Newcleus

by John BushAlthough they recorded only two albums, Newcleus contributed one true electro classic in Jam on Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song), which has been immortalized on hundreds of hip-hop mixtapes and often included in even techno DJs sets. The origins of Newcleus lay in a 1977 Brooklyn DJ collective known as Jam-On Productions, including Ben Cozmo D Cenac, his cousin Monique Angevin, and her brother Pete (all teenagers and still in high school). Many members — MCs as well as DJs — came and went as the group played block parties all over the borough, and by 1979, the group centered around Cenac, his future wife Yvette Lady E Cook, Monique Angevin, and her future husband, Bob Chilly B Crafton. (The foursome named their group Newcleus as a result of the coming together of their families.)By this time, Cenac had begun to accumulate a collection of electronic recording equipment, and the quartet recorded a demo tape of material. With several minutes left at the end of the tape, Newcleus recorded a favorite from their block parties, with each members vocals sped up to resemble the Chipmunks. The track, Jam-Ons Revenge, impressed producer Joe Webb more than the other Newcleus material, and it became the groups first single, released in 1983 on Mayhew Records. A huge street success, the track became known unofficially as the Wikki-Wikki song (after the refrain); when it was re-released later that year on Sunnyview Records, it had become Jam on Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song).The single hit Top 40 on the R&B charts in 1983, and its follow-up, Jam on It, did well on even the pop charts. Computer Age (Push the Button) was a more mature single, with accomplished rapping and better synthesizer effects, and it also hit the R&B Top 40. The first Newcleus LP, Jam on Revenge, was a bit of a disappointment, and their second album, Space Is the Place, did even more poorly upon release in 1984. Without a single as noteworthy as Jam on Revenge or Computer Age, and with the advent of Run-D.M.C.s organic, rock-influenced approach to rap music, Newcleus faded quickly. Though the Cenacs and the Craftons continued to record sporadically until 1989, they didnt hit the R&B charts after 1986.