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Wise | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Leonardo Roman |
Also known as |
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Born | Fajardo, Puerto Rico | August 20, 1965
Origin | The Bronx and Brooklyn, New York |
Genres | Hip Hop |
Years active | 1981–present |
Labels |
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Leonardo Roman (born August 20, 1965), 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.
Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wise moved to the Bronx, New York, where his parents resided with his two older brothers Juan & Jose. At the age of four, his family moved to East New York, Brooklyn, New York.
Daddy-O and MC Delite were the founding members of the group Stetsasonic, then known as the Stetsasonic 3 MC's, in 1981. Joining the group in 1983, the group had another level of creativity and talent with the presence of the PRINCE OF SOUND himself, who is also known in the group by the moniker the Stetsa-Human Mix Machine provided beatboxing [1] and other human percussion. Also, what many didn't know was that he was the very first Latino human beat box to hit the hip hop scene.
Wise debuted his Human Turntable technique of beatboxing on the band's first single called "Just Say Stet" b/w "Rock de la Stet," which was released in 1985. There was also another single from the album in which Wise and Daddy-O collaborated. While Daddy-O performs the vocals, Wise gives his version of "Impeach the President," which happens to be the very first time that a human beatbox was heard adding a song-like rhythm to the beat that was coming out of his mouth on the song "Faye"[ citation needed ] which was on the group's first album, On Fire (1986). With Stetsasonic, Wise toured the world with rap acts like Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Whodini, Eric B. & Rakim, EPMD and Public Enemy.
In 1989, Wise (with fellow Stetsasonic members Daddy-O, Delite, and Fruitkwan) participated in KRS-One's Stop the Violence Movement, an assembly of hip hop artists including Kool Moe Dee, Heavy D, MC Lyte, Public Enemy, and Doug E. Fresh. This artistic collaboration yielded the posse cut "Self Destruction", a protest song decrying black-on-black violence and media stigmatisation of all hip hop as violent. [2] Unusually, Wise was featured not as a human percussionist, but as a vocalist, sharing his verse with Daddy-O. [2] Released in 1989, the single reached #75 in the US Top 40.
Wise has 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 kicks a ferocious beat. This commercial was aired amidst 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 , [3] 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.
These days Wise & Stetsasonic are presently working on their new album that is scheduled for release in 2024. In this album, Wise is more vocal and less percussionist as his skills have grown greatly. While his moniker as a human percussionist/beatbox is The Human Mix Machine, his new moniker as a Vocalist/MC is Lito Brigante.
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.
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.
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. Stetsasonic is also considered one of the acts that pioneered jazz rap.
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines, using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often referred to as "the fifth element" of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music. The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general.
Mohandas Dewese, better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one of the pioneering groups in hip hop music, the Treacherous Three, and for his later solo career. During his career he released a total of seven studio albums, with 1994's Interlude being the last to date.
Simon Shlomo Kahn, known professionally as SK Shlomo and previously as Shlomo, is a British singer-songwriter, beatboxer, music producer and live looping technologist.
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.
Douglas Davis, known professionally as Doug E. Fresh, is a Barbadian-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects using only his mouth, lips, gums, throat, tongue and a microphone.
Mark Howard James, professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudonym, the 45 King, came from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records.
"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.
The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York–based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew helped introduce New School artists MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace, Tragedy, Craig G and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and engaged with numerous "beefs" – primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".
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.
In Full Gear is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic, released in 1988 by Tommy Boy Records.
Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets is a collaborative studio album by Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets. It was released on 1 November 2004, peaking at number 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 2 on the AIR independent charts, additionally achieving platinum status.
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.
Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box (2002) is a documentary directed by filmmaker Joey Garfield. The film explores the world of beatboxing, a form of music using the human mouth, throat and diaphragm to generate sounds that are usually produced by machines. Over 30 practitioners of this art form discuss their techniques and the evolution of their craft. The human beat box is one of the key elements in the development of Hip Hop culture, alongside DJing, Graffiti, Breakdancing, and MC-ing. Unfortunately, its contribution has been largely overlooked, as has the fun, expressive, human, and spontaneous dimension of Hip Hop that it represents. As the first documentary of its kind, Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box uses interviews, live performances, archival footage, and animation to bring to light this important and neglected ingredient of Hip Hop's identity.
Warp 9, an American sci-fi themed electro-funk, hip hop group is best known for its ground breaking, influential singles including "Nunk," "Light Years Away," and "Beat Wave," which ranked among the most iconic groups of the electro hip hop era. Described as the "perfect instance of hip hop's contemporary ramifications," Warp 9 was the brainchild of writer-producers Lotti Golden and Richard Scher. The duo wrote and recorded under the moniker Warp 9, a production project at the forefront of the electro movement.
Terry Lewis, also known by his stage name Kid Lucky, was an American beatrhymer, beatboxer, singer-songwriter, teacher, and activist born in New York City. He coined the term "beatrhyming", which he defines as "rapping, singing or performing spoken word while beatboxing simultaneously".
"Roxanne's Revenge" is the debut single by American rapper Roxanne Shante. It was produced by a then unknown Marley Marl and released in 1984 through the independent label Pop Art Records. In the song, a 14-year-old Roxanne Shante, whose real name is Lolita Shanté Gooden, responds to UTFO's hit song "Roxanne, Roxanne". In addition to her feud with UTFO, this also caused between 30 and more than 100 "answer songs" from different hip hop artists to be produced at that time, in what would be called "Roxanne Wars".
"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.