The second offering from Queens’ Onyx is another fix of dark and psychotic microphone marauding. Unlike their debut album Bacdafucup, the trio’s 1995 sophomore project contains no MTV-friendly cuts like “Slam.” Rather, All We Got Iz Us is strictly the dark side, espousing basically one emotion: rage. This is a primal album of raucous wailing over sparse, rumbling beats. It is the sound of what slithers under the streets of New York. Sticky Fingaz asserts himself as the lyricist of the crew, sounding off like a powder keg ready to blow while Fredro Starr provides the solid but simplistic beats. Onyx cares little about solutions to the problems that have riled them up, they’re simply reacting to them by letting out a guttural roar of anger and violence. Perhaps the forerunners of hardcore artists such as DMX, they in many ways authored the grimy, lowdown flow. In spite of their talents, without the benefit of airplay All We Got Iz Us fizzled. Regardless, Onyx maintained their “right to remain violent” and for what they do, they do it very well on this album. The standout cuts include: “Last Dayz,” “Live Niguz,” “Walk In New York,” “Shout,” and “Geto Mentalitee,” featuring All City. – M.F. DiBella
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