Search - Stetsasonic :: In Full Gear

The "original hip-hop band," in business since 1981, Stetsasonic featured rappers, a human beatbox, a keyboardist, a drummer, and a young producer named Prince Paul. The contemporary of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and the blueprint for Three Feet High and Rising, In Full Gear was Stetsasonic's full-fledged classic. As summarized in the sublime "Talking All That Jazz," the album was meant to be a musical manifesto of all of the directions late-'80s hip-hop was expanding toward: revolutionary spoken word, JBs tributes, soul jazz, go-go, R&B, dancehall, turntablism, instrumental hip-hop, rap rock, even Miami bass. Yes, they did it all, and they did most of it really well. Throughout the album, a sense of light-hearted vibes prevails, like a giddy summer concert in the park. Check out "Sally," "DBC Let the Music Play," and "Music for the Stetfully Insane" to work up a sweat. If you want to know where De La Soul came from, this is a good place to start. --Jeff Chang