Representative Albums: "In Full Gear," "Blood, Sweat & No Tears," "On Fire"
Representative Songs: "Talkin' All That Jazz," "Sally," "Go Stetsa I"
Biography
One of the first rap groups to use a live band, Brooklyn's Stetsasonic formed in 1981 and were also among the first to promote a positive black consciousness that found its ultimate expression in the so-called daisy-age sounds of De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers. The group consisted of DJs "Prince Paul" Huston and Leonard "Wise" Roman, keyboardist/drummer/DJ Marvin "DBC" Nemley, and rappers Glenn "Daddy O" Bolton, Martin "Delite" Wright, and Bobby "Frukwan" Simmons. Daddy O and Delite founded the group as the Stetson Brothers, after the hat company, and began performing in New York hip-hop clubs, picking up other members along the way. Their debut, On Fire, was released in 1986, but it was the follow-up, In Full Gear, that brought them critical acclaim and an R&B hit, "Sally." 1991's Blood, Sweat & No Tears was considered by many to be their best and most diverse album, but Daddy O decided that they had run out of ideas and broke up the band. He went on to work with Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a producer and remixer. Meanwhile, Prince Paul had already established himself as a producer for his work with De La Soul and Fine Young Cannibals, and later worked with Frukwan in the Gravediggaz. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Originally, the group was known as The Stetson Brothers, after Stetson hats, but it changed its name to Stetsasonic for its debut, On Fire (1986). [1] The album received mixed reviews, though the follow-ups, In Full Gear and Blood, Sweat & No Tears were critically acclaimed. A 1988 New York Times article said that the group 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".[2] As a "hip hop band", dependent on instruments as well as turntables, the group 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."[3]
