STETSASONIC – FLOAT ON 12″ – Nr MINT 1989 RAP HIP HOP PRINCE PAUL

Stetsasonic – Float On
(Tommy Boy Records  1989  TB924)

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– still in original shrinkwrap

Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future hip hop bands such as The Roots. The band combined beat-boxing, sampling technology, and live band performance, incorporating R&B, jazz, dancehall reggae, and rock into its sound. Stetsasonic is also considered one of the acts that pioneered jazz rap.

Though rumored to have disbanded in 1991, soon after the release of its third album, Blood, Sweat & No Tears, Stetsasonic continues to record and perform together, as evidenced by their subsequent release, “People In The Neighborhood”, and their performance at the Urban Matterz Hip Hop Festival in 2019. Individual members branched out to explore solo careers, while still maintaining Stetsasonic as the legendary Hip Hop Band. Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a record producer, as did Daddy-O.

“Float On” is a 1977 hit song by the R&B/soul group The Floaters. The spoken verses combine two popular trends from the time, star signs and video and phone dating, in lines such as Aquarius and my name is Ralph / Now I like a woman who loves her freedom. The song was co-written by James Mitchell of The Detroit Emeralds group.

Released from their self-titled debut album, it became one of the biggest singles of the year, spending six weeks at number one on the U.S. Hot Soul Singles chart. “Float On” was also a crossover hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100behind Andy Gibb’s “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” and The Emotions’ “Best of My Love”, but with no other Hot 100 hits, The Floaters became a one-hit wonder on that chart. “Float On” also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart,and number five on the Irish Singles Chart. The song was covered by two hip-hop bands: Stetsasonic on its album In Full Gear (1988), and Dream Warriors on its album The Master Plan (1996), the latter of which was released as a single.

The song was adapted in the early 1990s to advertise Cadbury’s Crème Eggs.

Tracklist

Credits

• Co-producer – Stetsasonic
• Engineer – Bob Coulter
• Mastered By – Herb Powers Jr.
• Producer – Daddy-O (tracks: B1 to B3), Prince Paul (tracks: B1 to B3), Vincent Bell (tracks: A1 to A3) 
• Remix – Daddy-O (tracks: B1 to B3)