As leader of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Lisa Velez was an integral shaper of the Latin freestyle scene from its development in the clubs and streets of New York City to widespread popularity.

The singer/actress of Puerto Rican descent topped the R&B and dance charts on numerous occasions, while also crossing over to log number ones all across America with “Head To Toe” and “Lost In Emotion,” arguably paving the way for Selena and Jennifer Lopez to do the same.

After spreading her solo wings, appearing in the Broadway musical “West Side Story,” spending two seasons with Nickelodeon’s “Taina” and guesting on “Law & Order,” Lisa Lisa signed to Uncle Snoops Army where she’s preparing fresh tracks and eying additional creative prospects.

Another wheel in motion that prompted this friendly conversation with Chicago Concert Reviews was a headlining performance at veteran DJ Julian Jumpin Perez’s “House Party At The Drive In Divas Edition,” live from the parking lot of Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday, May 1, plus a Lisa Lisa encore that comes to the Bud Light Seltzer Stage of Northalsted Market Days on Friday, August 6.

How is your concert calendar shaping up?

Lisa Lisa: Our first show going back is your show, then we go from there. But other than that, we haven’t done any in-person concerts since the pandemic started. I’ve been doing a lot of virtual stuff, but it’s never the same as being in front of an audience.

What will you be bringing to the bill?

Lisa Lisa: I’m bringing it all and I’m bringing it hard! Trust and believe you’re gonna get all the classics, and you’re gonna feel like you’re back in the ‘80s with me. You’re gonna get it!

How would you describe Lisa Lisa solo compared to your years in front of Cult Jam?

Lisa Lisa: It’s all still fantastic for me. I appreciate the fact that we still have an audience that’s been following since the get go. I still, to this day, love what I do, so getting on stage, being with Cult Jam or just myself and my band, I’m great.

What is your relationship like with a few of the others on the bill, mainly Julian Jumpin Perez, Shannon and Sweet Sensation?

Lisa Lisa: They’re all wonderful people. I’ve known them forever, just running into them in the business, and hanging out, and loving them dearly, cause to me, music is music. I don’t care where it comes from and what genre of music you do. If I know you, I know you. It’s all about a family. They’re all great people.

In what ways do freestyle and Chicago house music intersect and where might they differ?

Lisa Lisa: Oh, I don’t know really. That’s a pretty hard question. To me, music is all a universal language. It’s all about a feeling. Everything to me is about the ‘80s. Music in the ‘80s was music. It was all original. It was all about live bands for me. If people feel it, if they still remember it and they follow it, that is all that matters. To me, it’s all the same.

Do any shows from back then or recently in the Windy City stand out for you?

Lisa Lisa: We have a great following out there, especially the Latinos. I can’t recall one specific show, but recently I did a freestyle show out there. I think it was the summer prior to the pandemic. It was an outdoor gig and it was just wonderful. The audience was fabulous. It was raining in the beginning and then it stopped, but people were out there and that’s what I loved. Nothing will stop them from coming to see a great show.

Can you trace being at the forefront of freestyle to the mainstream?

Lisa Lisa: When I started, I was doing pop/hip-hop. “I Wonder If I Take You Home” was one of the songs that the freestyle dancers, the breakers, were playing in the clubs or in the streets with their linoleum floors that they carried…I think that’s why they gave it the name “freestyle.” Just being in the clubs back then was great. The kids from the streets that related so much to the music were there, and as you go on, we started getting this huge freestyle explosion, [which is] how they put it today.

I was doing shows with people like Stevie Wonder. I opened up for Earth, Wind & Fire, Teena Marie and Patti LaBelle…We were doing these huge freestyle concerts and you got a great audience. It was so much fun to be in front of thousands of people and they knew every lyric… I like the fact that I can be in Japan, they don’t know a word of English, and they’ll recite every lyric while I’m doing a song. That’s crazy they get it. It’s because of the fans that I’m able to continue to do what I do and I love it so much.

What did working with Full Force bring to the equation at the beginning?

Lisa Lisa: They were the ones who found me. They were my management and production company and they were the ones who were involved in all of the hits [along with James Brown, LaToya Jackson, and later, Backstreet Boys, Rihanna and Black Eyed Peas]. They wrote and produced all the hits for Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and we’re still together now. We’re still family. They got the best out of me, I gotta tell you, they got the best vocals. When you were in the studio recording, it was nothing but fun. It was all about a conversation and that’s how we got all the music together.

Give us a rundown on a few of the huge hits you had throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Lisa Lisa: The very first song that we put out was “I Wonder If I Take You Home.” That crossed over and it was number one. Then we came out with “Can You Feel The Beat” and then we had “Head To Toe,” “Lost And Emotion,” and then, of course, we had “All Cried Out.” Then “Little Jackie Wants To Be A Star,” “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em,” I mean, I can go on. There’s so many [laughs].

“Head To Toe” and “Lost In Emotion” also made it to the very top of all the charts.

Lisa Lisa: I know, that’s kind of crazy right? Again, I’m humbled and honored. They were actually across the board number one for 13 weeks straight on the Billboard charts. It was great, great, great! I remember being called at five o’clock in the morning when we were on a tour and we had maybe two weeks to finish that second album, [“Spanish Fly”]. Once I got to the city and jumped off the tour bus, Full Force was calling me singing these choruses over the phone. “We’ve gotta record it,” and I’m like, “oh man, I’m tired!” But they came to me with those vocals and I had to run straight to that room. We had portable recording materials with us and I went in there and did those songs. To think that something I was not into in the very beginning blew up was nuts and I thank God for that.

What do you remember about “Go For Yours” being part of “Caddyshack II” and all of the other major soundtracks that came after?

Lisa Lisa: Wow, that was an honor, number one, that they chose us to do these songs and fun cause I got to meet all the people, the actors that were in the movies that we did [which also include “Gladiator,” “Kiss Of Death” and “The Meyerowitz Stories,” plus the TV shows “Everybody Hates Chris” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race”]. I got to work with really good producers on those tracks. It was just a whole lot of fun.

Has anybody suggested it be used as a throwback theme to go get your vaccine?

Lisas Lisa: [Laughs] Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea! You just suggested that, so I’m gonna take it in hand and see what we can do. I’m almost fully vaccinated, so let’s see!

You also collaborated with C+C Music Factory on “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em.” What role did they play in your evolution?

Lisa Lisa: I got a number one song with Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam! I remember when we were doing that album, I was telling Full Force, “I think we should have another production company come in because I wanna work with some other people.” And they were like “well, let’s hear what they got.” We chose C+C Music Factory [“Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”] and they came with “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em” right out the box. It was fun and it was exciting for me cause I was sort of afraid to start working with other people [before], but that helped me a lot and it took us right over that hump. It was the best.

That track came from the “Straight Outta Hell’s Kitchen” album, named after your neighborhood in New York City. What was it like growing up there?

Lisa Lisa: Yeah, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown Manhattan, two blocks from Times Square, that’s where I was born and raised. I think that album had the “oomph” and the feel. It was great. Hell’s Kitchen was based, back in the day, on the Irish Mafia. It was all Irish and Latinos that lived in that neighborhood. Growing up in that public, [there were] lots of gangs and craziness. It made me who I am today and I learned from everybody else’s mistakes. “Straight Outta Hell’s Kitchen,” that’s where Lisa’s from!

How did you stay focused on your musical goals, despite the distractions and dangers?

Lisa Lisa: I had a very strong mother, rest her soul. She raised ten kids on her own. I’m the youngest of ten. I watched what my brothers and sisters were going through, and my neighborhood. I have an oldest brother, who did three tours in the Vietnam War, and he came back from all of that addicted. I was able to watch that, learn and say, “I don’t want that. I want music” because that’s what made me feel good. My mom was in a band herself in Puerto Rico with my father. They would go around and knock on people’s doors, playing and singing for them. They got paid with food. Just learning all of that with my family made me who I am today.

To what extent do you feel you may have paved the way for Selena and J.Lo?

Lisa Lisa: Oh, not really [laughs]. I love Selena and Jennifer Lopez. They’re wonderful, wonderful people. I got to meet Selena before her passing and her soul was just so beautiful. Jennifer Lopez is a great, great artist and business woman. I look up to her because she’s a Latina who’s killing it out there in the business. If I had anything to do with it, I just thank everybody for thinking that. Whatever I did I’ll continue to do. I don’t know.

Where does new music, if any, fit into the forecast?

Lisa Lisa: I’ve gotta tell you, I’m now signed to Snoop Dogg’s Army. Snoop Dogg is my management company, yeahhhh! We’re in the process of finishing this album that I want to put out, hopefully, if not by the end of this year, early next. I hope everybody enjoys it. It’s about me continuing on my love of music and everything that I have to say through my music. I also have a boot line coming out, so we’ve got a lot of stuff!

What’s the flavor of the sound going to be?

Lisa Lisa: I’m gonna hit back to the originality of where I started, which is hip-hop/pop/club music and update that flavor with some great collabos, of course Snoop and a lot of other artists that I love dearly still to this day. We’re taking it back to basics. We’re making it live.

You mentioned Snoop, but there’s also another rap and hip-hop game-changer that championed your music. Can you reflect on knowing DMX and his passing?

Lisa Lisa: I’m going to get emotional. He was a wonderful individual who had many demons, but fought through them. I was able to meet him and get to know him. He just loved music and loved people. Whatever he was going through, he was able to help others, pray for others and give them more music. He was in the process of finishing an album now, with so many great artists, Snoop being one of them. [He was a] great individual and it’s horrible loss to the music industry. He set the ways for that rough, rugged [rap], not giving a damn about how he put in out there, but put it out real. I pray for his fans, and his family, and hope that people really now listen to what he was saying. I loved him dearly, God bless his soul.

On a brighter note, what’s going on with acting?

Lisa Lisa: We’re in the process of a writing a script on my life story. I have a lot of interest from a lot of networks, but I don’t want to jinx it by naming them [laughs]. I was told by a few people in the industry that I should make it a Broadway show, being that I’m from Hell’s Kitchen and Broadway is a part of that. I’m very interested in making it huge and praying to God that fans love it and come to see it whenever it’s put out.

Has Broadway and TV fulfilled anything artistically that doesn’t come from music?

Lisa Lisa: Nothing will fulfill me like music, but I’ve been doing a lot of acting. Prior to that, I did a lot of TV shows, one of which was “Law And Order.” I did the 300th episode. I’ve done a lot of indie films and we’re actually finishing one that will be released in the middle of next year, if not the end. I get a lot of fulfillment from my acting as well. I majored in musical theater when I was in school, so hey, I gotta put that to use [laughs].

Is there anything you wish people knew about you that isn’t as widespread?

Lisa Lisa: I hope that they know, but the only thing I want my fans to get from me is that I really and truly love what I do, and how I speak is through my music. Just know that everything I sing, all the songs that we put out, I’m telling you a story about what I’ve been through, so that’s what I want the audience to get from me.

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Lisa Lisa performs as part of “Julian’s House Party At The Drive In Diva Edition” at SeekGeek Stadium on May 1 and at Northalsted Market Days on Aug. 6. For additional details, visit TheRealLisaLisa.com, JulianJumpinPerez.com, SeatGeekStadium.com and Northalsted.com/MarketDays/.