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.
, though, seemed far more threateningly hardcore than
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
,
Suave
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
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
'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
'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
was aiming for airplay with
; nevertheless, almost in spite of itself, it was so good that it earned just that. ~ Stanton Swihart