Biography
Although lacking the widespread recognition enjoyed by many other New York hip-hop acts during the early 1980s, Staten Island’s Force M.D.’s proved essential to the formative era of street-level hip-hop and ranked among the earliest vocal ensembles to merge doo wop–influenced harmonies with hip-hop beats. The collective first emerged as a street troupe called the LD’s, performing song-and-dance routines on Greenwich Village corners and aboard the Staten Island ferry; its roster comprised brothers Stevie D and Antoine “TCD” Lundy, uncle Jesse Lee Daniels, and friends Trisco Pearson and Charles “Mercury” Nelson. After linking with DJ Dr. Rock and performing locally under the name Dr. Rock & the MC’s, the outfit secured a 1984 Tommy Boy contract as the Force M.D.’s—an abbreviation for “musical diversity”—by which point it had shifted toward a more conventional R&B vocal approach still marked by its street-rooted sensibility. A succession of R&B chart successes followed throughout the decade, yet the group’s sole pop breakthrough arrived with the Top Ten ballad “Tender Love,” written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featured in the film Krush Groove. The year 1987 brought the ensemble its first R&B number one, “Love Is a House,” after which mainstream visibility gradually declined. Mercury and Trisco departed in 1990, their places taken by Rodney “Khalil” Lundy and Shawn Waters. The 1994 release Get Ready appeared while several members simultaneously produced for other artists. Although Nelson, Lundy, and DJ Dr. Rock each died prematurely—Nelson from a heart attack and Lundy from Lou Gehrig’s disease—the group resurfaced in 1998 under a deal facilitated by fellow Staten Island natives Wu-Tang Clan. The 2000 album The Reunion failed to register on the charts, and while occasional live appearances continued, tragedy struck again in 2016 with Trisco Pearson’s death after a cancer battle. A reconstituted lineup—Jesse Daniels, Stevie D. Lundy, and Rodney “Khalil” Lundy—issued Our Favorite Joints in 2017. Jesse Lee Daniels passed away on January 4, 2022, at age 58.
Albums