Stezo aka Steve Williams, the long-lasting rapper and dancer, has died. He was 51 years outdated. Stezo is greatest identified for his 1989 hit singles, “To the Max” and “It’s My Flip.”
Stezo’s unhappy passing was confirmed on the morning of April 30 by his producer and DJ, Chris Lowe on Twitter.
Stezo was a local of New Haven, Connecticut. Stezo’s cousin, Dooley-O, can be a famend Connecticut-based hip-hop determine. He started his profession as a dancer with hip-hop collective, EPMD. Stezo appeared within the video for the group’s single, “You Gots to Chill.” The music was featured on EPMD’s album, Strictly Enterprise. EPMD stood for “Erick and Parrish Making {Dollars}.”
Stezo broke out from the group in 1989 when he signed his personal document take care of Sleeping Bag Information. Stezo’s first single was “To the Max,” which was adopted by the album Loopy Noise which was recorded on the 1212 studio in Jamaica, Queens in New York.
Paul C. McKasty labored on the album with Stezo. Along with rapping on the album, Stezo additionally produced the document. The album peaked at quantity 37 on the Billboard Sizzling R&B/Hip-Hop Chart.
Stezo mentioned of working with McKasty in a Medium characteristic, “Once we first went to 1212 we vibed with Paul. He was hanging round Giant Professor and couple of different cats like that. We had some beats and Paul was like, ‘Yo, the place ya’ll get these beats from!?’”
Stezo didn’t observe up on his debut till 1994 with the discharge of the only, “Bop Ya Headz/Shining Star.” Stezo’s subsequent album was not launched till 1997. The document, The place’s the Funk At?, didn’t enter the Billboard charts.
Stezo launched his remaining album in 2005, it was titled C.T. (The Misplaced State). A December 2017 retrospective on Stezo’s profession wrote that he “was a casualty of a transition interval in Hip-Hop and his imprint.”
READ NEXT: Teenage Porn Star Controversy Rocks California Excessive Faculty