All We Got Iz Us
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All We Got Iz Us is the second studio album by American hip hop group
Onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...
, released on October 24, 1995, by
JMJ Records JMJ Records was an American record label which was founded in 1985 by Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay from Run-D.M.C. The label was relaunched in 2017 by Jam Master J'Son, the oldest son of Jam Master Jay. The label released such ...
and
Rush Associated Labels Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop music, hip hop, contemporary R&B, Soul m ...
. The album was produced by Onyx. The album features guest appearances from rap group All City and rapper from
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, Panama P.I. ''All We Got Iz Us'' debuted at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and number 2 on the
Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart. The album has sold over 500,000 copies. However, it did not approach the success of the first album. Two charting singles were released from the album, "
Last Dayz "Last Dayz" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on October 3, 1995 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's second album, ''All We Got Iz Us''. Produced by Fredro Starr, "Last Dayz" making i ...
" which made it to 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 10 on the
Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...
and " Live Niguz", also known as "Live!!!", made it to 17 on the Hot Rap Singles and 81 on the R&B charts. "Live Niguz" appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995's
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
''
The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...
'' and "Last Dayz" was used in the film " 8 Mile".


Background

In March 1994, when
Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay o ...
was on the set of
Dangerous Minds ''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith, written by Ronald Bass, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the 1992 autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Mar ...
,
Lyor Cohen Lyor Cohen (born October 3, 1959) is an American music industry executive. He is YouTube's global head of music. He began his career in the 1980s at Rush Management and Def Jam, and later held senior positions at Island Def Jam and Warner M ...
came to him and offered him a million dollars for recording a new album, ''All We Got Iz Us''. Big DS left the group at the same time to start a solo career. Onyx recorded 25 songs for this album, but only 15 of them were included on the album by Jam Master Jay's decision. In the same year members of Onyx have formed a label, Armee Records, and have signed production and distribution deals with
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
and
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. Onyx signed contracts with the artists All City (Greg Valentine and J. Mega) and Panama P.I., who featured on Onyx's sophomore set, "All We Got Iz Us", Gang Green and singer Choclatt (Jared Crawford).


Aliases

On the album two group members came up with new aliases: *
Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay o ...
: Never. *
Suave Suave may refer to: * Suave (brand), a brand owned by Unilever * Suave (singer) (born 1966), American R&B singer * "Suave" (song), a song by Luis Miguel *" Suave (Kiss Me)", a 2011 song by American singer-songwriter Nayer *"Suave", a song by Calle ...
: Sonee Seeza. Sonsee


Conception of album title

The title ''All We Got Iz Us'' came up because it was a state of mind for Onyx at that time.
"...We made that title one day at the studio. At that time niggas was on the knees, crying, praying almost like 'I love you my nigga' and that's how All We Got Iz Us album came about. That album was pain. Now you got to run around with a Mac-12 in your trunk, bulletproof vest, mad money niggas, you think that niggas going to kill you, so this was our frame of mind."


Lyrics

''All We Got Iz Us'' this name was chosen because it is much more grimy than ''Bacdafucup''. It is widely considered to be a great follow up to their debut ''
Bacdafucup ''Bacdafucup'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Onyx (hip hop group), Onyx, released on March 30, 1993, by JMJ Records, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. The album was produced by Randy Allen (Executive Producer), Ch ...
'' with many fans actually citing it as Onyx's best album. Turning away from the more humorous approach of their debut, ''All We Got Iz Us'' had an overall darker and more serious tone, dealing with subjects such as suicide, heavy substance abuse and racism. For example, the intro/opening track features a split-personality monologue: Sticky Fingaz threatening himself at gunpoint, eventually committing suicide.


Album cover

For the cover of the album ''All We Got Iz Us'', Sticky and Fredro just wanted to paint a cracked mad face. Probably, it was a bad idea, because it was the beginning, when the sales of Onyx albums started to "crack". The cover for ''All We Got Iz Us'' was a 6-inch metal plate, and the photographer just took a picture of this plate, and the mad face that you see on the back cover of the album '' Shut 'Em Down'' was a real lump of metal.


Singles

Two singles were released from this album: "Live Niguz" and "Last Dayz". The first single, " Live Niguz", also known by its censored title "Live!!!", was released on July 18, 1995, as a single from Def Jam's '' The Show: The Soundtrack'' and as the first single from Onyx's second album, ''All We Got Iz Us''. Produced by 8-Off Assassin and all three members of Onyx, "Live!!!" only found minor success on the R&B and rap charts, becoming the group's first single not to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The second single, "
Last Dayz "Last Dayz" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on October 3, 1995 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's second album, ''All We Got Iz Us''. Produced by Fredro Starr, "Last Dayz" making i ...
" was released on October 3, 1995. Produced by 8-Off Assassin and Onyx, ''Last Dayz'' making it to number 89 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Instrumental of this song was used in the film 8 Mile for the rap battle between Lotto and B-Rabbit. In 2013, the song was re-recorded by
Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay o ...
and
Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American rapper, record producer and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam Master Ja ...
, and released on a compilation album ''Songs of the 90's''. Music videos were released for the tracks "Last Dayz", "All We Got Iz Us", "Walk In New York" and "Live Niguz".


Appearance in movies and on television

* In 1995, "Betta Off Dead" was used in the movie '' The Addiction''. * In 1995, the song "Shout" appeared on the promo soundtrack for the movie '' Bad Boys''. * In 1995, the song " Live Niguz" appeared in the soundtrack to the
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
''
The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...
'' * In 2002, the instrumental of "
Last Dayz "Last Dayz" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on October 3, 1995 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's second album, ''All We Got Iz Us''. Produced by Fredro Starr, "Last Dayz" making i ...
" was used in the film " 8 Mile" during the rap battle scenes.


Critical response

''All We Got Iz Us'' was met with generally positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. Raymond Cunningham of ''
The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'' gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "...Although the LP is packed with sure shots, there are a few sure misses. "Shout", which has no business being on the LP, has a solid beat. But the hook is as corny as the Onyx comic book. Then there's "All We Got", a song that discusses the streets and isn't all bad, again, until the cheesy chorus. It may be a case where the quality of the other songs brings these down. In any event, they definitely stand out as weaker representations of the group's efforts." '' Q'' gave the album three stars out of five, saying "...The lyrics are quickfire and the sound is dense..." Bonz Malone of ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' said "...Now, after a two-year hiatus, they're back with All We Got Iz Us, and the shit is hardcore. "Purse Snatchers" and "Better Off Dead" are probably the wildest. It's made by thugs for thugs...spits the real poison as seen on the streets. It's intended for immature audiences, so they'll wise up and realize that all we do have is one another. People need to hear these interesting characters." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' gave the album seven stars out of ten, saying "although there's nothing to rock the Wu's place at the top of the NY tree, Onyx sound convincingly with it. They still paint pictures of NY that turn it into a warscape, but they've deliberated their moves so as not to re-emerge as the latest rap washouts...". Rowald Pruyn of ''RapReviews'' gave the album nine and a half stars out of ten, saying "...In Onyx' New World Order, everything is upside-down. Black is white, bad is good. Suicide? No ultimate shame, but an honorable way out of a shitty situation. People? Either bitchassniggas or punkmotherfuckas. The first group can get a bullet in the back, the second can get it in their grills. History? Miserable Slavery and rape of great-grandmothers by greedy plantation owners. Music? Selling drugs to your own people is more profitable. Future? Drop the microphone. Drop your principals. Who needs morals when you're living in hell already?"


Accolades

In 1995, the album is broken down track-by-track by Onyx in
Hip-Hop Connection ''Hip Hop Connection'' (''HHC'') was the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. It was described by rapper Chuck D as "the most important magazine in the world". History Under the editorship of Chris Hunt, the m ...
magazine, issue #79 (September 1995). In 1996,
CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
placed the album in their list ''25 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 1995''. In 2008, Keith Murphy of
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
named it the best-produced album of 1995 and selected as one of the magazine's ''24 Lost Rap Classics''. In 2012, Ernest Baker of
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
placed the album in his list ''A$AP Yams' 42 Favorite Albums''. In 2015, Christopher Pierznik of
Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
placed the album in his list ''The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 1995''. In 2016, Dustin J. Seibert of
The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, '' Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...
listed the album in his list ''15 Truly Underrated Hip-Hop Albums''. In 2016, Cis Van Beers of ''Hip Hop Golden Age'' placed the album in his list ''Top 40 Hip Hop Albums 1995''. In 2018,
Stitcher Radio Stitcher was a media company that specialized in the creation, distribution, and monetization of Podcast, podcasts. Stitcher created original shows through networks such as Earwolf and Witness Docs. Stitcher provided ad sales and distribution ser ...
dedicated an episode of their program ''BUMS'' to review Onyx's 1995 album, "All We Got Iz Us".


Track listing

.


Leftover tracks

Onyx recorded 25 songs for this album, but only 15 of them were included on the album by Jam Master Jay's decision. * "Kidz From Queens" (feat. Still Livin') * "Shoot Stab Kill" (Burn Unit Mix) (feat. Who$ane) * "The Ghetto Way Of Thinking" * "To All Ya'll Crews, Whatever" * "Walk In New York" (Jam Master Jay Remix) * "Purse Snatchaz" (original version) (without Greg Valentine) * "Purse Snatchaz" (8-Off Remix) * "Punkmotherfukaz" (Full Length) * "Live Niguz" (original version with different intro) * "Fight" * "Purse Snatchaz, Pt. 2" (feat. Smooth Da Hustler, Trigger The Gambler & DV Alias Khrist) * "Evil Streets (Remix)" (feat. Method Man & Panama P.I.) * "Evil Streets (Remix)" (feat. Method Man & Panama P.I.) (original 1994 version) * "Shout" (Remix) * "Theme From Sunset Park" * "Thangz Changed" * "Thangz Changed" (movie "end credits" version)


Personnel

* Onyx - performer, vocals, producer * Fredro Starr - performer, vocals, producer * Sticky Fingaz - performer, vocals, producer * Sonee Seeza - performer, vocals, scratches * Panama P.I. - performer, vocals * Greg Valentine - performer, vocals * All City - performer, vocals * Jason Mizell - executive producer * Randy Allen - executive producer * 8-Off The Assassin - co-producer * Don Elliott - mix engineer * Rich Keller - mix engineer * Flamboyant - scratches ("2 Wrongs" and "Walk In New York") * Tony Dawsey - mastering * Jaye Battle - project coordinator


Charts


Weekly charts


References


External links


All We Got Iz Us at RapGeniusAll We Got Iz Us at Discogs
* * * * {{Authority control Onyx (group) albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Agallah JMJ Records albums