If there’s one thing Onyx never did, it was play it safe. And on a recent episode of Drink Champs, Fredro Starr discussed one of their most infamous nights — the Source Awards — where a gun was fired on stage during their set.
“Don’t say y’all — I didn’t shoot up s***,” Fredro said, half-joking. But the moment he’s referring to? Fully real. “We did it on ‘Throw Ya Gunz,’ so when it went off, people thought it was part of the show.”
The crowd may have been fooled, but the police weren’t. “Hell yeah, police was in the dressing room immediately,” Fredro recalled. “‘Where that thing at?’ They was looking. Somehow, it left the building.” Onyx played it off as theatrics — just part of the act — but it was the kind of moment that only they could pull off.
They went on to reflect on their influence — particularly on DMX, who many fans felt mirrored their energy. “I didn’t hear that at first,” Fredro admitted. “But people used to say X was like a mix of Sticky and Fredro.” When “Get at Me Dog” dropped, they were instant fans. “I was like, ‘Who the f*** is this?’ But I loved it. That brought it back to the Tunnel.”
That mutual respect led to one of the most iconic posse cuts of the late ‘90s — the “Shut ‘Em Down” remix featuring DMX and Big Pun. “That was the first time we ever collaborated with other artists,” Fredro said. “We wasn’t f***in’ with nobody before that.”
Later, they revisited a tense moment during the height of the East Coast vs. West Coast divide. After landing in L.A., they were warned not to perform “Walk in New York” at the House of Blues. Then they spotted Tupac in the crowd.
“Pac was just standing there — arms folded, stone-faced,” Fredro said. “We did four songs… then ‘Last Dayz’ dropped. And that’s when Pac throws his hands up, mouths ‘That’s my s***.’ His whole crew started rocking with us after that.”
Outside, things nearly turned again — Pac almost fought Keith Murray in the parking lot. “Redman stepped in and shut that down,” they said. “Nobody wanted to fight Redman.”
Despite the media narratives, they insist there was never real hate. “That East Coast/West Coast beef? That was the press,” Fredro said. “Real dudes don’t crash out over that s***. If you’re official, you get respect.”
One of the realest moments came in a story about Atlanta — before the tension even existed. Tupac and Puff were on stage together. “Pac was rocking the mic, Puff was dancing — and Biggie? Big was chillin’ on the tour bus with headphones on, writing. Cool as ever.”
After all these years, Onyx is still standing — loud, raw, and unfiltered. “I don’t think there’ll ever be another Onyx,” Fredro said. “You motherfers witnessing greatness — embrace this shit.”
