Official video for Can You Feel The Beat by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam Biography

Before freestyle had a name, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam were already defining its sound. Emerging from Hell’s Kitchen in the mid-80s, the trio—lead vocalist Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex “Spanador” Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes—helped bridge the gap between underground club culture and mainstream pop, becoming one of the genre’s most successful crossover acts.

The group’s rise was inseparable from Full Force, the Brooklyn production collective who discovered a teenage Lisa Velez and built the Cult Jam sound from the ground up. Their 1985 debut single “I Wonder If I Take You Home” was a sensation—a Latin freestyle track driven by drum machines, layered synths, and Lisa’s streetwise vocal swagger. It hit #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and cracked the pop Top 40, putting freestyle on the national radar.

The debut album, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force (1985), delivered more club staples: “Can You Feel the Beat” and the emotional ballad “All Cried Out,” a duet with Full Force member Paul Anthony that reached #8 on the Hot 100.

But it was 1987’s Spanish Fly that made them superstars. “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” both topped the Billboard Hot 100—back-to-back #1 hits that proved freestyle could dominate pop radio without losing its dancefloor DNA.

The group continued with Straight to the Sky (1989), featuring “Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star,” and Straight Outta Hell’s Kitchen (1991), which spawned the club banger “Let the Beat Hit ‘Em”—a track that became a staple of early 90s hip-hop and R&B radio.

After the group disbanded, Lisa Lisa pursued solo work and remained active on the touring circuit. Her voice, attitude, and style left an indelible mark on freestyle and urban pop, influencing generations of artists who followed.