New Lisa on life
One decade after her last album, ’80s Latin pop icon Lisa Lisa returns to the stage
BEFORE there was Jennifer Lopez, Lisa Lisa was representing Nuyoricans with her Latin pop sounds. Discovered by R&B group Full Force when she was 13, she helped freestyle music break out of New York in the ’80s as frontwoman of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.
She’ll be performing hits such as “I Wonder if I Take You Home,” “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” when the Ladies of the ’80s tour — also featuring Taylor Dayne and Jody Watley — hits Long Island’s NYCB Theatre at Westbury today.
Here, the 53-year-old singer (full name: Lisa Velez) shares the secret behind her stage name, how she survived breast cancer and her special connection to Snoop Dogg.
Will you be bringing back the ’80s fashion that you’ve rocked on this tour?
You’ll see some of that — absolutely. That’s just my trademark. But back in the ’80s, [fashion] was about whatever was accessible for me. Coming from the streets of Hell’s Kitchen — the youngest of 10 kids — I had to get what I could. I didn’t have money. Whatever was in the stores that was cheap, that was what I was gonna put on.
How did you come up with Lisa Lisa as your stage name?
It was all about the boobies! Full Force, when they first met me, they could never look me in the eye. They kept looking at me below the chin, and they would be like, “Lisa, Lisa.” And it stuck.
How are the Cult Jam boys — Mike Hughes and Spanador — doing?
They are doing well. Spanador is [still] a musician. On the radio, you hear him on everything ’cause he plays for everybody. Mike, he’s actually a professional capoeira fighter. He lives in Brazil as well as New York.
You’re a breast cancer survivor. How’s your health now?
My health is A-OK. Twentynine years now, I’m clean. I was 21 when I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma. I hid it for a very long time. They removed the tumors, and I had reconstructive surgery. I had 16 weeks of chemo. It was pretty hard. I was always sick, I lost my hair. It was about trying to hide all of that. I didn’t tell anybody on the road. I would go onstage with the [chemo] pack, and I hid it under my clothes. But I caught it early, and I was OK.
It’s been 11 years since your last album, “Life ’n Love.” Are you working on any new music?
I just signed with Uncle Snoop’s Army. Snoop Dogg is my manager! So we have a lot in the works. We got new music; we have a film that we’re developing. And I have a boot line that I’ve created . . . But I would love to do something with J.Lo and Cardi B — a Latin thing.
You live in Long Island now, but what do you think of your old neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen, these days?
I still go down there all the time because my family’s there. I still love it. But it’s so different. There’s, like, a Starbucks or three on every block. Back in the day, it was all about the Westies [gang]. But we made it work. To me, it’s still home.