Originally, the band was known as '''The Stetsasonic 3 MC's'''. The original group consisted of
Daddy-O, Delite, and Crown Supreme. 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). The album received mixed reviews, though the follow-ups,
In Full Gear and
Blood, Sweat & No Tears, were critically acclaimed. 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." Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the
Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a
record producer. 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. 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. ==Discography==