Stetsasonic

Last updated
Stetsasonic
Origin Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Years active
  • 1981–1992
  • 2008–present
Labels
Members Prince Paul (Paul Edward Huston)
MC Delite (Marvin Shahid Wright)
Wise The Human Mix Machine (Leonardo Roman)
Daddy-O (Glenn K. Bolton)
Bobby Simmons
Past membersFrukwan (Arnold Hamilton)
DBC (Martin J Namley)
Crown Supreme

Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future hip hop bands such as The Roots. The band combined beat-boxing, sampling technology, and live band performance, incorporating R&B, jazz, dancehall reggae, and rock into its sound. [1] Stetsasonic is also considered one of the acts that pioneered jazz rap. [2]

Contents

Though rumored to have disbanded in 1991, soon after the release of its third album, Blood, Sweat & No Tears, Stetsasonic continues to record and perform together, as evidenced by their subsequent release, "People In The Neighborhood", and their performance at the Urban Matterz Hip Hop Festival in 2019. Individual members branched out to explore solo careers, while still maintaining Stetsasonic. [2] Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a record producer, as did Daddy-O. [3]

History

Originally, the band was known as The Stetsasonic 3 MC's. The original group consisted of Daddy-O, Delite, and Crown Supreme. [2] Daddy-O and Delite changed the group's name and style to Stetsasonic the Hip-Hop Band. Additional members were: Wise The Human Mix Machine; Prince Paul; the Devastating Beat Creator (DBC); drummer Bobby Simmons; and Frukwan, who replaced Crown Supreme. Stetsasonic clinched a deal with Tommy Boy Records when DBC created and played the funky bassline for its debut single "If You Can't Say It All Just Say STET", live for Tom Silverman, owner of Tommy Boy. After a few months of the single being in regular rotation on radio stations, the band released its first album On Fire (1986). [3] The album received mixed reviews, though the follow-ups, In Full Gear and Blood, Sweat & No Tears , were critically acclaimed. [2]

A 1988 The New York Times article said that the band mirrored the rise of artistic, profound rap music: "While pop's political commentary often seems secondary to catchy melodies and commercial acceptability, rap's tough sound sharpens its commentary". [4] As a "hip hop band", dependent on instruments as well as turntables, the band was also known for live shows, though sometimes the "rap-show format prevented Stetsasonic from employing the band instrumentation and studio layering that make their records so distinctive." [5]

Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a record producer. [2] Daddy-O went on to a solo career, while also working as a record producer, working with Freestyle Fellowship, Mary J. Blige, Positive K and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. [3] Prince Paul went on to produce the trio De La Soul. [2] Drummer Bobby Simmons pursued work in public access, forming the show Flava Videos in the mid-1990s on Channel 26 (New York). In 2017, Simmons was a contestant on the FOX game show Beat Shazam where he was partnered with singer Shannon. MC Delite is currently the President and CEO of Flight Entertainment and a public speaker. [6] DBC proceeded to produce tracks for Third World and the Cookie Crew, among others. In 1995, he became the owner and operator of Raw Beat Productions, a music & video recording studio, located in Philadelphia. In 2016, he invented the MN-1 Advanced Portable Power System, which is a sustainable energy source with a swappable battery compartment and solar-based charging system. [7]

Wise also participated in a few commercials in which he lends his beatbox sounds. One was for Campbell's Soup in which a cartoon of a B-boy bear beatboxes. The commercial was broadcast amid Saturday morning cartoons. Wise was also featured in a documentary on the art of the human beatbox, Breath Control: the History of the Human Beat Box, which was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival and also featured fellow human percussionists such as Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Ready Rock C, and Emanon.

Stetsasonic released the single "(Now Ya'll Givin' Up) Love" in 2020. They proposed an upcoming album called Here We Go Again. [8]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
R&B
/HH
[9] 		UK Dance
[10]
On Fire 32—
In Full Gear
  • Released: June 21, 1988
  • Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros.
  • Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming
2034
Blood, Sweat & No Tears
  • Released: February 5, 1991
  • Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros.
  • Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming
75—
Here We Go Again
  • Released: April 5, 2024
  • Label: SpitSLAM Record Label Group
  • Format: CD, Cassette, Digital download, streaming
-—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

List of extended plays
TitleDetailsTrack listings
People in the Neighborhood 1991-1994 EP
  • Released: April 1, 2016 [11]
  • Label: Chopped Herring
  • Formats: LP (Limited Edition)
Track listing
  1. "Big Up"
  2. "Funk Around"
  3. "Strawberry Letter" (featuring The Brothers Johnson)
  4. "Check da Styles"
  5. "People in the Neighborhood"
  6. "Give It to Me"
(Now Y'all Giving Up) Love
  • Released: July 31, 2021 [12]
  • Label: The SpitSLAM
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
Track listing
  1. "(Now Y'All Giving Up) Love (Video Mix)"
  2. "(Now Y'All Giving Up) Love (Mrok Remix)"
  3. "(Now Y'All Giving Up) Love (Odad / DJ Saywhaat Remix"
  4. "(Now Y'All Giving Up) Love (C-Doc Remixx)"
  5. "So Let the Fun Begin (Let the Fun Continue…)"
  6. "(Silence)"
  7. "So Let the Fun Begin (Let the Fun Continue… Dub Version)"

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US Dance
[13] 		US R&B
[14] 		US Rap
[15] 		AUS
[16] 		NED
[17] 		UK
[10] 		UK Dance
[10]
"Just Say Stet"1985———————On Fire
"Go Stetsa I"1986———————
"Faye/Forever My Beat"———————
"A.F.R.I.C.A."
(featuring The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Olatunji and the Drums Of Passion)		1987———————Non-album single
"Sally/DBC Let the Music Play"1988—25———100—In Full Gear
"Talkin' All That Jazz"2234—87—73—
"Float On"
(featuring Force M.D.s)		—5624—9191—
"A.F.R.I.C.A. (Norman Cook Remix)"1990—————81—Blood, Sweat & No Tears
"Speaking of a Girl Named Suzy/Anytime, Anyplace" [18] ———————
"No B.S. Allowed" [18] 1991———————
"So Let the Fun Begin/Hip Hop Band" [18] ———————
"Talkin' All That Jazz (Dimitri from Paris Remix)"1998—————541 A Night at the Playboy Mansion
"The Hip Hop Band/Talkin All That Jazz" [18] ———————Blood, Sweat & No Tears and In Full Gear
"(Now Y'all Giving Up) Love"2020———————Non-album singles
"Here We Go Again"2022———————
"Fallen Soldiers"———————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positions Certifications Album
US Dance
[13] 		US R&B
[14] 		US Rap
[15] 		NZ
[19] 		UK
[10]
"Self Destruction"
(as part of Stop the Violence Movement)		1989— [a] 3013375Non-album single

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name
TitleYearAlbum
"I Ain't Making It" [22] 1989 Lean on Me Soundtrack

Notes

  1. ↑ "Self Destruction" did not enter the Dance Club Songs, but peaked at number 7 on the Dance/Electronic Singles Sales. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boogie Down Productions</span> American hip-hop group

Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the South Bronx section of New York City. The group pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip hop music and their debut LP Criminal Minded contained frank descriptions of life in the South Bronx during the late 1980s, thus setting the stage for what would eventually become gangsta rap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Paul (producer)</span> American record producer and DJ

Paul Edward Huston, better known by his stage name Prince Paul, is an American record producer, disc jockey and recording artist from Amityville, New York. Paul began his career as a DJ for Stetsasonic. He has worked on albums by Boogie Down Productions, Gravediggaz, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane and 3rd Bass, among others. Major recognition for Prince Paul came when he produced De La Soul's debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), in which he pioneered new approaches to hip hop production, mixing and sampling, notably by including comedy sketches.

The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by Drum Machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of Rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street B-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with Funk and Disco, Novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravediggaz</span> American hip-hop group

Gravediggaz were an American hip hop group from New York. Known for their dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes, Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.

<i>6 Feet Deep</i> 1994 studio album by Gravediggaz

6 Feet Deep is the debut album of the American hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz. Formed by former Tommy Boy Records artists Prince Paul, RZA, Frukwan and Poetic, the group utilized horror-themed imagery and lyrics combined with black comedy and satire to vent their frustrations with the hip hop record industry. The album's concept satirizes the hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap of the early 1990s. Released on August 9, 1994, by Gee Street Records, the album helped usher in horrorcore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melle Mel</span> American rapper (born 1961)

Melvin Glover, better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel, is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self Destruction (song)</span> 1989 single by The Stop the Violence Movement

"Self Destruction" is the only single by the Stop the Violence Movement, a group formed by American rapper KRS-One in 1988 in response to violence in the hip hop and African American communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fat Boys</span> American hip hop trio

The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, and Darren "Buff Love" Robinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audio Two</span> American hip hop duo

Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, best known for their first hit "Top Billin'".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Ian Berkeley</span> American rapper (1964–2001)

Anthony Ian Berkeley better known as Poetic, was an American rapper and producer. He was also a founding member of the hip-hop group Gravediggaz, for which he used the alias Grym Reaper. He also used the alias Tony Titanium.

Brothers Grym was a New York hip-hop group formed by Too Poetic and his two younger brothers, lyricists Brainstorm and R&B hip-hop producer E#.

<i>On Fire</i> (Stetsasonic album) 1986 studio album by Stetsasonic

On Fire is the debut album by the American hip hop band Stetsasonic. It was released in 1986 via Tommy Boy Records. It was released on compact disc for the first time in 2001, with three bonus tracks.

<i>In Full Gear</i> 1988 studio album by Stetsasonic

In Full Gear is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic, released in 1988 by Tommy Boy Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wise (musician)</span> American hip hop musician (born 1965)

Leonardo Roman, better known by his stage name Wise, is an American hip hop record producer and member of hip hop group Stetsasonic, commonly hailed as hip hop's first live band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Me Myself and I (De La Soul song)</span> 1989 single by De La Soul

"Me Myself and I" is a song by American hip hop trio De La Soul, released in April 1989 as a single from their debut studio album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989). It was the group's only number one on the US Billboard R&B chart. The song also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RZA discography</span>

The discography of Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA consists of four studio albums, two compilation albums, one instrumental album, four extended plays and five singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daddy-O (rapper)</span> American rapper

Glenn K. Bolton, widely known as Daddy-O, is an American rapper and record producer. He began his career by founding the hip-hop group Stetsasonic. He is known as an early advocate of sampling in music.

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run-DMC</span> American hip hop group

Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Say Stet</span> 1985 single by Stetsasonic

"Just Say Stet" is the debut single by American hip hop group Stetsasonic, released in 1985 via Tommy Boy Records. It was included on their debut album On Fire, released the following year. All members of the group have credits as composers of the song, which they produced in collaboration with Eric Calvi and Robin Halpin as per the liner notes credits.

References

  1. ↑ Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 295. ISBN   1851098674 . Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 325. ISBN   0-7535-0252-6.
  3. 1 2 3 Stetsasonic at AllMusic
  4. ↑ Watrous, Peter. "Recordings; Rappers Keep Their Music's Content Fresh", The New York Times, 10 January 1988.
  5. ↑ Palmer, Robert. "Rock: 'Def Jam 87,' Rap at the Garden", The New York Times, 5 September 1987.
  6. ↑ "Takeoff". flightentertainment.biz. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "3. DOKIO 80 Watt Solar Panel and the MN -1 and Base Charger by D.B.C. Stetsasonic". 2018-08-09. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2019-04-21– via YouTube.
  8. ↑ Eustice, Kyle (29 May 2022). "Daddy-O Talks Stetsasonic's First Album in Nearly 30 Years: 'Classic Hip Hop Has a Place'". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  9. ↑ "Stetsasonic Chart History". Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums . Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Stetsasonic - UK Chart". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. ↑ People In The Neighborhood 1991-1994 EP (track listing). Chopped Herring Records. 2016. CH5TET5A01.{{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ (Now Y'All Giving Up) Love (track listing). The SpitSLAM Record Label Group. 2016. SS2070SCD.{{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
  13. 1 2 "Stetsasonic Chart History". Dance Club Songs . Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  14. 1 2 "Stetsasonic Chart History". Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs . Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  15. 1 2 "Stetsasonic Chart History". Hot Rap Songs . Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  16. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 267.
  17. ↑ "Stetsasonic Chart History (Dutch Charts)" . Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Druglord Superstar (track listing). EastWest America. 1997. 7559-63918-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
  19. ↑ "MC Lyte Chart History (Recorded Music NZ)" . Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard . Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "American album certifications – Stop the Violence Movement". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Lean on Me – Original Soundtrack > Overview". AllMusic . Retrieved December 7, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.