In a recent interview with Rock The Bells, Fredro Starr talked extensively about Jam Master Jay's huge influence on Onyx's career.
He detailed meeting the late legend in traffic, and how that chance encounters ultimately changed the course of his life.
"Jay was the architect of Hip-Hop," he said. "He was the godfather of Run-DMC, and definitely the godfather of Onyx. The things he did for our career—because Run-DMC at the time, these guys are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So to be down with these guys and in the presence of these guys on our first album 30 years ago, it was just crazy."
He went on to talk about his first meeting with Jay. "We met Jam Master Jay around when Soul II Soul came out," he said. "That was the soundtrack playing in the background. So whatever year that was. Because we knew Jay for two years before we even got signed. We met J at a traffic jam at a Greek Fest in New York. It was all a beach and we have Jay in traffic. You know how they say, “I’ll see you in traffic?” Well, we saw him in traffic... It was like, 'Oh shit, there’s Jam Master Jay.'"
He said Jay then did something he'll always remember.
"He was kind enough to let us into his tricked-out van on the highway," Fredro recalled. "We got to smoke some weed with Jay and that was the gate. You know how people say weed is a gateway drug? It was a gateway to meet Jam Master Jay. We just all developed a friendship before he even had a label. It was just like, he just saw something in these kids from Queens, these little dudes who rapped. We got his phone number and we called him enough times not to get blocked."
The rest is history — they signed with JMJ Records and went on to release one of the definite records of 90s Hip-Hop, Bacdafucup, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The record birthed their classic track, "Slam," a blueprint for artists even today.
