Queens, New York duo Onyx, consisting of Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr, has returned with their 14th studio LP, It All Started in Brooklyn. Their debut, Bacdafucup, followed by All We Got Iz Us and Shut ‘Em Down under Def Jam Recordings, are rightfully considered by many to be East Coast classics. After releasing two mediocre albums in the early 2000s, they returned in 2014 with the Snowgoons-produced #WAKEDAFUCUP. The sequel, Snowmads, was great, and I also enjoyed Onyx vs. Everybody more than others, coming off the subpar reception of World Takeover, Blood on da X, and Lower Eastside to remind everyone that It All Started in Brooklyn.
After the “Go Brooklyn” intro, “Get Live” featuring Ayoo Bigz finds the trio over a clunky boom bap instrumental talking about looking to hype the crowds, whereas “How U Like Me Now?” aggressively discusses the transition from the barbershop to copping different whips, even though the beat lacks substance. “Around My Way” menacingly cautions listeners to show no fear, although it instrumentally feels run-of-the-mill, just before “Lift Off” claims that nobody can terrorize a club quite like them.
“It’s on U” continues the trend, hopping over a cavernous boom bap beat, while “The Goonies” likens the group to thugs waiting in the alley with baseball bats. “Hear Dem Knocking” focuses on the feds, leading into “Body Ya,” which was the only single from the rollout that I didn’t mind, as the instrumental was less clunky, albeit still clearly AI-generated.
We get an underwhelming “Last Dayz” sequel with “Still Last Dayz,” mainly because the beat drags the track down, while “Up Dat” aggressively suggests opponents upgrade their arsenals. “Lordz of Flatbush” was a cool representation of the Brooklyn neighborhood, but once “Fuck Love” tepidly shows a more romantic side to Onyx, the title track concludes It All Started in Brooklyn, taking everyone back to where it all began for both of its remaining members.
The last time I truly enjoyed a project from Onyx was when Onyx vs. Everybody initially came out four years ago. Considering the mediocrity of the singles, I wasn’t anticipating It All Started in Brooklyn to change that, and it surely joins Triggernometry as one of the pairing’s weakest collections of material. Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr can still very much rap, but I wish Fredro would handle the production the same way he did on Onyx vs. Everybody, because these AI-generated beats “Powered by Play That AI” are absolutely hideous.
Score: 3/10