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Stetsasonic

{{Short description|American hip hop group}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Stetsasonic

| image =

| caption =

| background = group_or_band

| origin = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.

| genre = Hip hop

| years_active = {{hlist|1981–1992|2008–present}}

| label = {{hlist|Tommy Boy|Warner Bros.}}

| current_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_members = Frukwan (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.{{cite book|last=Price|first=Emmett George|year=2006|page=295|title=Hip Hop Culture|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=1851098674|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q84TiHcqDqcC&pg=PA295|access-date=August 21, 2013}} Stetsasonic is also considered one of the acts that pioneered jazz rap.

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. Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a record producer, as did Daddy-O.

History

Originally, the band was known as The Stetsasonic 3 MC's. The original group consisted of Daddy-O, Delite, and Crown Supreme.{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Virgin Books|date=1998|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0252-6|page=325}} 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).{{AllMusic|class= artist|id=p128528|label=Stetsasonic}} The album received mixed reviews, though the follow-ups, In Full Gear and Blood, Sweat & No Tears, were critically acclaimed.

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".Watrous, Peter. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DB1238F933A25752C0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "Recordings; Rappers Keep Their Music's Content Fresh"], The New York Times, 10 January 1988. 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."Palmer, Robert. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DE1E30F936A3575AC0A961948260 "Rock: 'Def Jam 87,' Rap at the Garden"], The New York Times, 5 September 1987.

Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a record producer. 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. Prince Paul went on to produce the trio De La Soul. 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.flightentertainment.biz/| title= Takeoff | website= flightentertainment.biz | publisher= |date=7 April 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140407073039/http://www.flightentertainment.biz/ |access-date=June 28, 2021|archive-date=2014-04-07}} 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.{{Cite web |via=YouTube| title=3. DOKIO 80 Watt Solar Panel and the MN -1 and Base Charger by D.B.C. Stetsasonic |date=2018-08-09|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4cUyL1QPgA |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/f4cUyL1QPgA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-04-21}}{{cbignore}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Eustice |first1=Kyle |title=Daddy-O Talks Stetsasonic's First Album in Nearly 30 Years: 'Classic Hip Hop Has a Place' |url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.70614/title.daddy-o-talks-stetsasonic-first-album-in-nearly-30-years-classic-hip-hop-has-a-place# |date=29 May 2022 |website=HipHopDX |access-date=2022-05-30}}

Discography

=Studio albums=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;" | Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:23em;" | Album details

! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions

scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US
R&B
/HH
{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stetsasonic/chart-history/blp/|title=Stetsasonic Chart History|work=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|access-date=2020-12-02}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK Dance

scope="row" | On Fire

|

| 32

| —

scope="row" | In Full Gear

|

  • Released: June 21, 1988
  • Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros.
  • Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming

| 20

| 34

scope="row" | Blood, Sweat & No Tears

|

  • Released: February 5, 1991
  • Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros.
  • Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download, streaming

| 75

| —

scope="row" | Here We Go Again

|

  • Released: April 5, 2024
  • Label: SpitSLAM Record Label Group
  • Format: CD, Cassette, Digital download, streaming

| -

| —

colspan="4" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

=EPs=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of extended plays

! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:11em;" | Title

! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;" | Details

!scope="col"| Track listings

scope="row" | People in the Neighborhood 1991-1994 EP

|

  • Released: April 1, 2016{{cite AV media notes |date=2016 |title=People In The Neighborhood 1991-1994 EP |type=track listing |publisher=

Chopped Herring Records | id=CH5TET5A01}}

  • Label: Chopped Herring
  • Formats: LP (Limited Edition)

| align="left" style="font-size: 85%;"|

{{hidden|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"}}
scope="row" | (Now Y'all Giving Up) Love

|

  • Released: July 31, 2021{{cite AV media notes |date=2016 |title=(Now Y'All Giving Up) Love |type=track listing |publisher=The SpitSLAM Record Label Group |id=SS2070SCD}}
  • Label: The SpitSLAM
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming

| align="left" style="font-size: 85%;"|

{{hidden|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==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of singles with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="8"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Dance
{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stetsasonic/chart-history/dsi/|title=Stetsasonic Chart History|work=Dance Club Songs|access-date=2020-12-03}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US R&B
{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stetsasonic/chart-history/blp/|title=Stetsasonic Chart History|work=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|access-date=2020-12-03}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Rap
{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stetsasonic/chart-history/rap/|title=Stetsasonic Chart History|work=Hot Rap Songs|access-date=2020-12-03}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS
{{cite Ryan|page=267}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NED
{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Stetsasonic|title=Stetsasonic Chart History (Dutch Charts)|access-date=December 3, 2020}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK
{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25031/stetsasonic/|title=Stetsasonic - UK Chart |publisher=The Official Charts Company |access-date=3 December 2020}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK Dance

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK Ind.

scope="row"| "Just Say Stet"

| 1985

| — || — || align="center" rowspan="6" {{n/a|*}} || — || — || — || — || —

| rowspan="3" | On Fire

scope="row"| "Faye/Forever My Beat"

| rowspan="3" |1987

| — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Go Stetsa I"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "A.F.R.I.C.A."
(featuring [[Jesse Jackson|The Rev.

Jesse Jackson]] and Olatunji and the Drums Of Passion)

| — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|{{Non-album single}}

scope="row"| "Sally/DBC Let the Music Play"

| rowspan="2" |1988

| — || 25 || — || — || 100 || — || —

| rowspan="3" | In Full Gear

scope="row"| "Talkin' All That Jazz"

| 22 || 34 || 87 || — || 73 || — || 7

scope="row"| "Float On"
(featuring Force M.D.s)

|1989

| — || 56 || 24 || — || 91 || 91 || — || —

scope="row"| "A.F.R.I.C.A. (Norman Cook Remix)"

| rowspan="2" |1990

| — || — || — || — || — || 81 || — || —

| rowspan="4" | Blood, Sweat & No Tears

scope="row"| "Speaking of a Girl Named Suzy/Anytime, Anyplace"{{cite AV media notes |date=1997 |title=Druglord Superstar |type=track listing |publisher=EastWest America |id=7559-63918-2}}

| — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "No B.S. Allowed"

| rowspan="2" |1991

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "So Let the Fun Begin/Hip Hop Band"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Talkin' All That Jazz (Dimitri from Paris Remix)"

| rowspan="2" | 1998

| — || — || — || — || — || 54 || 1 || —

|A Night at the Playboy Mansion

scope="row"| "The Hip Hop Band/Talkin All That Jazz"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

| Blood, Sweat & No Tears and In Full Gear

scope="row"| "(Now Y'all Giving Up) Love"

| 2020

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

| rowspan="3" {{Non-album singles}}

scope="row"| "Here We Go Again"

| rowspan="2" |2022

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

scope="row"| "Fallen Soldiers"

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. "*" indicates a chart that did not exist at the time.

=As featured artist=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="5"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Dance

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US R&B

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Rap

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NZ
{{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showperson.asp?name=MC+Lyte|title=MC Lyte Chart History (Recorded Music NZ)|access-date=September 9, 2020}}

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK

scope="row"| "Self Destruction"
(as part of Stop the Violence Movement)

| 1989

| —{{efn|"Self Destruction" did not enter the Dance Club Songs, but peaked at number 7 on the Dance/Electronic Singles Sales.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/stop-the-violence-movement/chart-history/dsa/ |title=Dance Singles Sales |magazine=Billboard |accessdate=16 September 2021}}}} || 30 || 1 || 33 || 75

|

  • RIAA: Gold{{cite certification|region=United States|type=album|artist=Stop the Violence Movement|access-date=September 10, 2020}}

| {{Non-album single}}

== Guest appearances ==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name

! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Title

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Album

scope="row" | "I Ain't Making It"{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lean-on-me-mw0000203560 | title=Lean on Me – Original Soundtrack > Overview | website=AllMusic | access-date=December 7, 2020}}

| 1989

| Lean on Me Soundtrack

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.rapindustry.com/daddy-o.htm Interview with Daddy-O]
  • {{IMDb name|nm2696018}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:East Coast hip-hop groups

Category:Tommy Boy Records artists

Category:Musical groups from Brooklyn

Category:American hip-hop groups

Category:African-American musical groups

Category:Five percenters

Category:Musical groups established in 1979

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1991

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2008

Category:Alternative hip-hop groups