Onyx Bacdafucup CD

Onyx: Fredro Starr, Big D.S., Suave, Sticky Fingaz.
Additional personnel: Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay, Big Steve (various instruments); Reggie Woods (saxophone); Mac Gellenon (trumpet).
Producers include: Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay, Kool Tee, Jeff Harris.
Personnel: Reginald Woods (saxophone).
Audio Mixers: Norman Bullard; Rich July; Dino Zervous; Akili Walker; Troy Hightower; Mitch Mitchell.
Recording information: 1212 studios, Jamaica, NY; Apollo Studios, New York, NY; Chung King, New York, NY; Platinum Island, New York, NY; Powerplay Studios, Lic, NY; Rawlston Studio, Brooklyn, Apollo Studio, Platinum Isla; Rawlston Studios, Brooklyn, NY; Rawlston, Studios, Brooklyn, NY; Soundtrack Studios, New York, NY.
Photographer: Gary Spector.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Big DS; Fredro Starr.
When their song "Slam" unexpectedly became an enormous crossover hit in 1993, Onyx's fate was unfairly sealed as one-hit wonders. Hailing from Queens, the quartet (some of these "baldheads" even worked at a barbershop!) indulged in unrelentingly enthusiastic ranting and shouting that was certainly shocking in 1993. Gritty, street-smart, and intimidating, the album is both exhilarating and exhausting. "Slam" still stands as an unequivocally great single, and the album as a whole matches it in intensity and an almost paradoxically restrained melodicism.
At the time that Bacdafucup hit the record racks and airwaves, Onyx seemed to be inventing a genre all their own: heavy metal rap. Of course, on closer inspection, it is not at all surprising stylistically, given their link to Def Jam and Run DMC, the record company and crew that introduced heavy guitar riffs into hip-hop. Onyx, though, seemed far more threateningly hardcore than Run DMC ever were, and each song on their debut album seems like a quick-triggered, menacing chip set squarely on the shoulders of MCs Big DS, Suavé, Fredro, and Sticky Fingaz. That the entire album from beginning to end circumvents almost any backlash by being so brilliantly catchy as well, is a sterling tribute to how strong a quartet Onyx truly is on this first effort. The group gives the impression that they wanted to spotlight the sort of cartoonish, directionless anger that existed in a lot of hardcore rap, and then funnel that sort of energy into songs full of singalong choruses and joyous, chanted hooks that lend a certain feeling of camaraderie to the whole album. The release is mostly co-produced by Run DMC's Jam Master Jay and newcomer Chyskillz, and its music has a tense, wired edge that amplifies the vividness of the threatening lyrics. Sonically, it has a hardcore East Coast/New York City cast, full of throbbing bass and screeching siren-like effects. The grimy urban vibe is matched by Onyx's narrative thuggery, discharged straight from the streets like pumped-up news dispatches and predating the roughneck rap trend by several years. It's hard to imagine, given the gritty content of the album, that Onyx was aiming for airplay with Bacdafucup; nevertheless, almost in spite of itself, it was so good that it earned just that. ~ Stanton SwihartRolling Stone (12/23/93, p.156) - "...Four baldheads from Queens, N.Y., with Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. co-producing, these menaces crank up monolithic old-school noise, thick as a brick and iceberg cold...."
Spin (6/93, p.18) - Recommended - "...`Move back, muthafuckas! The Onyx is here!'...When the gentlemen of Onyx beseech this of you, it would be within your best interest to heed their desires and indeed withdraw as requested ...Onyx raps it hard like it is..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/9/93, p.54) - "...bare-knuckles hip-hop featuring raw beats and four manic MCs competing for center stage. Onyx's confrontational attitude is so over-the-top that its enthusiasm becomes infectious..." - Rating: A-
The Source (3/93, p.79) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...an extremely dope vision of ugliness that is not for the sensitive....the lyrical chemistry between Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr combined with the phat production work of Chyskillz and Kool Tee blows shit into orbit and leaves you open for more..."