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Newcleus was an American electro and old school hip hop group that gained popularity in the early 1980s. The group is primarily known for its 12-inch single "Jam-On's Revenge" (re-released as "Jam on Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)" (1983)) and "Jam on It" (1984).

The group was based in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Their appearance overlapped with the formative years of hip-hop DJing in the Bronx.

The sequencer line from its 1984 song "Automan" was adapted by euro-dance project Snap! on the group’s 1992 single "Rhythm is a Dancer," which featured lyrics written and performed by American singer and songwriter Thea Austin as well as hip hop rhymes by American rapper Turbo B, and became a major international hit.

History

Formation

A precursor to the group, known as Jam-On Productions, was formed in 1977 in Brooklyn, New York City, and included teenagers Ben "Cozmo D" Cenac and his cousins Monique and Pierre "Pete" Angevin. The group's popularity grew as it played block parties in Brooklyn. By 1979, the primary group's members were Cenac, Yvette "Lady E" Cook (who would later marry Cozmo D), Monique Angevin, and Bob "Chilly B" Crafton (who would later marry Angevin. The coming together of families inspired the name change to Newcleus.

Success

Newcleus recorded "Jam-On Revenge," a block-party favorite featuring vocals that were sped up. The track impressed record producer Joe Webb, and it became the group's first single in 1983 on Mayhew Records. Retitled as "Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)", the track reached the top 40 on the U.S. R&B chart. The group eventually signed with Sunnyview Records, which was later acquired by Rhino Records in the 1990s.

The follow-up, "Jam on It," did well on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 56. Both singles began as an anti-hip hop joke, according to founding member DJ and producer Ben Cenac.

At the time (1981) we were going by the name Positive Messenger and were making music that had a purpose, either messages of love or faith or talking about the conditions of the world. However, we were still doing lots of Hip-Hop jams with our DJ crew Jam-On Productions. So, one of our DJs, Salvador Smooth, kept nagging me to do a rap song. Having come out of Hip-Hop street battles in Brooklyn in the ’70s, I didn't really think much of the Rap records that were playing on the radio, so I figured as a joke I would make a parody jam ... I threw in an idea from an that actually had happened in the ’70s, when a DJ who we had just blown out in a battle said to me "Yeah, you guys are bad, but you can't do this… wikki wikki wikki wikki," meaning how we didn't scratch on the turntables.

I used to play "Jam-On's Revenge" at our parties and it would fill the dance floor, so even though I had never planned to release it, when I was shopping Positive Messenger for a deal I put it on the tape just to fill out space at the end. Turned out it ended up being the track that drove everybody crazy! So, we went with it and changed our names to Newcleus."

A third release, "Computer Age (Push the Button)" reached the R&B top 40. Newcleus released two albums in the mid-1980s, Jam on Revenge and Space Is the Place, although neither sold well. The Cenacs and the Craftons continued to record until 1989.

Later years

The group released several albums during the following years, but these were the creations of producers putting out material under the Newcleus name. Some of these featured classic Newcleus tracks touted as live versions (but simply added crowd noise atop the original tracks).

In 2005, Cozmo D released Destination Earth: The Definitive Newcleus Recordings, a collection of hip-hop tracks from the group's entire catalog. This collection superseded the Rhino/Atlantic Records compilation Jam on This! The Best of Newcleus. The majority of the songs on this release were restored and remastered from the original master tapes. The definitive versions of the songs "Destination Earth" and "Why" taken from this CD were also released on 12-inch vinyl on the German record label Dominance Electricity. Together with remixes by Sbassship and Reeno, the cover illustrations are by Bill Wray (known for his work on the 1990s cult TV cartoon The Ren & Stimpy Show).

Although the Newcleus albums Jam on Revenge and Space Is the Place were remastered and reissued on CD, the song "Where's the Beat" from Jam on Revenge was removed from the track listing because Sunnyview insisted on including the track on the original album, even though it was not recorded nor produced by the group. These albums were previously available in the United States only on vinyl and audio cassette. However, both albums' original track listing and cover art were also available on CD, manufactured and distributed by Bellaphon Germany, under license from Sunnyview Records, in 1988.

Chilly B died at age 47 of a stroke on February 23, 2010.

Media appearances

"Jam on It" is heard in a Halloween party sequence in Blind, the first of non-fiction filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's four films released in 1986 about the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. It was also featured in the 1998 film The Wedding Singer.

Newcleus' songs have been used in several video games. "Computer Age" appears in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, and "Jam on It" appears in both Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 and DJ Hero 2, the latter featuring a newly re-recorded version of the song.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

• 1993: The Next Generation (Home Base/Hot Productions/Unidisc Records)
• 1997: Jam on This! — The Best of Newcleus (Rhino/Atlantic)
• 1997: Jam for the 90's (Home Base Records)
• 2004: Destination: Earth — The Definitive Newcleus Recordings (Jam-On Productions)
• 2006: Newcleus Classic Double Pack (Deeplay Soultec)

Singles

Remixes

• 2006: "Destination Earth" (Definitive version) — remixes by Sbassship and Reeno; released on Dominance Electricity Records, Germany
• 2018: "Teknology – The Third Millennium Remixes" (Jam-On Recordings)

References

1. Kenner, Rob (March 3, 2010). "Robert Crafton III, Bassist and Rapper, Dies at 47". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
2. Play, Long (November 9, 2015). "The Birth and Infancy of Hip Hop". Journeymen Rappers. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
3. Sorcinelli, Gino (December 7, 2016). "Snap!'s "Rhythm is a Dancer" Sampled the Synth in Newcleus' "Auto Man"".
4. ^ Bush, John. "Newcleus Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
5. ^ "Newcleus Charts & Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
6. Pressing, Test. "Interview / Ben Cenac / Newcleus / Dream 2 Science / Push Pull". Test Pressing. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
7. Breihan, Tom (February 26, 2010). "Chilly B of Newcleus R.I.P." Pitchfork. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 393. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. "NEWCLEUS songs and albums - full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2024.

External links

• Jam-On Productions
• Official Jam-On Forums
• Official Jam-On the Groove Podcast Downloads
• Complete discography
• Newcleus discography at MusicBrainz

• American hip-hop groups
• American boogie musicians
• American electro musicians
• Musical groups from Brooklyn
• Rhino Entertainment artists