Sticky Fingaz

Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American rapper, actor, film director, and record producer. He is a member of the multi-platinum record selling rap group Onyx. His name comes from the slang term "sticky fingers" given to someone who is a thief. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Private Maurice "Smoke" Williams on the 2005 FX drama Over There, rapper Kern Little on The Shield, and the title character in the 2006 Spike action-horror Blade: The Series. He also appears on crime drama shows such as NCIS, Law & Order and CSI: Miami.

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jones and his cousin Fredro Starr worked in Nu-Tribe, a barber shop in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

Music career

Career with Onyx

In 1991, Jones entered the Queens-based rap group Onyx along with cousin Fredro Starr, Sonsee, and Big DS. In 1993 the group released their debut album entitled Bacdafucup. It proved to be a commercial success and eventually went multi-platinum, largely due to the well known single "Slam". Since then he has released four other albums with Onyx.

Solo career

He released his debut solo album in 2001 which was titled Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones, a concept album that followed the (fictionalized) life of Kirk Jones in a story line fashion as he is released from prison and then ultimately his death. The album was a critical success being noted as very creative with substantial content, though it didn't gain much commercial recognition despite featuring well known artists such as Eminem, Raekwon, Redman and Canibus.

In 2003, he released his second album Decade "...but wait it gets worse" which was less well received by critics and gained even less mainstream acknowledgement, featuring on this album were performances from Fredro Starr & Omar Epps.

Featured projects

He has collaborated with various artists, including Eminem on his Marshall Mathers LP, and Snoop Doggy Dogg on No Limit Top Dogg. His performance on Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP song "Remember Me?" was intended for Dr. Dre's album, but Eminem loved the verse so much that he insisted it be on his album.^[1] He has also appeared on albums by MC Eiht (Underground Hero), Biohazard (New World Disorder), Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz (Make It Reign), Pete Rock (Soul Survivor), Mobb Deep (The Infamous Archives), Dead Prez (Turn Off The Radio Vol 2), and others, as well as miscellaneous tracks by Benzino (Go Hard Remix), Knoc-Turn'Al (Eastwest Shyt), Da 5 Footaz (Unleash), Bang Em Smurf & Domination (One Way Or Another), and others.

Other ventures

Acting career

Jones was a regular on the short-lived UPN series Platinum as Grady Rhames. He also played the part of Pvt. Maurice "Smoke" Williams in the FX television series Over There, which depicts life as an American soldier in Iraq. He played Tyrone in Next Friday. Jones also played a recurring role as Kern Little, a gang leader and hiphop musician/producer on the FX series The Shield. He has also appeared in the direct-to-video and Sci-Fi Channel release House of the Dead 2. Starting in 2006, Jones was cast as the half-human/half-vampire Blade in Blade: The Series, based on the Wesley Snipes movies, on Spike TV. The series was cancelled on September 29, 2006 through a press release from Spike. He has completed his work on a movie titled Karma, Confessions and Holi where he plays the character Rich Smooth. Jones was a major character in the remake of the movie Flight Of The Phoenix. In the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY he supplied his own voice and is one of the main antagonists throughout the story. He also has an appearance in the sequel, Def Jam: Icon, under the name Wink. He will be one of the character's friends until he is removed from his place as vice president. He recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's Hip-Hop Literacy campaign, encouraging reading about Jam Master Jay. Fingaz wrote, co-produced, co-directed and starred in the movie A Day in the Life. Fingaz starred in the movie Caught On Tape alongside Vivica A. Fox and Cedric the Entertainer.

Film production

In 2008 Jones launched his own label and film production company entitled Major Independents. The company has released and distributed several successful independent straight-to-DVD films.^[2]

Artistry

Rapping technique

Jones was considered the most lyrically skilled and anticipated member of Onyx, and usually appeared in the last verse of their songs. Both fans and critics alike took interest in Sticky's gritty, angry, violent lyrics which went right along with his loud, rough, attention-grasping voice. Aside from this hardcore style, Jones is also known to be very intelligent and displays a mean-spirited sense of humor in his verses.

Controversy

Source Awards incident

The 1994 Source Awards were never aired on television (as all subsequent Source Awards were), and it wasn't seen until 2008 when amateur footage of Sticky Fingaz shooting up the awards show was uploaded to YouTube. Before performing their hit single "Throw Ya Gunz", Sticky Fingaz fired off live rounds, and quickly disposed of the gun before authorities arrived.^[3]

His cousin is fellow Onyx group member Fredro Starr.

Sticky Fingaz's brother, rapper X-1 died on July 4, 2007 In Las Vegas from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.^[4]

Discography

Studio albums

• 2001: Blacktrash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones
• 2003: Decade: "...but wait it gets worse"

Filmography

Film

Television

• Platinum – Grady Rhames
• New York Undercover (1995) – Khail in "You Get No Respect" (Episode 1.17)
• New York Undercover (1997) – Assassin in "No Place Like Hell" (Episode 3.23)
• 413 Hope St. (1997) – in "Lost Boys and Gothic Girls" (Episode 1.08)
• Nash Bridges (1999) – Mario Baptiste in "Get Bananas" (Episode 5.08)
• The Parkers (1999) – "D" Dwayne in "It's a Family Affair" (Episode 1.11)
• 18 Wheels of Justice (2000) – Shooter in "Two Eyes for an Eye" (Episode 1.11)
• The Twilight Zone (2002) – Rickey in Episode: "Harsh Mistress" (Episode 1.13)
• Just Cause (2002) – in "Fading Star" (Episode 1.11)
• The Shield (2002–2006) – Kern Little in "Dawg Days" (Episode 1.04), "Carnivores" (Episode 1.11), "Inferno" (Episode 2.11) "Playing Tight" (Episode 3.01), "Blood and Water" (Episode 3.02) and "Of Mice and Lem" (Episode 5.10)
• Over There (2005) – Maurice "Smoke" Williams
• Blade: The Series (2006) – Blade
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2007) – Harry Williams in "Flipped" (Episode 6.14)
• Burn Notice (2009) – Felix Cole (Episode 2.11)
• NCIS Los Angeles (2010) – Rashad "Slide" Hollander
• Rizzoli & Isles (2010) – in Episode 1.10
• NYC 22 – Monsta White in "Firebomb" (Episode 1.02)
• Blue Bloods (2015) – Clinton "Ice" Wallace in "New Rules" (Episode 5.21), "The Art of War" (Episode 5.22)
• The Night Of (2016) – A prisoner at Rikers Island in "A Dark Crate" (Episode 1.03), ""The Art of War" (Episode 1.04)

Video games

• Def Jam: Fight for NY (2004) – Himself
• Def Jam: Icon (2007) – Wink

References

External links

• Official website
• Official VK page
• Sticky Fingaz at the Internet Movie Database