Formed in Brooklyn in 1981, Stetsasonic stood among the earliest rap acts to integrate a live band while advancing a positive Black consciousness that later reached its fullest expression in the “Daisy Age” aesthetic of De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers. The lineup featured 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 originally launched the project as the Stetson Brothers, named after the hat manufacturer, and honed their sound in New York hip-hop clubs before gradually absorbing additional members. Their first album, On Fire, appeared in 1986; the follow-up, In Full Gear, earned widespread praise and yielded the R&B hit “Sally.” Many listeners regard 1991’s Blood, Sweat & No Tears as the group’s strongest and most varied release, yet Daddy O concluded that fresh ideas had been exhausted and dissolved the band. He subsequently produced and remixed for Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 1993 he issued the solo album You Can Be a Daddy, But Never Daddy-O. By that point Prince Paul had already built a production résumé through collaborations with De La Soul and Fine Young Cannibals; he later joined Frukwan in Gravediggaz, co-founded Handsome Boy Modeling School, and issued a series of solo albums.
