx used these awesome verses in the Vissi D'Arte mashup off the classic Def Jam failure, 1997's the Rapsody: Overture. The beat sounds like a mid-90s Fredro production, the type people fell in love with on All We Got Iz Us, and it friggin' bangs accordingly. Also, I realised that my earlier prediction about Fredro & Sonsee's mic-time being shortened on Vissi D'Arte was actually true: Their verses here are complete & more enjoyable. I can only imagine how Sonsee's contribution would've sounded on Vissi D'Arte's awesome beat. Nevertheless, this song is still addictively good.
3. O.N.Y.X.
Then, we get to this shit. The remix of this song was included on Onyx' abysmal Triggernometry, and it's just as bad as this original. Guys, if fucking D3 Entertainment thought this was boring, chances are it's goddamn boring. The beat was an earsore and nobody sounded impressive nor interesting on here.
4. SEE U IN HELL (PT. 2)
Onyx record some rhymes over Tragedy Khadafi's Alluminati beat, and rip the shit out of it. This was clearly recorded in the Shut 'Em Down era as X1, sounding very young, is present in their lineup. (Notice how I insist on not adding him as a guest performer in the header of the song. I'm doing that for a reason, lil fam.) The contrast in the group's hunger is very evident between this song and the previous one.
5. EVIL STREETS (REMIX) (FEATURING METHOD MAN)
Ah yes. This song is one of the most infamous Onyx collaborations, courtesy of yet another Agallah production. You need to keep in mind that Agallah made all of his beats for Onyx during a very short timespan in which he reached '5yr-plan-RZA' levels of focus, so it should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that he knocks this one out of the park. Another thing, this was pre-Wu-Tang Forever, so Mef was during his absolute peak here. Yet, even with his grimy-as-fuck verse, Sticky walks away with this song. His verse & delivery thereof are just undeniable.
6. ROCK U
This was another Agallah production during that period I spoke of earlier, and it's almost like those beats make you recognize that. I know you didn't listen to me before but trust me, they're that good. However, the hook is a goddamn misfire. The lyrics are pretty decent, but that hook, though. I really wanted to let this slide, as it contains one of my favorite Fredro performances on the mic, but that flippin' hook, b.
7. HYDRO
This sounds like a Shut 'Em Down-era track. Too bad you'll never get to fully appreciate it, as the quality on here is awful. Fucking awful. Next!
8. PURSE SNATCHAZ PT. 2 (FEATURING SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER, TRIGGER THA GAMBLER & D.V. ALIAS KHRIST)
This was a remix that was made possible by the arseholes-that-be at Def Jam, in one of their few glimpses of brilliance, as most parties were on Rush Associated Labels at the time. The end result is a massive song that's almost as perfect as the original, if it weren't for DV's sucky hook. Otherwise, everything was put together nicely: From Agallah's beat that samples the same Jimmy McGriff song (Love Of My Life) as the original (though, again, not as masterfully) to the rhymes that were executed pretty well. Fredro's second verse was a highlight for me.
9. WILI'N WILI'N (FEATURING ALL CITY & STILL LIVIN')
This was interesting. A Shut 'Em Down outtake, this song contains one of the best Sonsee performances that I've ever heard from the man. His choice to contrast everyone else's attempts at speed-rapping by flowing normally pays off tremendously with his verse ending up the only one stuck in your head. The rest bored me to shit on an admittedly decent, minimalistic beat. Greg Valentine is severely relegated to singing 'wiliiiiiiiiin' only once on the hook. This one's up to you.
10. FREE STYLE
Another famous Onyx recording over Rampage's fucking awesome Wild For Da Night instrumental. This seems to be the original See U In Hell, as its hook is the very phrase, so it absolutely confuses me why they choose to call it by the very imaginative abovementioned name. The lyrics, even though you've heard most of Sticky's verse by now, are fucking awesome by the way.
11. I'LL MURDER U (REMIX) (FEATURING GANG GREEN)
This was a nice surprise as by this point I've already heard the original song (which is credited to Gang Green, by the way.) Using the same Agallah instrumental as the original, Onyx join their musical progeny on a monster posse cut, where X1 delivers the standout verse. I loved this shit.
12. MAD WORLD (FEATURING WHOSANE)
Choosing Whosane to fill in for Sticky Fingaz, who's on hook duties, is interesting to say the least, but Onyx pull it off. This was what the majority of Shut 'Em Down should've sounded like, as the strings sample fits the apocalyptic themes of the lyrics like a glove. Speaking of which, the lyrics are home runs from all parties involved. Sonsee, who usually shines on these themed tracks, surprisingly takes a backseat, despite a smoldering verse, to Fredro who steals this song with his opening verse. Check this line: "It's everyone for self in this 5-borough cell/You're in Hell where it says: These streets are worse than jail!" This was an awesome find.
13. I DON'T WANT TO DIE (FEATURING CHOCOLATE)
This actually got many a chuckle out of me, simply for how stupid Chocolate's interpolation of R. Kelly's smash, I Believe I Can Fly, sounds. The rest was pretty decent. Lyrics and beat were tight, although I'm not crazy about Sonsee's contribution here. Oh well. This took time to grow on me.
14. RETURN OF THE MADFACE
Fuck this shit, I am NOT listening to another Triggernometry outtake. You won't neither. This almost sounds like an intentional insult to the fans of Bacdafucup. The Bacdafucup that actually matters. Skip this sewage.
15. CANDY MAN
An X1 solo joint that sounds like it was recorded in the mid-90s. This sounds so much like an Agallah beat, but so far I simply cannot prove that. There is absolutely nothing on the internet that points out information about the producer. X1 delivers, in my not-so-humble opinion, his finest performance ever. He's that good on here, even if the song is cut midway. Still, this was awesome.
16. HARD TO BE A THUG
Another solo, this time by Sticky himself. This sounds very dated and the beat's tempo is offputting, similar to every generic beat that came out circa 97-02, but it barely scrapes a way into my comfort zone, so it's fairly good. Sticky goes in a rage-filled analogy about "thug life". On the subject of which I say, 2Pac (RIP) has wiped out any positive feeling I've ever had for that phrase. Now, it's just an abrasive phrase uttered by anybody who's trying to make up for their severe lack of identity, very similarly to the words pimpin', swag, etc. Oh, the end result of this song? It was pretty good. (Damn ADHD.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This collection was a revelation to me. At a time when I felt I couldn't have any more of that good Onyx, they release this collection to feed the starving masses. And, considering the fact that they were in the middle of a creative slump that took some fucking effort to shake off (read: their recent material is fairly decent), the majority of this shit becomes that much more valuable. Make no mistake about it, this album has some premium grade sewage, but the good stuff will take care of it smooth-like.
WORTH IT? It's a good thing this collection is readily available online, so I suggest you acquire one as soon as possible. Oh, and turn on the A/C on your way out. I'm sweating fucking bullets in here.
Anybody not liking what they're reading? Sound off below.
Onyx's back catalog, for those who love the punishment.
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