As the lead singer of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Lisa Lisa delivered era-defining tracks like I Wonder If I Take You Home, Can You Feel the Beat, and All Cried Out. She was one of the first Puerto Rican pop stars to break into the American mainstream. Before freestyle even had a name, Lisa Lisa gave it a voice.
When our interview began over Zoom, Lisa Lisa sat in front of a wall of framed records. Before we started recording, I asked her to finish my sentence.
“Can you feel the beat within my...” I started, my bad voice trailing off.
“Can you see the love straight through the dark,” she sang without hesitation, smiling.
She’s still got it. Still touring. Still performing. And earlier this year, she debuted her Lifetime biopic taking viewers to the very beginning.
Lisa Lisa was the youngest of ten, raised in Hell’s Kitchen by a single mother.
“My mom played guitar, my dad played timbales. We were raised on the Fania All-Stars, Willie Colón, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, Motown. If we were doing homework, there was music. If we were cleaning or cooking, there was music. That’s just how it was.”
As a kid, she dreamed of making it big.
“I used to sneak out and hang around rehearsal studios.”
That persistence led to a chance audition when she was just a teenager.
“I recorded Take You Home and Can You Feel the Beat in one night. They gave me the lyrics, played the track, and said, ‘Let’s go.’ We did it. That was it.”
A few days later, she heard herself on the radio while working at Benetton.
“My friend called and said, ‘Girl, turn on the radio.’ I did. They were playing my song. I started jumping up and down and almost got fired.”
In that moment, her life changed.
“It was everything I dreamed of. And it still is.”
Back then, freestyle music wasn’t yet labeled or defined. For Lisa, it was simply the sound of the streets.
“It was what the b-boys were dancing to in New York. The linoleum floors, shell-top Adidas, Kangol hats, breakdancing.”
But behind the music industry’s bright lights was a different reality.
“It was a boys’ club. My band, the producers, the record label... it was all guys. I didn’t feel embraced. I do now, but back then it was always a fight. I just wanted a little freedom to do things my way.”
Touring became her classroom. She shared stages with Smokey Robinson, New Edition, and Milli Vanilli, recalling one wild moment when the group’s equipment malfunctioned on stage.
“The machinery broke, and the vocals started looping. They freaked out and started fighting backstage. Kicking their manager. I was just sitting there like, where am I right now?”
A treasured memory? When New Kids on the Block opened for her.
“Donnie Wahlberg is the sweetest. Back then they were called Nanook. I remember seeing them perform and thinking, wow, these boys are good.”
Tour life wasn’t glamorous, but it was unforgettable.
“The back of the bus was my bedroom. Tony and I would go back there, close the door, play Jackson 5 cassettes, and sing and dance.”
All the while, Lisa was keeping a secret that no one in the audience could see.
“I had cancer. I was 20. Ductal carcinoma. And I didn’t tell anyone.”
She was on the road with a chemo pack strapped to her body. Little did she know covering it up would become a fashion statement.
“I had to hide it. I was afraid it would all be taken away if anyone knew. So I wore tutus and big jackets. There was this big silver-fringe belt I used to wear to cover the pack. A lot of my outfits came from thrift stores. I didn’t think of it as fashion, I just wanted to feel comfortable and hide the chemo packs."
She didn’t even tell her mother until nearly 15 years before her passing.
“She was mad and sad and proud all at once. She said, ‘You could’ve told me. I would’ve helped you.’ But I didn’t want to put more on her. She had a lot on her plate.”
Lisa says performing saved her, and it still does.
“Being on stage helped me survive. It gave me purpose. I kept picturing my mom smiling through her struggles. If she could do it, so could I.”
Earlier this year, Lisa's Lifetime biopic debuted thanks to persistent DMs from producer Twinkie Byrd.
“She messaged me for five years. Her dad was actually my teacher in high school.”
In the film, Lisa plays her own mother.
“It was surreal to relive it through her eyes. That opening scene with my father... that was real. He was abusive. I didn’t meet him until I was 13. But my mom... she fought.”
And fighting clearly ran in the blood. Fast forward all these years, Lisa has never stopped touring.
"I’ve been performing nearly every weekend for forty years.”
She has two sons, both grown now.
“I have two men. They didn’t tour with me as babies. My sister Kayla helped me raise them. She’s my best friend. But now, they'll often come on tour with me.”
And just like her upbringing, music is always blaring at home with Lisa.
"Even my oldest is self-taught on guitar, cello, and violin. He loves music. He gets it.”
And when she’s not performing, she finds joy in the simplest things.
“I work out. And I do laundry. I love folding. It’s like therapy. I know that sounds crazy, but it calms me.”
She still acts, too.
“I always wanted to be on Law & Order. Growing up in New York, you’d see the sets and think, I want to be on that. And I did it. I’ve done Off-Broadway, indie films... now we’re producing a tour documentary and the BTS from the biopic.”
Her one regret? Turning down a role in Coming to America.
“At the time, I was young, married, Latina, and proud. So I said no. Stupid, I know.”
Her dream collaboration today?
“Bad Bunny. I’m putting it out there. Help me with that.”
Lisa Lisa still takes the stage like it’s the only place she’s ever belonged. The fans know every word... not just the originals, but their kids do, too. What started in the streets of New York is now echoing through generations.
“I’ve never stopped loving this. I’m still here.”
And yes, we can still feel the beat.
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