When Sticky Fingaz played ‘Russian roulette’ live on camera
Sticky Fingaz is a reasonably low-key rapper. As part of the Queens collective Onyx alongside Fredo Starr, Sonny Seeza and the late Big DS, the rhymer (real name Kirk Jones) was discovered by the legendary DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC in 1991 when they crossed paths at The Jones Beach GreekFest Festival.
Following this, the group recorded a demo for the Run-DMC act and was quickly signed to his label, Jam Master Jay Records. With a professional studio and access to some of the best producers on the East Coast, Jay (real name Jason Mizell) at the helm, In 1993, Onyx released their debut album, Bacdafucup, which, to their surprise, reached number 17 on the Billboard 200.
Furthermore, the project reached platinum status and spawned several hits, including ‘Throw Ya Gunz,’ ‘Shifftee,’ and their most well-known track, ‘Slam.’ The latter was a breakthrough hit and crossed over into the mainstream, hitting number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Rap Charts.
The song has since been sampled by more than 25 rap artists, including GZA, Eminem, EPMD, and Das EFX. The song was a hit but contained some interesting lyrics, one of which was, “Think about it, playing Russian roulette with an automatic / I bet my ass against the line the last bullet’s first on line / Stab and step and repping and run, packing a weapon.”
That said, in a controversial video recorded by Jones, the emcee can be seen playing the actual game of ‘Russian Roulette’ that, in a worst-case scenario, can end up in accidental suicide. The game is one of high risk, and, as far as games go, someone of sound mind wouldn’t choose to play it, which led many to believe Sticky Fingaz was suffering from mental health issues at the time he uploaded the video and potentially suicidal.
In the video, Sticky Fingaz can be seen holding a revolver up to his temple and pulling the trigger, praying that a bullet wouldn’t fly down the barrel and fatally into his skull. Throughout the footage, the artist can be seen smiling and enjoying the thrill of ‘Russian roulette’. The video could be seen as entertaining, but for many, it showed someone who was unwell and ready to die.
During an appearance on the Montreality podcast, the emcee revealed, “What happened was in Toronto filming that TV show Platinum and as you can see, I was twisted. We had like ten bottles of Hennessy, and yeah, it was pretty stupid. I’ll probably never do that again. I was pretty lucky.”
Since his emergence as a member of Onyx, Sticky Fingaz has gone on to become a successful actor and has played a wide variety of roles, including Tyrone in Next Friday, Richard Allen in Breaking Point, Scott Owen in CSI: Miami and a detective in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.