# Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and initially produced by Full Force.

## History

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam was formed after Velez auditioned with Full Force, a production team from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, at the age of 14. In 1985, the group released their debut album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force. The group was signed by Columbia Records, which released their single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" to the European division of CBS Records in 1983, for the compilation album Breakdancing.
Stateside club DJs began playing the single from the imported LP in 1984, and the U.S. division of CBS, Columbia Records, released the record. It quickly became a chart-topper on Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco chart. It then crossed over to the R&B chart, where it peaked at No. 6, and then to the pop chart, peaking at No. 34 in the summer of 1985. The single eventually went gold.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" was followed by another club hit, "Can You Feel the Beat", which went to No. 40 on the R&B chart in late 1985. A sampling of the lyrics of this song WAS later used by Nina Sky for their 2004 hit single "Move Ya Body". Their third single, the ballad "All Cried Out", went gold, going to number No. 3 R&B and No. 8 pop in summer 1986. In 1997, "All Cried Out" was recorded by Allure, and was a hit in 1998. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force went platinum.
Their second album, Spanish Fly, was a success in 1987. It spawned two No. 1 pop hits, "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion", both of which went gold. "Head to Toe" peaked at No. 1 R&B for two weeks and stayed in the pop top 5 nearly three months. "Lost in Emotion's" video became the fourth most played of 1987 on MTV. Spanish Fly went platinum, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart. Other singles from the album were the ballad "Someone to Love Me for Me", No. 7 R&B, and "Everything Will B-Fine", No. 9 R&B.
In between albums they recorded "Go for Yours", which was featured in the movie Caddyshack II.
Their third album was titled Straight to the Sky and was released in 1989. It featured the single "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star". Their fourth and final album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen, was less of a success, though it did include a hit with "Let the Beat Hit 'Em", which was a No. 1 hit on both the R&B and club charts. The group disbanded in 1991.
On February 1, 2025, Lifetime debuted a movie based on the band titled Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Year | Album details | US | US R&B | AUS | CAN | UK | Certifications |
| 1985 | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force Release date: August 2, 1985 Label: Columbia | 52 | 16 | — | — | 96 | RIAA: Platinum |
| 1987 | Spanish Fly Release date: April 8, 1987 Label: Columbia | 7 | 7 | — | 18 | — | RIAA: Platinum MC: Gold |
| 1989 | Straight to the Sky Release date: April 12, 1989 Label: Columbia | 77 | 18 | — | 63 | — | |
| 1991 | Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen Release date: August 20, 1991 Label: Columbia | 133 | 29 | 125 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||

### Compilation albums

* Head to Toe (1995, Sony Music)
* Lisa Lisa and Friends (1995, Sony Music)
* Past, Present & Future (1996, Thump)
* Super Hits (1997, Sony Music)
* Playlist: The Very Best of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force (2010, Columbia/Legacy)

### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US R&B | US Dance | AUS | BEL | CAN | IRE | NL | NZ | UK | Certifications | Album |
| "I Wonder If I Take You Home" | 1985 | 34 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 41 | — | 12 | RIAA: Gold | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force |
| "Can You Feel the Beat" | 1985 | 69 | 40 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 97 | | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force |
| "All Cried Out" | 1986 | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | 96 | — | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold | Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force |
| "Head to Toe" | 1987 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 15 | 1 | — | 16 | 9 | 82 | RIAA: Gold MC: Gold | Spanish Fly |
| "Lost in Emotion" | 1987 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 83 | — | 7 | — | — | 15 | 58 | RIAA: Gold | Spanish Fly |
| "Someone to Love Me for Me" | 1987 | 78 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Spanish Fly |
| "Everything Will B-Fine" | 1988 | — | 9 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Spanish Fly |
| "Go for Yours" | 1988 | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Caddyshack II |
| "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" | 1989 | 29 | 3 | — | 153 | 16 | 98 | — | 6 | 10 | 90 | | Straight to the Sky |
| "Just Git It Together" | 1989 | — | 16 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Straight to the Sky |
| "Kiss Your Tears Away" | 1989 | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Straight to the Sky |
| "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" | 1991 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 27 | — | 27 | 30 | — | 17 | RIAA: Gold | Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen |
| "Where Were You When I Needed You" | 1991 | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen |
| "Forever" | 1991 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen |
| "Let the Beat Hit 'Em Part 2" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 49 | | Non-album single |
| "Something 'bout Love" | 1992 | — | — | — | 194 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||||