Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2024 10:21:35 GMT -4
One of the greatest Latin Hip Hop/Freestyle/Pop Divas to come out of the 1980's music scene is the legendary Lisa Velez also known as Lisa Lisa of the 80's super group Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. Produced by Full Force, Lisa Lisa's break out hits such as "I wonder If I Take You Home", "Can You Feel The Beat" and "All cried out" helped to launch the underground genre of "Freestyle Music" into mainstream.
Later Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam crossed over on to the pop charts with their second album "Spanish Fly" with mega hits like "Head to Toe" and "Lost In Emotion". She was the first Puerto Rican / Latino artist to cross over to the Pop and R&B charts. Both albums shot straight up the charts to platinum status several times over with most of the albums singles going gold at the same time. Just as the 90's rolled in Lisa Lisa's C&C Music Factory produced hit 'Let the beat hit em" took off to the top of the dance charts! Soon after Lisa began an acting career. She played the mother on Nickelodeon's TV series "Taina", then later made appearances on NBC's Law and Order SVU.
Some of her biggest hits have been re-recorded by "Allure & 112, Nina Sky, and The Black Eye Peas. Not only did Lisa Lisa set the music bar high for those to come later but she set fashion trends as well. Born and raised in the "Hell's Kitchen" section of New York City, Lisa's hair flipped over one eye and her unique style caught fire in the urban community. Soon after she hit the airwaves young girls everywhere were dressing and singing like the 80's icon.
Lisa Lisa paved the way for an entire generation of Latino American artist to follow in her footsteps such as Selena, J-Lo, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Cardi B and many more. She is defiantly a pioneer and a trendsetter of an entire generation.
After more than 30 years of being a trailblazer in the music business, gracing the acting world and setting the bar for her Latino community, Lisa's journey is far from over. Lisa and her power house management team "Uncle Snoops Army" (Snoop Dogg), "Bobby Dee Presents" (Bobby Dee) and Menage Works Inc (Toni Menage) are working on bringing some amazing things to her long time supporters, fans and friends.
Lisa Lisa continues to tour the world with her band SoDisrespectful Music along with her incredible dance ensemble. She continues to embark on new adventures with new tours, new music, television, merchandising and much more.
How Lisa Lisa got her start
A New York native, Velez was the youngest of ten kids. Her late mother encouraged each of the kids to follow their dreams, and while her three brothers and six sisters all grew up to be teachers and attorneys, the young singer always knew she was different.
“Music was huge in my house,” Velez tells FIRST for Women, “My mom always played a lot of salsa and R&B as we did our chores and I just connected with it.”
Prior to settling in the Big Apple, Velez’s mom was living in Puerto Rico, where she and Velez’s dad performed in a local band to make ends meet. She says that having parents with musical abilities foreshadowed her career path despite all of her siblings going on to more traditional jobs.
“When I was 6 years old, my mom put me in the church choir and led a female group called Mary’s Girls, where I had to sing a song,” Velez recalls. “When I finished, I saw the reaction from the audience. That’s when I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do that.'”
How Lisa Lisa became a star
On a night out with friends, Velez remembers meeting one of her future music partners, Mike Hughes, at a nightclub in New York City. She was only 13 at the time, but says Hughes strongly encouraged her to audition for a group he and his collaborator, Alex Moseley, were putting together. Velez skipped school to go to the audition. “I got in so much trouble for that,” she laughs.
“I arrived home at 12:45 a.m. from try-outs, and my mom had the cops at the house because she was freaking out,” she says. “Remember, we didn’t have cellphones back then, and because there was a long line of girls and I was the last one to audition, I got back late.”
Playing hooky paid off big time. Not only was Velez chosen from hundreds of wannabes, but the band went on to have multiple hit songs and collaborate with icons like Snoop Dogg, Patti LaBelle, Teena Marie, David Bowie and Earth, Wind & Fire.
The call that changed everything
At just 21, Velez was riding the wave of success and enjoying her celebrity status. After years of hustling, the band was in high demand on dance floors around the world. While they were on tour, she received a phone call from her doctor telling her that she had been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma, an early form of breast cancer, and needed to come home to begin treatment. “I was so scared. I started crying and saying, ‘What am I going to do?'” she remembers.
It was 1987, when the band was at their peak. Velez recalls that support groups and information weren’t as readily available back then, and the disease wasn’t nearly as talked about as it is now.
With the help of her oncologist, they found a way to hide her cancer from the public. “I would secretly fly home to do rounds of radiation and chemo, and because I had to have a pack on my waist, I was able to hide it by wearing big clothes so I could still perform,” she says.
Over 30 years later, Velez is still in remission and actively involved in working with Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center on charity work, funding, research and spreading the word about early detection. “Surviving cancer taught me to see everything from a different perspective,” Velez says. “You gotta live life everyday like it’s the last day, not let the little things stress you, be more aware of things and keep your eyes wide open.”
Becoming a mom
“Ever since I was a 5-year-old, I wanted to be a mom and have babies,” says Velez. Sadly, it took her years to conceive due to everything her body went through following her cancer diagnosis.
After one disappointing doctor appointment after another and being told to walk away from the idea of having a child, she says, “A month later I found out I was pregnant and it was the best thing in the world. My boys, who are now 18 and 20, are my proudest accomplishment and my world, even if they made fun of me when they saw what I was wearing to film a video for MTV!”
