Wise (Stetsasonic)

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Stetsasonic
Prince Paul far left
Background information
Genre(s)	Hip Hop
Years active	1981-1991
Members
Wise Daddy-O Prince Paul Frukwan DBC MC Delite Bobby Simmons

Leonardo Roman (b. August 20, 1965), better known as Wise, is a hip hop musician and member of hip-hop group Stetsasonic, commonly hailed as hip hop's first live band. Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wise moved to Brooklyn, New York, becoming one of the founding members of the group, then known as the Stetson Brothers, in 1981 (see 1981 in music).

Also known in the group by the moniker the Stetsa-Human Mix Machine, Wise provided beatboxing^[1] and other human percussion.

Wise debuted his Human Turntable technique of beatboxing on the band's first single called "Just Say Stet" b/w "Rock de la Stet," which was released in 1985. There was also another single from the album in which Wise and Daddy-O collaborate. While Daddy-O does the vocals, Wise gives his version of "Impeach the President," which happens to be the very first time that a human beatbox was heard adding a song-like rhythm to the beat that was coming out of his mouth on the song "Faye."

On the group's first album, 1986's On Fire (see 1986 in music). With Stetsasonic, Wise toured the world with groups like Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Whodini, Eric B. & Rakim, EPMD and Public Enemy.

In 1989, Wise (with fellow Stetsasonic members Delite, Daddy-O and Frukwan) participated in KRS-ONE's Stop the Violence Movement, an assembly of hip hop artists including Kool Moe Dee, Heavy D, MC Lyte, Public Enemy, and fellow human beatbox artist Doug E. Fresh. This artistic collaboration yielded the posse cut "Self Destruction", a protest song decrying black-on-black violence and media stigmatisation of all hip hop as violent.^[2] Unusually, Wise was featured not as a human percussionist, but as a vocalist, sharing his verse with Daddy-O.^[2] Released in 1989, the single reached number 75 in the US Top 40.

Wise has also done 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 kicks a ferocious beat. This commercial was aired along with the 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,^[3] 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.

Wise currently resides in Union City, New Jersey, with his wife Yvonne and five of his six children.^{[citation needed]}