Lisa Lisa | 80s Music Icon On Pioneering Latin Freestyle, Surviving Cancer & Her Era-Defining Hits

Hey, hey, this is Lisa Lisa and you are watching Sean Stockman on On That Note. Check it out. Welcome everybody to another episode of On That Note. As you know, this is the place where we speak a language we all understand. And that is music. All right, guys. My guest today is Reina Puerto Ricania de Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, the way of our York. Yes. So. Did I do OK? You did that. OK, cool. That will now don a new moniker as the first lady. All right. I'm going to explain why. She is the first lady of freestyle. She is one of the first Latina artists to achieve major crossover success on American pop radio. She's the first Latina artist to reach number one pop and R&B simultaneously. She's the first Puerto Rican artist to achieve this musical success with almost a decade of top 100 hits through the through with the eighties. She's the first to take a genre of music that was born in the streets in the clubs of New York and Miami and bring it to a global notoriety. She is a trailblazer for Latina women in pop and R&B, an advocate for women's empowerment and Latin representation in music, an originator influencing artists like Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Stefan and Allie Brook, a vocalist who brought authentic emotion and New York street style edge to the 1980s pop landscape. And oh, by the way, she sold over 20 million. Damn. Let that sink in. It's a lot of people that don't do that. She did that. You know, we get flowers here. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Lisa Vales, a.k.a. Lisa Lisa. My pleasure to start. We got to introduce. She's got her crew here today. Yes, we got to introduce the first time we've given somebody else a hot mic. Yes. So this is going to go really, really well. A lot of firsts. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ladies, introduce yourselves. Introduce yourself and who you are. Yes. Just say it. Everybody knows. Yes. I am Sherry Dennis and I am like a little sister. You are my little sister. I am the sister of the sister. So I'm like everyone's little sister. Yes. And I sing backgrounds for Lisa. I'm also the truth teller. Yes, she is. Absolutely. We got the truth teller and the enforcer. Whoo. Sorry, Minaj on the mic here. Minaj is the only. Yes. SMD. SMD. You don't know what that means. You don't know what it means. And I'm Lisa's long time friend, colleague, business partner, manager, background vocalist, musical director. And yeah, just keeping it together. Yes. What's up? My girl. That's what's up. Random voices other than mine today. It's that's it. Amazing women. We got Brian plus two. Brian plus two. I got my plus two today. Yes. Yes. They did it. Yes. Thank you so very much. It is an honor. But taking the time. I know you're running around like a crazy woman doing your thing. And that's a wonderful thing to be busy and booked is is is an awesome, awesome. I will never complain. I love love love doing this. I like I got to be on the move doing things. Yeah. It'll drive me crazy if I do. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, congratulations on just your overall success, but even currently just you being just as in demand and just as relevant as you were way, way back when you started. So congratulations. Thank you. Thank you so much. And for holding real music down like you're an example or rather proof positive that people still crave just good music, music that feels good, that sounds good and that brings a certain type of energy that. But most currently is missing a little bit. Yeah, I missed that. I miss that so much the time of the live band and real music originality. Yeah, I miss that a lot. And I'm so happy to be able to continue it on. Yeah. Yeah, we need you in these streets. Thank you because the industry's nuts. And celebratory year. Happy 40th. Oh, yeah. 40 years. Wow. Damn. How does it feel? Does it feel like just yesterday or? It's amazing. I'm still in awe that we have a great following. 40 years. I feel like I was doing this the other day, you know, like I just started. And yeah, for the thank you for the grace of God. And he keeps us going. And it's the fans that keep us here. 100%. Yeah. 100%. Well, yes. And you have plenty of them. So let's let's get right into it. Right. So we're going to go. I like to do a little segment called we're going to go back. Way back back in the time. There you go. All right. And growing up in Hell's Kitchen in the late 70s and early 80s, give us a a landscape like of what was played as you were growing up. Like, what did you listen to? What what what inspired you to say, you know what? I want to sing to who are the voices that inspired you to be Lisa, Lisa. The voices that were playing in my background that I was raised on by my beautiful mother, Restor Soul, was anything Motown and Salsa, of course. Yeah, of course. I grew up on Fania All-Star, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Jimmy Sabote, Joe Cuba, Willie Conak, I could go on. Yeah. You know, but anything Motown, my mother was a fanatic with Motown. Really? Yes. And she, Stevie Wonder, was the epitome of anything and everything music for her. My mom and my dad were when they were in Puerto Rico, they were in a band. My mom sang, my father played guitar and timbalé. And it was always about music. I mean, that's how they, you know, put food on the table. They used to be in a barranda. And that's a band that you normally that band goes around for the Christmas season. But all year round, my parents would be in that band and they would knock on people's door and sing for you and you would pay them in food. Right. You know, and they would bring that food back to home. Wow. And this was, oh my God, my mom was born in 1929. Yeah. That's amazing. That's amazing. Now you have ten. Sib, you're a son of us. There's ten of you guys. Ten of us. I'm the youngest. Like you're the youngest. Yes. You're the biggest. Does anybody else sing in the family? My oldest sister, Maria, she used to sing for the choir. OK. At Carnegie Hall. She's an opera singer. Wow. But now she is the principal for the School of the Gifted in Manhattan. That's beautiful. Yeah. All the sisters sing. I was raised in the church choir. OK. We were called La Sija de Maria, Mary's daughters. And my mom was the director of choir. Yeah. And I remember she gave me my first solo. I think I was five or six years old. And she allowed me to pick the song I wanted to sing. And I sang the Ave Maria. Yeah. And. Yes. So mean. Yes. Yes. The requirement back in the 80s and 90s to be raised in a church to sing. It almost feels like everybody grew up in a church. Yeah. You know, it's funny. Like I wasn't the traditional church kid. Like I didn't have a Baptist background or anything like that. And people barely knew I could sing in the church. But yeah, there are. It's definitely the roots of a lot of us. A lot of. Johnny Gale. You know, I think the time that I was raised in in Manhattan and Hell's Kitchen, it was all about, you know, religion. And yeah. You know, I would be in church with my mom three days a week. Consistent. Yeah. You know, and that's what she did. Now, when did you feel when did you find your voice in a sense of when you looked in the mirror and you realized that you had something different? Like that you had a voice? Like, when did you feel that in confidence? Like, you know, like I can sing like this is this is something I can do and that I want to do. The day that I sang La Ave Maria for my mom. That was it. I remember it was that Sunday. And we were doing the noon mass and all of my mother's friends were sitting in the front pews and for me to see my mom in tears. I said, yeah, I want to do this. Yeah, I want to do this. I think that's when I found my calling because I loved it. I still love it. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's you could tell. And again, that's why when you know that you're cut from a different type of cloth when it's the passion that makes people great. It's not necessarily, you know, having just the skill set. I think I saw a quote from Miles Davis that said. When when it comes to playing an instrument, 20 percent of playing an instrument is getting is hitting the note. And he says 80 percent is the motherfucker that's playing a note with the. Thank you. See. Yeah. You know, because anybody can sing a high C. Yeah, but not everybody can make you feel the high C. Yeah, you got to feel you got to feel it. Like, and that's the difference. Like there are singers out there and there are singers. There are ones that that make you feel something different. Yes, sir. You know, and again, you've always had that. Like one of the most, I guess you could say, the the biggest thing about your debut and I'm going to be bouncing back and forth is when we heard your song for the first time on the radio. Everybody was like, yo, this is amazing. Oh, thank you. Like, like this song is fucking hot. Like, you know what I mean? Like, baby, I know you're wondering. Come on. Come on. Like, like your whole boy, like it was so different. And and it just it demanded attention because no one sounded like you. No one sounds like you. But definitely back then, nobody sounded like you. You remember where you were when it first premiered your single? Yeah, I was work when it first played in New York on the radio. What station at the time? I think it was Z 100. Z 100. Yeah, it was Z 100 that first played it. And I was standing behind the register at Benetton folding sweaters. As your girl friend called me and she said, girl, put the radio on. And I turned the radio on and started. I was freaking out running back and forth in the store. The manager came out and she was like, what the hell are you doing? I said, that's me. Right. And she laughed at me. Get back to work. Get back to work for real. Fold those sweaters. I know that's right. Now, did your family support you with the pursuit of singing or were there some backlash or like in the movie, go get yourself a job and stop pipe drink? It was like that. Was it? It was definitely my mother was the first one to say, Lisa, if this is what you want to do, go ahead and do it. You know, but my brothers and sisters will come to her and say, don't let her. And I remember when, you know, the signing of the contract. Yeah. I had my brother Raymond there. I remember he was in his fatigues and standing there being tough. And, you know, my mother's like, I don't know what this is. My brother looked at it and he said, again, do you want her to do this? Yeah. And I said, I want to do it. And they said, OK. And I signed the industry. And I've said this again in pods that like the industry is probably one of the only few businesses in the world where you're just thrown in it. There's no school for it. There's no college. Well, there is probably now, you know, college courses or whatever. But now, yeah, back then there was nothing. There was nothing. Our school was being on the road and on the stage. That's it. That was our school. And unfortunately, sometimes getting screwed because because we all have those stories. We do. Of bad contracts and just learning on the fly and praying for the best. Yeah. All day, every day. Listen, it's like school. You're given the lesson and then you take a test in the industry. You're given the test and you learn the lesson. Yeah, I sure did. I let me I would not change anything that I've gone through in my life. Me, even anything, because it made me who I am today. That's exactly. You know, I got the wisdom from learning, watching and experiencing it all. I'm good. No one can teach you, tell you or have to tell you that fire is hot. Yep. You already put your hand in it. You already know, you know it for yourself. Exactly. And at this point in our careers, all we can do is really just try and. Help others. Prevent them from going through what we went through. Absolutely. That's all we can do. Spread the wisdom. That's it. That's it. Now, OK, now, when I wonder if I take you home, which was your first hit out the box? Did you know it would change things? Like as far as the game itself, or did you feel like it was just another club record? Like, did you? I knew nothing. Truth be told, I knew nothing. I remember walking into that studio after they said, OK, when I went to the audition and got the part a week later, I was in the studio. I walked into the studio and I was like, wow, wow, I knew nothing, you know, and to see all those buttons and walk into that booth and see the mic. And I was like, yeah, this is home for me. Yeah, I knew nothing. Wow. All I wanted to do was sing. Yeah. And to hear it and to have the right people at the time get the best of me. I was happy. So they put that song on a compilation album and shipped it overseas. Yeah. And it didn't come back to the States for another year, maybe more. I had no idea what it was going to do at all. And yet it blew up overseas, too. I know. Thank you, God. Again, I just thinking it might sound naive, but I believe that intention shines through, no matter what. Like, a lot of people can make or try to control certain people's destinies and things that nature. But, you know, if it's for you, if God put it for you, then it's for you. Right, place after right. Yeah. No one can change that trajectory. I agree. No matter how many contracts they have, you wonder, no matter how, you know, lock down the commitment is and all this other stuff. There's always going to be some sort of way. If your intentions are good. Absolutely. And I think that's what made you or why you are a survivor. Because just like you said, you just wanted to sing. And that supersedes everything. Because one thing that people or kids, I don't think, are not taught is that that is what prolongs careers. Yes. Contracts end. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? At the end of the day, you know, it has a time limit. But your love and your ability to want to sing is everything. And I still have that same feeling for every show seconds before I'm going to get on that stage. I'm so grateful. I'm so thankful. I'm still scared as hell. Yeah. I feel like I'm a he's the most scared. I'm scared because you're always scared. What's the most scared you've always you've ever been? Oh, you are never going to let me live that down. I'm going to kick out. She forgot the word. So we were she wasn't one of hers. It was it was a point assist. The song. It was he was. Yeah. He saw I was doing a benefit and she was doing a last minute and I got the Broadway kids. And you know, she only needs to have said, Lisa, was this a good idea? Right? Right. I don't know. It's OK. And let me see the words. Let me see the words. This went on for like 48 hours. I was like, Lisa, you know the song. We went to the rehearsal. She knew the song. She sang the song. Let me see the words. Let me see the words. I was so nervous. She gets on the stage. And fuck. Yeah. What? No, I'm standing there with the words in my hand. Like you cards. Oh, no, I have the lyrics. She's in my hand and I see her forget the words and she looks back at me and I'm like. Where did you forget it? And the hook or the verse? OK, the everything. I was so nervous. I was so. But she sounded the scariest I was. She said. The melody or something. I just threw words in. So she had to add live. I did the hook and she's saying that. And I kept repeating. There you go. I kept repeating. So you know, my fingers. And I said the audience. You know, come sing it with me. Because I forgot the. I said it. I don't care. She meant for me. Right. He's so shy. Yeah, now you know it. She's. But what's the most nervous you've ever been in your 40 year? Amazing run. Like that moment, big stage, maybe you did Super Bowl or you know, that type of moment where you're just like, oh my God, this is pretty. When I was a little girl, I used to tell my mom this. Can we walk by Radio City and she used to walk me by Radio City. I mean, it was a couple of blocks up from where I was born and raised. So she would walk me by there all the time. And I I just remember telling her, mommy, one day I want to see my name up in lights. And she told me. You're going to be up there. Beautiful. The night that we pulled in with the bus, with the tour bus. It was the last show on this. I think it was the first tour that we did. And I begged the bus driver, can you pull up in front of Radio City? I think it was about midnight or after I jumped off the bus, looked up and there it was scrolling. And I threw myself on the floor and I had the nerve to kiss the ground. That's OK, though. It was OK. Yeah, it was OK. It's OK. I was like, oh, my God, I did it. I did it. I did it. But the next day that we were getting on the stage, oh, my God, I saw God. I that I saw my my ancestors. I saw my nerves, the nerves. I'm like, my family is out there. Wow. The whole neighborhood, Hell's Kitchen, we are all there. Yeah. Who? What year was this? 86. Wow. 86. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dreams not deferred. You know what I'm saying? That's that's really what that is. And that's amazing. It's got it's it's got to be. You know, just thinking of of all of the things that you've accomplished. And Radio City is a huge, huge thing like this. A lot of people aren't able to. Everybody can't say that they performed at Radio City. Did you guys run through there? Yes. Yes, I know they because I went to that. Yeah, we had we did. We did, I think, six shows. Yeah. Like six shows of Radio City. Yeah, like, no, no, no, that was. Was it I don't remember when, but it was it was a long time ago. It was a while ago. But yeah, we we we sold it out for a few shows. Yeah, it was cool. I know I was there. Yeah, thank you. Why why don't you why don't you say hi? Did you come and say hi? I didn't want I wanted to be just not at all. No, for real, though. You know, that's my hometown. And I was like, oh, my God, make yourself known next time. Oh, I will. Thank you. Promise. Yeah, thank you. So he's making me nervous. No, I'm just saying, like, you know, like this is respect and love here. And we appreciate seeing our peers on stage, because a lot of times, you know, when you're on stage, you don't see everybody. You don't at all. So so when is it's when you actually see people or actually know that people that you love or in stage on stage or in our audience, you want to know that, like it makes you feel good. Yeah, you know, that they actually took the time out to drive out and and hang out and and watch us sing bad notes. No, you guys never, never, never. You know, we have our moments. We have everybody has their moment, but you guys are amazing. Now, OK, so let me tell you, freestyle, right? Because I had to look this up because I honestly didn't know I didn't understand the genre of the moniker, right? So it's also known as like Latin hip hop. Right. OK. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Latin neighborhoods. What did that movement feel like? Because I always like to take time travel moments with artists. So during that time of that genre being at its height, what was the energy like, like in New York specifically, like with that type of music, like who who are the hot artists then? Who was singing? Like, like, what was the music that was being played that represented that? Yeah, man. Me, me, you, myself, George Lamont, Judy Torres. But then you had like Planet Patrol and, you know, a lot of different genres of club music. Yeah. How it started, I truly believe that it was the music that the B-boys, the break dancers, right, you know, were out there freestyle into. Yeah. You know, Shelta Paditas, Linoleums, you know, Skidding Rings. Yeah, that's what that's what was being played. Yeah. You know, and it was called freestyle music. Yeah. You know, I think I was the first Latina to cross over that did the freestyle music. Yeah, you absolutely were like that. That is that is that is that is fact that she was the one that you were. We were actually the one that really brought it to a global scale in a sense where it came from. It went from it was just like a local thing in New York and Miami and places like that. And it just kind of blew up. It did. It did. Go ahead, Tony. Yeah, I would say, yeah, she was the first one to make it global. But I would say that like the only song I would really classify as freestyle would be Can You Feel the Beat? Yeah. Can you feel the beat? Yeah. Like out of everything on that first album. And of course, it took it took her to a global level with the with the freestyle genre. But when you think about Judy Torres and like they all have a very similar theme and sound. Right. It's funny because my role manager, who's from Brooklyn, because I told him that I was interviewing you or having a conversation. I hate to call him interviews. And he was like, yeah, he was like, and he said the exact same thing. He said the real freestyle record she had was Can You Feel the Beat? Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely right. That was the one and I mean, it was a monster like, yeah, right after Take You Home. But that was like, you know, Shannon was on that. Yes. Freestyle. Yeah, like it was it was a thing. And still today, it has a cult following like it does. It does. 100 percent. We do shows that are just freestyle. The freestyle explosion. The freestyle explosion. Yes. We're doing one March 28th. Did everybody have to have a double name? Because you got Lisa, Lisa, you got Stevie B, you got Debbie Deb. You got was that kind of a requirement? I know. I don't you know, I just kind of came out of nowhere. That I think it's a coincidence to myself. Was it a requirement? What, a double name? Yeah. No, I got my name simply because of other things. You have Stevie B's and you have that. You know what? No, we're going to talk about the movie. Yeah, do that. There was a scene. Yeah, yeah. Is that true? Very true. What's the scene? And others would deny it. Please explain how did you get the name Lisa, Lisa? Like let's like break it down. My name and God is my witness was given to me because I was never spoken to looking in my eyes. It was always below my chin. Always. OK. And you know, I was a kid. I was fine with that. I didn't understand it. But you know, I was always it was always Lisa, Lisa, you know, and it's stuck. And it's stuck. Right. I don't mind it. It worked out. It worked out just fine. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The 80s. Right. It was a boys club. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no. I mean, whatever. I dig it. Well, can you feel the beat? The Lisa, Lisa story? Yes, sir. I'm just saying the name because that's it. And I look down when I say. Leave. She's all the way looking everywhere, but you. Right. Right. Right. Well, I wanted to talk about that, right? Because it started. I want to say her name, right? Jirenest. Jurnest. Jurnest. Yes. Coachado. Coachado. I played you. Yes. Breezy. Woo. A homegirl Breezy was good. Breezy. Like, yeah, yeah, I got love for Breezy. Like, you know, she played Tony. That's all right. Oh, you got Breezy to play you. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I expect the Instagram change. That's her nickname, but that's not a nickname, but told now. You also had Angie Martinez. Yes, she played the nurse. How about that? Like, did you get her to do that? Or like, was this your audition or? Well, I think when we were talking about casting, we definitely wanted some some people in the movie that related to the era. Absolutely. Angie and Lisa have known each other forever. We go back. We go back. We ran into Angie during Gabrielle Union's 50th birthday party that they surprised Gabrielle with Lisa. Oh, yeah. She's a big fan. Nice. And so we saw Angie there. And then we're doing a movie like, yeah, what about bringing Angie in as the nurse? OK. We were like, yeah. So you were involved in the creative process from. Tony and I are the our executive producers on on the movie. We were in every step of the way. Yeah. Every step. They were sending us, right? Audition reels for so many different people. And your nest and breeze were like at the top of our list. Because it was important that the actress that played Lisa looked like Lisa. Yes. Yes. And you maybe can agree with this. Yeah. When I'm watching a biopic, if the artist doesn't, if the actress doesn't look like the artist, I'm kind of checked out. Insanely. Insanely. Yeah. Yeah. But it takes both. I'll be honest, because I've seen other biopics where they spend a lot of time looking like the artist, but they can't get the mannerisms and the acting part down. Well, you got to have both. It's really got to be both. She just, in that audition reel, she read. Yeah. She read me. And Tony convinced me simply because I kept saying, she looks like my sister. She's acting like my sister. She, every time I looked at her and her mannerisms and everything was reading my sister, Tony says, no, that's young you. Then I got it. Then I got it. Yeah. But I think the great thing about us being involved in this biopic, and we were talking about this when Selena's husband came by when we met him, is that Selena wasn't alive to be a part of her storytelling. Right. And it was still a great movie. It was fantastic. But imagine had she had her hands in it. So I was like, Lisa, how blessed are we to actually be here every day on set for the cast members to ask questions? And to hear it from your mouth and for you to see your story unfold and materialize. So that was a blessing. Crazy. And I think that's what makes the biopic so good. And it was successful. And it was a beautiful story. So congratulations to you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now I have one question. Sure. We have many, but this is one in particular. Do you still have The Walkman? I do. You do? I do. It's in my storage. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's big and yellow. It's the Sony one, the Sony one that flips over. Yeah. I had the class point. Yeah, yeah. I still have it. Yeah. It's in my storage. OK. If you can remember if it's still in there, is there a cassette still in there? There was. There was. There was. Yeah. What was your go-to cassette? The Jackson Five. Nice. Yeah. I know Tony. Look at she's looking at me. We used to run that cassette on the tour bus. How old did you guys meet by then? Right. Let's get that out of the way. Let me tell the story. So we're having this audition, right? And it was at the SIR Studios on 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. And we're having this. And it took hours and hours. It's like an all-day thing. And I'm sitting there and I'm listening to all these girls. And we're all there, myself, Colt Jam, the guys. We're all there and we're listening and listening and listening. And it came to the end of the audition. And there was. I just didn't feel it. I didn't feel anybody. And I said to the guys, I didn't. We're going to have to have another. And this was for real. We're going to have to have another audition because I didn't feel it at all. There were wonderful singers, but I needed a blend. They needed to hit me. And as I'm talking to the guys, all of a sudden I hear this voice. And I turn around and I look. And there's this. It looked like a little boy to me. I love you, man. You know I love you. She had a hat to the back. Remember the leather bubble jacket? Yes. She had one of them things on. And she had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. And she blew. I don't believe it. She blew. She was lying. No one would ever believe that story because it's not my type. She didn't put either one down. She didn't put either beer or a cigarette down. And she sang. And I was just looking at like. Wow. My mouth open. And then, you know, she said thank you and walked out. Real rude. No, the truth is I wasn't there to audition. I was 17. I was still in high school. I came with another. I put a beer in her hand. Yeah, mind you. Yeah. Mind you. Right? I came with a family member and we were there for a lot of hours and I was annoyed. So I went and got a six pack. And I got a. I got a. We got to get the camera. Not allowed to audition. But. Uh-huh. I bought a six pack. And this is when. So to tell you how long ago this was, you were still able to smoke inside. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So I'm in the studio smoking and waiting and smoking and smoking. And then, you know, my family member was like, well, you're here. It was the last the last person. And she was like, you're here. You might as well. Yeah. And I said, OK, fuck it. But I had just lit a cigarette and I wasn't putting it out. Right. So I walked in and they were all kind of like talking over by the sofas. And I went up to Alex Moseley at the time. He was playing piano. He's like, what are you saying? And I was like, do the fire. Oh, she. And he was like, OK. Wow. And so you. They weren't paying me no mind. So I started singing and the cigarette had an ash on it. That was like. And I just wanted to take another puff, but I had to finish the song. And then I finished the song. So I finished the song. OK. And then I put the cigarette out on the stage and then walked out with my beer. OK. OK, so. Let's let's get details. What beer were you drinking? I probably had old English. Matter of fact, it probably was a six pack. Oh, it was a bottle. It was a bottle. It was a bottle. It was a 40 ounce. It probably wasn't a six pack. A 40 OE. But I had OE and the cigarette. Newport. No, I mean, I can't. Probably Kools. Kools. Yeah, that was the next thing I was going to say. Kools anymore, but it's probably cool. It was hilarious. Cigarettes. You can smell. Then I ran out because the guys were like, oh, I was like, no, no, this is who I want. Right. So I ran out and you tell this story better than me. I'm what that. S.I.R. That was the big S.I.R. So everybody Madonna, everybody. We're. Yeah, you got to know. S.I.R. is like the this is where her. Street Horses. New York had two major ones, but that one that one was the major. I'm sitting at the top of the steps and I light another cigarette because my cigarette ash was burning while I was singing. Sure, sure, sure. Got to light another one. I light another cigarette and she and she comes and she's like, Tony, right? And I'm like, yeah, she's like, I can't officially say it, but welcome to the group. Yeah, I was like, OK, and then I go to school the next day. And I'm like, I'm going on tour and my teachers are like, no, you have another year school. And I was like, please. I'm dumb. Deuces. Wow. And it's funny because she went to the same school I did. Oh, but she graduated. I had graduated. Other than me. So I went to Julie Richmond Talent Unlimited. She went to Julie Richmond Talent Unlimited. A lot of people went there. OK. In our high school. Yeah. Yeah. It's the school that if you didn't go to performing arts, you went there. All the bad kids went to that school. I see who else went there. You said a lot of people went there. Oh, Malik Yoba. Malik Yoba. Oh, Dough. Leroy. Jean Anthony Ray. Wow. Dough. A lot of performance. OK, so wait, wait, wait, wait, because because in a movie, the raw guy, the the the the the record exact. Yeah. He said something about you dropping out. Like, did he say anything about it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I graduated. OK, OK, OK, all right, cool. So he was just being. It just sounded better. Yeah, it was just being. Sounded better. You're a dropout. Yeah. OK. Just wanted to make sure I was like, I graduated. OK, you graduate. And you see that degree. I don't believe you. You better watch your mouth. All right. Hold on a coin. OK. All right, so first single drops, Lisa, Lisa and Colt Jam, all over the freaking radio, all over the country, all over the world, doing your thing. I mean, you're tearing it up at 21. The height of your career, you noticed. Bruises. I remember that you were diagnosed with an excuse. Me if I mispronounce it. Dr. Carcinoma in situ. Yes. Can you first explain what that is? It's. In the glands, the tumors grow. And I had four and one and two in the other. I unfortunately was in the shower and I found the bruises. And I was like, what the hell? But I realized that I was always tired, always like everything hurt, like exhausted. And I had a weekend off and I flew to New York and found a great, great doctor and oncologist. And. It was hard to hear those words because it runs in my family, my family, my mom, my other two sisters. They also had cancer, but I was afraid. Yeah, I was so afraid because the doctor kept telling me, you can't go on the road. You can. And I was still on the road. Right. You have to start tomorrow. Yeah. Doing chemo and radiation. And did you start right away? I right. I immediately started because I this nurse was shoot. I can't even remember her name. I think it was Yolanda, with a Y. And she was like, we can work this out. Don't worry. And we sat down with the doctor and we spoke about it. And they gave me this pack. It looked like a Walkman, you know, and they worked it out where every city I went to, they spoke to the the hospitals. They were never needed to refill, you know. And you took therapy while you were on the road and you didn't tell anybody. I told no one. I told no one. I was I was so afraid that it was I was getting a lot of negative reactions from who I was on the road with. And, you know, I why are you tired? What's wrong with you? You're lazy or are you pregnant? We can't have any of this here. And we had to continue moving. It was continuing, you know, the movement. And I chose not to say anything. Back then, you didn't have support groups or anything like that to to speak to. You know, I just had my doctor and the nurse and I would be on the phone constantly, you know, and how long and how long did you have to go through these treatment? Sixteen weeks. Sixteen weeks. Yes, sir. The obviously the treatment worked and you've been cancer free. I have been. I have been. Thank you. That's awesome. That's awesome. And because of your experience, you've been a advocate and awareness. I have. Yeah. Tell us about that, too. I've been working with Sloan Kettering. I haven't done anything in the past year, but I've worked with Sloan Kettering to put the word out and is recently because I've finally, I think it was. Maybe four years prior to my mom passing, I confessed. Yeah. You know, and she was blown away. She said, I had no idea. All she knew was why you so skinny and my skin was flaky. My hair, I was, you know, I had ball spots and that's all she knew. But yeah, I think it's important that people have early detection. Yes. Because if they catch it early, they can fix it early. Yeah. You know, it can be helped. It could be helped. And it's not just women. It's men as well. Yeah. You know, it's got to look for the signs. Yes, you do. The signs are, you know, so average, you know, tired, pain, bruising, you know, that kind of thing. Wow. Well, God bless you. Thank you. And thank you for the work that you're putting in. Oh, thank you. I mean, because that's important, as you said, like it's awareness is everything. Yes, it is. Like the more you know, the more people can really find out what's going on with them and get it treated immediately and don't hesitate. Like if there's any signs of any type of detection, even if not, even if not, just get your your yearly mammogram, get your get your prostate checked. Yes. Men should get mammograms as well. Yes. Because it's like, I think it's like 82 percent and men get breast cancer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's very important, guys, like just, I mean, especially, I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with age because you were 21. So it's like just just to stay on your health, you know, check, you know, go to the doctors. Don't be one of those people that are afraid to go to doctors and I don't visit doctors or anything like that. Doctors are here to save our lives. So they are. So get your regular checkups, do everything you need to do to stay alive. And today it's so much easier. You have support groups. Yeah. You really do. So log into all of that. Yeah. Make the phone call, call, go visit. Yeah. Because they will have the right information. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're glad you're here. Thank you. And God bless you. Thank you so much. Thank you. You know, you you told that story in a movie and and, you know, you used again being cancer free for so many years, your inspiration for so many people who went through the same thing or very similar. Now you started at 15. What do you think? If you had to take your 15 year old self and transport 15 year old Lisa Vales to the music industry in 2025. What do you think? How do you think you would fair in this business? Like, what do you think you would? What would your approach you think would be being the person that you are? But in this era of music, like, how do you think? How do you think it would go? The social media would have helped me. Yeah. I truly believe that social media would have helped me. I would have got my my sound out. You know, people would be able to hear and see it. Yeah. You know, I didn't we didn't have anything like that back in the day. No, at all. At all. And. I think. In 2025, you're just so you're aware of more. Yeah. You know. Yeah, I would have. Definitely not signed what I saw. I would have a lawyer today. Yeah, you know, that, you know, I have the right people you know, to guide me and I would have listened more. I would be here to guide, of course. But I would tell them, go ahead and master your craft. Yeah. You know, go ahead and move on and don't let too many, you know, little birdies talking in your ear. And then I'd sit back as I've always done in my career. And wait because it always changes every year or every six months. Things change. Yeah. You know, and it goes around in a circle. And I just wait because I know it's going to come back to this. I know that's right. You know, that's what I would do. Exactly. OK, now. We mentioned Younger Artists. Do you have your eye on any new artists, specifically Latino artists, Latino artists that you're looking at and say. That might be the next one or I like this person. I like this artist, anybody that you have your eye on that you think could could have the potential of having a say 40 year career. You know, anybody. Oh, Cardi B, of course. Really? Yeah. I like her because she's as real as they come. I like Cardi. You know, a lot of people don't like that. So I think she's as real as they come and she's straightforward. She comes from the street, you know, and she's real, you know, I like her sound and she goes back. Yeah. The samples, she's going back. Yeah. You know, she's using that music, our music. Yeah, Jernes Cortado. She's the actress who played me and she's got music coming out. She just released a song. Oh, nice. And she is talented. So look out for her. OK. Spell her name to the audience. Jernes is J E A R N E S T Cortado, C O R C H A D O. Yeah, Cortado. Oh, my God. I better know how to spell that name. Damn it. I'm Puerto Rican. Cortado, I love you, Jernes. I would have tore that up. No, I know my job. No, I'm right. The actress that plays me is B R E Z. Yeah, Breezy. Yeah. Very good. Well done, Tone. You did it. You did that. You did that. All right, Mom. You did that going on, you know. Yeah, so yeah, Jernes has music coming out. OK, she's talented as hell, this little girl. And I think she's the up and coming, OK, you know, to be seen. But who I want to work with is Bad Bunny. Yeah, Bad Bunny's got it. Got the word. I'll put it out there. Yeah, there you go. Bad Bunny watches our show. Yeah, he does. He does. You'd be surprised. He might. Nicky Jam is a fan of our show. Nicky Jam is shot out. He's a to me. Nicky Jam. He's watching. He's watching because he studies. OK, Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny. Made that. That's right. Yeah, I let my girl. OK. Yeah, but I also want to work with you. So. I was done. Dead ass. Like, Tony, keep him to that. He said it. He said it. We're already connected anyway. Yeah, so no, that's listen. Let me tell you, let me tell you a little secret about the show. Secret what? What? The cool thing in the perk about this show is that I get to meet people that I would like to work with. Yeah. You got to get something from this stuff. Yes, it's not just me creating a platform for legends like yourself to come on. I'm a fan first. Like, honestly, I'm a fan. Like, like when we got the call that you were coming in, I was like, yes. I'll tell you this, Sean, he'll geek out as much as the next person about who's coming on. But when I told him you were coming by last minute, we talked yesterday or two days ago, I had him and he was like, this is dope. This can be great. Yeah. Oh, man. Can I fangirl now? Yeah, sure. I can fangirl. You have no idea. You have no idea. You don't know what she said to me. I was like, what? Oh, shit. Yes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's all good. Well, we actually put it out in the universe when Candyman came on. Oh, yeah. You guys were on tour together. And actually. Cat from the jet. The jet hit me. That's right. Hit me and was like, hey, because I hit her and I was like, yeah. Tell Lisa when you're on the show. I didn't have a contact on you. So yeah. Oh, man. Thank you. Thank you. It was the 40th anniversary tour. Yeah, we just finished. We were working with Pacific Concert Group, Alan Beck. And he asked us who we wanted on the tour with us. And, you know, we had done the freestyle thing a lot. And I wanted to kind of move away from that. So I was like, man, the 80s had such a nice mixture of music. So we like the jets who we toured with originally. Yes. Originally. Yeah. So you guys toured back then together. Yes. In the 80s. Oh, circle moment. My Spanish flight tour, they were on it. Crazy. Candyman, we asked for. We asked for Rob base. We asked for Montel. We love you, Montel. I mean, we went back to Mary Jane Girls. Yeah. Mary Jane Girls. And they still tour, right? Yeah. Yeah. We had Evelyn Champagne King jumping in and out of this tour. Yeah. Like it's it's it's been calling me bad. Yeah. That's awesome. C&C Music Factory Freedom. That's my dude. Yes. It's it's been it's been amazing. Yeah. Expose a. Yeah, we had Lighter Shader Brown just recently. Oh, yeah. We had O on the show. Yeah, yeah. Me and O came up in the radio game together. So me and O going back. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. That's. But no, we're definitely going to do something. Finish your pangirl moment. I think I cut it off. Yeah, go ahead. Finish your fangirl moment. Your fangirl. I did it. I did it. She did. She did it. She did it. She did it. But no, we're we're we're we're definitely going to work on something and and we'll we'll figure it out. I don't know. We'll figure out the best situation. OK. Now let's let's let's have some fun. OK. What? Your top five. Favorite female vocalists. Give us a top five and an honorable mention. So we'll go six, but top five. OK. Tina Marie. Pat Labelle. Legend Jill Scott. Legend Angie Stone. Rest your soul. Legend Celia Cruz. Cecilia. OK. And honorable mention. Tony Minaj. Tony Minaj. Hey. We know you. No, but I have to tell you that. I'm not just being, you know, you. Below. Yeah. Big. Her voice is ridiculous. Big. And I'm her biggest fan. I have to tell you, I'm your biggest fan. You know, that's what's up. Did you see a background on all her records? No. OK. No, I did all the backgrounds. OK. For the geniuses behind that music. And that collaboration with Lisa is. Yes. It's a timeless project. So it is. No, no, no, you guys met singing. So I wasn't sure if you. Yeah, I'm just. Any moment. I was on the live live shows. Yeah, she did all the touring. The other two. Yes. OK. Beautiful. That's that's a great list. That's a great, great list. We were talking before. Sorry, Sean. Yeah, we were talking before we started the interview. And I'd asked you, I actually got you on a FaceTime with my good friend, my big sister, our sister, Suzette Quintanilla. Shout out. And shout out to her. And they have the big documentary. They're documentary dropping this Monday on Netflix. You got yours currently on Netflix. Yes. But I'd ask you if you had ever met Selena. I did. You said you did. I did. How what was that like? It was during a session that Full Force was doing with her. Oh, wow. And I got to meet her and I think it was the Barrio Boys that were doing the music together. And they told me, come in and hang out. I was like, absolutely. What a beautiful soul she was. Yeah. Beautiful soul and very talented. Yeah. Very talented. Got a beautiful voice. God rest her soul. How much do you think your music inspired kind of her vibe? Did it? I feel like it did. I feel like it did. I mean, a lot of her other records, I feel like. I'm going to tell you this. Growing up in this industry, because that's exactly what I did, I grew up in the eyes of the public. The stage was my school. I did what I love so much. And I never focused on what it was I was doing. I just did it because and I had to feel it. It had to be something that I wanted to do. I never thought that it was about inspiring anybody. Sure. I never thought of that. And today I get it. I get it. And I thank everybody. It's the fans who keep us here today. Yeah. It's never that until you understood what the work meant. Because at one point, you're just really just doing the work. Which is your purpose. That's what you're supposed to be doing. I don't like using the word work. Meaning. Meaning. Yeah. Doing the what I love. What you love. Yes. That basically inspired others. I follow my path, which is my destiny. And that's what I've always done. It's on the ground. I don't care what I had to do. It got done. Don't love your job. Job your love. Job your love. Job your love. There you go. Don't love your job. Job your love. And so. Words of wisdom by Brian, I'm lying. Don't be. What's the other saying? At the end of the day, the day got to end. Yeah. I love it. I love it. That's it. That's it. Don't crack your finger. Finger, you're cracked. We're coming out with our new books with dyslexic people. Yes. It's coming out next week. I've got one more question. And I love asking artists this question, because I think it's kind of cool to see where your head is at in certain topics. What's a song that either came your way or you wish came your way that you either passed on or that you didn't get the chance to record? Out on a limb by Tina Marie. Oh. I could hear you singing that, too. Really? Yeah. Yes. Love it, girl. That's my top 20 records of all time. I love that record. As soon as that first note hits, you're like, this is a vibe. Turn it up. Tina Marie is, by far, the most soulful white woman absolutely on the planet, freaking earth. Yes. Rest her soul, yes. Like she was different. Like she was a different chick right there, like no doubt. And I can hear you singing that. Thank you. That's crazy. That's a good one. Repeat the records. Oh, Out on a Limb by Tina Marie. Yes. Is a classic. Yeah. Classic. A classic record. And not to mention, because that's a hard record to cover. Yeah, it is. Because Tina killed that shit. She did. She had the super fly range. She killed that shit. And the feel. And the feel. Her feel was ridiculous. She was frying bacon somewhere. Yeah, she was frying bacon. Snap, snap. Last question. Yes. What is your favorite restaurant? Oh my god. My favorite restaurant was my mom's house. OK. And I say that because my mom taught me how to cook. And there was nothing that tasted as good as her. So my mom's house. And my mom used to, I remember coming home from school and I would find people that I didn't know in the living room. Like who are these people? My mom used to, she would feed everybody in the neighborhood. I remember that. Yeah, no, she did. She fed everybody. I would, the homeless were in there. I'm telling you, she did. So I have to say mommy. OK, cool. All right, so this is perfect. This is good. OK. So you're at mom's house. Mom's here, whipping it up, whipping it up. Rest your soul, mom. Rest her soul. But she's here now. Yeah, yeah. Always. And she's cooking. You cook it, cooking it up. And the door opens to your house. You think it's just one of the neighborhood kids, whatever. It's you. It's the younger version of yourself. He's been looking for you. She's been trying to find what to look forward to in the future. She's looking for some jewels of wisdom. So she sits down where maybe one of your sisters would normally sit, look across from you. And she's waiting. What would the older Lisa say to the younger Lisa? It's OK to say no. Love what you do and get a lawyer. That's it. Drop the mic. That's it. That's it. I thought we were going to get emotional. No, no, no. No, no. That's perfect. You hear that, younger Lisa? Yeah. That was your way of not getting emotional. It was being funny. I like that. I like that, too. I like that. I love that. Let me tell you something. There's a lot of soul and good energy in this room. Yes, there is. Thank you. And this was probably my most distinct conversation because there were so many spirits in the room. Normally, it's just a one-on-one thing. And I'm sure a lot of people that are watching this will probably kind of get like whiplash from what's going on with everything. But this is the beauty of this show that, one, you just don't know what you're going to get and how it's packaged. But it's all good food. So the thing about it is that we had a special moment with this amazing spirit. It's crazy how when you run into people or when you meet people for the first time, like energy's real. Yep. You know what I'm saying? It is. And you know good energy when you see it or feel it. This is good energy right here. Thank you. And let me tell you something. It is such an honor. When I see you, I instantly go back to Philly and on my block on 59th and Belmont or Southwest and hearing either my neighbor's son playing his boombox onto the steps, which causes everybody to come outside with boom, ba-boom, ba-ba-ba-boom, ba-ba-ba-boom, boom, ba-ba-ba-boom, ba-ba-boom. You knew it was on. Everybody came out. The girl started jumping the rope. The kids started breakdancing, pop-locking, the whole thing. And the old people start coming out. You know how they lean on the banister, you know, the grandmas that don't wear bras. Out the window. They're like kind of like live. They don't have no bra, just leaning on the banister, making sure the kids play nice. The bike rides. And it all started with the music. You are culture. You're not just, this isn't just a conversation. Like you are culture. Like you are part. You are interwoven in American culture. Like this is way deeper than just you being around just for 40 years. Like you don't know how many people you've influenced and shaped, whether directly or indirectly, because of your music. It was an honor. Thank you. It really was an honor to meet you. I can say this because we're a little older now. I did have a crush. Thank you. When I was a kid. When I was a kid. When I was a kid. Yeah, right, right. Told me, we know how you go. SMD. And just to be across from you, just to see how beautiful you are. Thank you. Inside and out, it was a pleasure for me. Everybody, can y'all please give it up for Miss Lisa Vales. Thank you, Lisa Lisa. Thank you, everybody. Hey, y'all. And that was on that note. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you did, here's a couple more videos for you to check out. Do not forget to like, comment, and subscribe.