Fredro Star has revealed that he will be hanging up his mic and retiring from rap after this year.
Appearing on an episode of The Dr. Greenthumb Show on Thursday (January 5), the Onyx co-founder commented on Westside Gunn’s retirement announcement before explaining that the time has come for him to exit the game also.
“You supposed to say: ‘I’m gonna retire.’ You gotta make the comeback. Michael Jordan did it. Guess what? I’m retiring too this year. After this year, I’m done. All jokes in side pocket” Fredro said.
He added: “I’m retiring man. Thirty years of Hip Hop. This is the last year. I’m retiring. Don’t call me for no verses, nothing. I might do a show here and there.”
Host B-Real of Cypress Hill responded by saying that he is taking a sabbatical from rap in 2023. “I’m done. I’ll be back in 2024 but this year, I’m totally retired,” he said.
Check out Fredro Starr’s comments around the 1:12:49 mark below:
Sharing a clip of the conversation on his Instagram, Fredo reiterated his stance. “I’m done. thank u hip hop [100 emoji].” Fredro captioned the post.
Before he announced his impending retirement, Onyx released their 12th studio album, World Take Over, in September 2022 almost 30 years after their debut album Bacdafucup. According to Fredro Starr, he still has some of the hardest beats in the game.
“I don’t get nothing from a beat machine,” he remarked about his production process. “I don’t even use a hi-hat. I got my own drums. I play my own drums. My shit is dirty. I need it to be dirty. My shit is filthy. I got the nastiest, grimiest, beats in Hip Hop.”
Fredro also noted that the New York group’s classic “Last Dayz” from their sophomore album, All We Got Iz Us, was the inspiration behind the production sound on another of their recent albums, Onyx Versus Everybody.
“‘Last Dayz’ is a Hip Hop classic beat you know? It was in 8 Mile and that made it even more legendary so I wanted to get the vibe on the album,” he said. “I know what I know when it comes to making beats and my style never changed. That’s why it sounds like 1996 because I didn’t change the way I make my beats. It’s the same n-gga who made ‘Last Dayz,’ ‘Walk in New York,’ and ‘Evil Streets.’ Nothing changed.”
The Queens rapper also said that he and rhyme partner Sticky Fingaz are producing a documentary about the history of mosh pits in Hip Hop.
“Me and Sticky are producing a documentary called Slam: Mosh Pits in Hip-Hop,” Fredro said. “The slam dance culture started before us and it’s still going so we wanted to give a clearer picture on how it started on some factual shit. Redman, he been crazy and he comes up in the documentary and so does Cypress Hill. We’ve been working on it for a while doing the research and it’s almost done.”
Whoooooooo cares we haven’t heard from him in decades 🤷♂️
Well I think I can speak on behalf of everyone: who gives a fuck???
America invented hip-hop, yet we have less respect for it than any other country. Legend acts tour overseas for another decade after they stop getting love here.
Fredro Starr is not a legend. Just because he’s 50 somethin and started in the 90s it does not make him a legend. Matter of fact he’s never been listed in the top 30 rappers. Get over yourself with your condescendant opinion.
I hate this additude. Do rock bands or country singers hang up the mic ? Fuck no. Fuck gen z. They whine like bitches about every other “ism” but they promote agism more than any other generation. Go on tour in foreign countries where music fans dont give two fucks about what you do or dont do when youre not in the studio. And bless Snoop for keeping it going non-stop and saying fuck age. He is a true national treasure.
Old cornball ‘retiring’ cause he ain’t getting booked! And cut ‘retire’ out your vocabulary you wrap bitches never worked a day in your life quit playing!
The type of b*tches like you kill the genre. Do you speak like this with your dad or granny, too? Oh, and have you flown 12 hours to perform in a club at the end of the day, 60 minutes of jumping and loud rapping with no fault, and then fly to another country? Don’t skip school, kid, you’ll stay retarded.
Traveling ain’t work mericon
Wow…the negativity. I ain’t got nothing against fredro. He’s been around since the 90s. So he’s been doing it for a while. Unfortunately “hip-hop or raps fans are often fickle and shallow. They don’t respect a lot of the times. All you have to do is look in the comments section.
make it the last year and bring back sonee seeza and lets get a real fvcking onyx album!!
Congratulations to Fredro for such a prolific music and and acting career. Onyx Versus Everybody is an album I listen to during workouts. I understand why some rappers want to retire. Rap is the only genre where the sound and art of it are drastically different than where it was 30 – 40 years ago. Rap is also the only genre where legends and newer artists often disrespect each other in a vicious cycle. Rap music is a lucrative industry, but the musical output these days is horrendous. Rap has deteriorated to a point where it is draining and some artist rather walk away and retire.