Down to their name, Stetsasonic—the self-proclaimed Hip-Hop band—were different from their counterparts. And their first single tackled the job of explaining the name, or at least providing an alternative for those who had difficulty pronouncing it. "Stetsasonic/A name you will never forget/But if you can't say it all just say 'Stet'" the hook instructed. In 1985, combining rock and rap on records was still pretty new; Run-D.M.C. dropped their sophomore album King Of Rock that year and Stet fell in line with their rendition on "Rock De La Stet." MCs Daddy-O, Delite and Fruitkwan, along with DJ Prince Paul, Human Mix Machine Wise and keyboardist and drum machine programmer DBC struck a powerful blow with their debut single.

"Just Say Stet" was driven by a synthesizer bassline and a drum machine, and combined Price Paul's cuts and scratches along with the vocal dynamics of Fruitkwan, Daddy-O and Delite. The single sounded both on time and a bit ahead of its time. "Just Say Stet" was a hit on late night radio mix shows and in boomboxes, setting the stage for their full length outing the next year. On Fire dropped at a transitional time in rap music: larger crews were dwindling down to duos and solo acts. The sampler was about to replace the drum machine as the dominant production tool fro rap music, and a new school that would later be dubbed part of "The Golden Era" was rising in 1986, with the debuts of Rakim and KRS-ONE. This changing-of-the-guard could have rendered On Fire an unheard effort, but Stet made a mark with their debut that would make them a vital part of the next phase of the genre.

Early single "Go Stetsa I" captures the energy of Stet like perhaps none of their other recordings. Stetsasonic is known as much for their energetic stage performance as they are for their classic recordings, and "Go Stetsa I" personifies that live fire. The song was known as "the chain-snatching anthem" at the peak of its popularity, particularly at Brooklyn’s Latin Quarter nightclub. Perhaps its powerful live drumming combined with chants of "Go Brooklyn" (famously sampled on "Top Billin'" by Audio Two) were a dog whistle for Brooklyn hard rocks to act ill. Positive K told uncut.com in 2014: “They put on 'Go Stetsa' and girls were getting their earrings snatched, guys were getting their chains snatched off their neck, getting beat down and thrown out the club!” Fruitkwan's declaration of "It ain't nothin like Hip-Hop music" would be used as the hook to Groove B. Chill's single "Hip-Hop Music" four years later, a testament to the energetic quality of his voice. As for the rest of the country "Go Stetsa I" was further validation of the emerging group.

In 1985, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's "La Di Da Di" created a subgenre in rap, where MC's told X Rated stories over mid-tempo human beatboxing. Daddy-O and The Human Mix Machine Wise created a classic in that vein with "Faye," which tells the story of a promiscuous neighborhood girl that they have the good fortune of running into. "She was gorgeous, she told us that her name was 'Faye' she would like to get busy for the rest of the day/ of course we replied, but whose date will you be she said 1 or 2 it makes no difference to me," Daddy-O explained over Wise's percussion. "Faye" was released as a single along with "Forever My Beat," another song from the album. "Forever My Beat" was simply a slow tempo (Roland) 808 beat with scratches from Prince Paul. Lyrically, the song's beat was used as a metaphor, with Daddy-O claiming: "Forever My Beat, when it slides up and down the scale/you would think my beats a graduate from Harvard or Yale/ slappin' other beats five on his way to the top /havin' radio stations tune 'em up on the charts/rockin' tom-toms, snares and timbale's too /playin' wit Batman, Snuffy and Winnie the Pooh/a choo, I catch flu as my beats boogaloo and I never saw my beat drop a beat on a crew."

"Bust That Groove" highlights the synergy and chemistry that existed between the MCs, as they bounced phrases off of each other and paid homage to eras before them with chants like: "Dip dip dive so socialize, our gym teacher told us do some exercise/we did the push ups, the sit ups and jumpin' jacks/and when we were through we ran around the track/but when you smoke that crack ya run like a snail our gym teacher told us that we're going to fail/ but when the test came you know we passed cause we're the best MC's in the whole gym class."

The title track "On Fire" has been described as a precursor to trap because of the rapid fire hi hats and deep 808 kicks within the beat. The chemistry between the MCs is evident on this song as well, and Prince Paul kills as usual on the wheels. "My Rhyme" finds the MCs rhyming to a slow tempo beat with a more abstract flow than the other songs on the album. Once again, the rhyme is given human qualities: "It only dresses in the freshest gear and it never wears words that it wore last year." "Paul's Groove" is an alternate version of the title track. On Fire was a perfect debut for the Brooklyn sextet solidifying them as a force to reckon with, and it has stood the test of time as one of the period's most solid releases.