RIP To Jessie D: A Legendary Founding Member Of the R&B Group ‘Force MDs!’

YourBlackWorld.net, By Victor Trammell, Posted January 14th 2022

According to a post issued on the group’s official Facebook page January 4th, Jessie D one of the founding members of the iconic R&B group the Force MDs, recently died at 58 years of age.

Jessie D and the Force MDs (also known as Force M.D.’s) burst onto the scene in the early 1980s. The group set the standard for future fusion groups by blending hip-hop and R&B harmonies. This delivery style is now conventional, courtesy of rapping singers, such as Drake.

However, merging rap with soul singing was quite groundbreaking and highly unique in the early 1980s.

Jessie D’s quintessential quintet had many high-performing singles after signing with Tommy Boy Records in 1984. The most notable of those hits was “Tender Love,” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 list.

This song was also included in the 1985 film Krush Groove, a culturally treasured cult classic in cinema, courtesy of the incomparable Def Jam Recordings.

Jessie Lee Daniels was born on July 4, 1963, on Staten Island, New York. This was also the city where he co-founded Force MDs — which stands for “Musical Diversity” — in 1981 along with his nephews Stevie D. Lundy, Antoine “T.C.D.” Lundy, and Rodney “Khalil” Lundy.

“Trisco” Pearson and Charles “Mercury” Nelson, two of the trio’s close comrades, became a part of the group later. 

Rapper Ghostface Killah, also a Staten Island native, placed the Force MDs back into relevance during the 1990s. The group’s unforgettable vocals are featured on the Wu-Tang Clan member’s 1996 album Ironman —- notably on the songs “Daytona 500” and “The Soul Controller.”

Daniels is the fifth Force MDs member to pass away. Antoine “T.C.D.” Lundy’s life was claimed by Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1998, and “Trisco” Pearson succumbed to cancer in 2016.

Charles “Mercury” Nelson died of a heart attack in 1995 and Force MDs affiliate DJ Dr. Rock expired due to natural death in 1996. A whole host of Jessie D’s peers in classic R&B and hip-hop circles have paid the late singer tribute online. Questlove, Ice T, Rob Base, and many others gave their condolences.

Jessie D will certainly be missed by peers and fans alike. However, his musical legacy shall live on.