Onyx

   Onyx is a hip hop group from New York City (South Jamaica, Queens). Originally formed in 1988 by Fredro Starr, Sonsee, the late Big DS, the group later added Sticky Fingaz, Fredro Starr’s cousin, in 1991. the members of Onyx (Fredro Starr, Sticky Fingaz, Big DS, and DJ Suave Sonny Caeser) met while working as barbers. Onyx released its first single, "Ah, And We Do It Like This", in 1990. After Sticky fingaz’s joining the  group, the group released Throw Ya Gunz in 1992.

   

   The band honed their rhyming skills and act by performing at local clubs, which eventually gained the attention of Run-D.M.C.'s Jam Master Jay, who signed the group to his label, JMJ Records, and even helped produce Onyx's debut full-length, Bacdafucup, in 1993. The album turned out to be a platinum-certified smash, spurred on by the runaway success of the hit single "Slam," which went on to become one of the year's biggest rap hits. 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. 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.

1998's Shut 'Em Down came and went without much fanfare. 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 late '90s saw members Sticky and Fredro try their hand at acting, landing spots on HBO's Strapped, Spike Lee's Clockers, the Rhea Pearlman/Danny De Vito-directed Sunset Park, and Brandy's hit TV show Moesha. After leaving Def Jam, the group returned in 2002 with Bacdafucup Part II released on Koch Records, Followed by the 2003 release Triggernometry on D3 Entertainment. The various members tried to launch solo careers, but the records never connected with audiences.