Newcleus

Newcleus etched an enduring electro landmark with "Jam on It," a Top Ten R&B hit later enshrined on hundreds of hip-hop mixtapes and regularly spun even in techno DJ sets. The collective originated in 1977 as the Brooklyn DJ crew Jam-On Productions, whose teenage members still attending high school included Ben "Cozmo D" Cenac, his cousin Monique Angevin, and her brother Pete. Numerous MCs and DJs rotated through the lineup while the group performed at block parties across the borough, yet by 1979 the focus narrowed to Cenac, his future wife Yvette "Lady E" Cook, Monique Angevin, and her future husband Bob "Chilly B" Crafton, at which point they adopted the name Newcleus to mark the union of their families.

Cenac had meanwhile begun gathering electronic recording equipment, allowing the quartet to capture a demo tape; with leftover time at the end they laid down a block-party favorite whose vocals they accelerated to evoke the Chipmunks. Producer Joe Webb responded more strongly to this track than to the other material, releasing it in 1983 on Mayhew Records as the debut single "Jam-On Revenge." Street acclaim was immediate, earning the unofficial nickname "the Wikki-Wikki song"; a later reissue on Sunnyview retitled it "Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)."

The single reached the Billboard R&B Top 40 in 1983, and its successor "Jam on It" climbed to the R&B Top Ten while crossing over to the Hot 100 at a peak of number 56. "Computer Age (Push the Button)" arrived with more polished rapping and stronger synthesizer textures, also landing in the R&B Top 40. The debut album Jam on Revenge proved underwhelming, and the 1984 follow-up Space Is the Place performed still more poorly. Absent another single of comparable impact and confronted by Run-D.M.C.'s organic, rock-influenced approach to rap, Newcleus soon slipped from view, though sporadic recordings and performances continued and compilations such as Destination: Earth - The Definitive Newcleus Recordings sustained circulation of their work. Chilly B died of a stroke in 2010.