February 3, 2025 • 42 mins
Lisa Lisa & Toni Menage Talk 'Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story'
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Its way up with Angela yee and this is so exciting.
If y'all could have heard my reaction when they were like, oh,
would you want to interview Lisa Lisa? I said yes absolutely.
I was like, whatever day we need to do it,
I will be there. But Lisa Lisa is here alongside
her best friend Slash manager Slash also an artist, Tony Minaj.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yeah happening.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I asked her to step into the interview too, because
you played such a big part in Lisa Lisa's life,
which you know me growing up like listening to Lisa
Lisa in the eighties, you don't know anything about what's
going on behind the scenes. We know the music and
we know Cold Jam, we know Full Force, But this
biopic that's out now on Lifetime really helped put things
(00:45):
into perspective to see how it all happened.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Which is what we really really wanted to do. We
wanted to focus on who col Jam was because they
were never in the front, in the front lines. Everybody
thought the Full Force was culture, right they did, because.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
A lot of confusion around that.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
We would get yeah, the guys from a house, Yeah
that's Cult Jam, right, and I'm like, no, that's not
that's for the separate group.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
So I'm sorry, focus, So.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
This representing just them.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
I mean, everyone knows how legendary full forces they wrote
these amazing songs and produced these amazing songs that gave
us Lisa, Lisa, but you know, I thought it was
I think we both when we sat down at the
table with Twinkie, we just decided, you know what, let's
represent the group. Yes, so people kind of have you
(01:30):
people here with their eyes, so now they'll know they'll
see those two.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Guys, Mike and Alex.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's cult jat because I learned I learned a lot
about that from watching and you know, you talk about
Twinkie and I know Lisa, they said you said Twinky
was in your DMS.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Like, she, what are we doing this story?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
She goes, I know you, I love you. We need
to tell your story. Please allow me. My father was
a teacher and Julia Richmond and I was like, oh,
okay no, But like five years later and she would
come into my DMS like maybe once or twice a month,
you know, for five years, and then Tony came in
(02:07):
to my DMS and acted like it.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Was me, right, we took over to social to make sure,
you know, clean it up and get it yes, get
it right. And so you know, we go in and
check out, you know, the DM sometimes and Twinkie was
in there and I was like, yeah, we want to
make a movie.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Let's let's make where. She told me I said, yes,
my face sign something. I said, we had contract issues before.
We don't want to go. My answer, my answer was,
does anybody want to know my life?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh my gosh, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I think sometimes you don't understand the impact that you had,
even for me as a kid, you know, growing up,
because we can talk about you really setting the trend.
I'm from Brooklyn, you're from Hell's Kitchens. But growing up
in New York, you know, we were very into obviously
R and B. Yes, pop was it was still early
ish you know for that, but your genre of music
(03:05):
was different. It was also R and B. It also
was very I think music really brings people together. And
for you being Puerto Rican and doing what you were doing,
it's not even something we thought about.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I learned K Sarah K Sarah from you.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
I used to say that all the time, just from
listening to your music. You know, but it wasn't even
anything that you really think about. It just existed, you know.
And so for you to be able to cross over
into all these different genres, that's not an easy thing
to do.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
No, it wasn't. And back then I didn't focus on
any of that. I just wanted to sing. So come on,
let's do this, like you know, we kept it pushing,
And now that everybody says that to me, I'm like, okay,
thank you all. Take it.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Everybody talks about how humble and how nice you are
and how kind your spirit is.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
That's also not easy.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
When you've been famous for a long time and you've
been through a lot, because you meet people who get
so jaded and you've been through so much, you know,
just to see you still being like a good, kind person,
that's also not an easy thing.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Thank you. I think I had good grounding, good raising.
My mom. She kept me on the street and narrow
come home. You gotta do the dishes, you gotta wash
the clothes, you gotta clean the floor, you gotta do it.
She kept me grounded. And there was ten of us
on the youngest of ten, yeap, so we had to
do our chores and we all helped her, you know,
take care, but she was raising ten on her own.
(04:25):
I think that there the fight that she put to
make sure that her ten children, you know, live their dream.
That's my strength.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So let's get into this story because I know some
people have seen it. It came on over the weekend. Yes,
and can you feel that Lisa Lisa's story And if
you haven't seen it, you know people know some of
your story, but we're gonna give some some things up now.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So when you first got signed, right, you were only
you were a teenage you were still in high school.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yes, fifteen. I didn't know anything nothing. I just wanted
to say, snuck into the funhouse and met one of
the guys from Cult Jam Mike Cues, and he said,
come to this audition, and.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I did you know what I wanted to ask you?
Because there were some tinges of it throughout. Did you
ever feel because beautiful, young but young underage girl in
this industry of sharks and a lot of men, surrounded
by a lot of men, how was that for you?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And how did you learn how to navigate that?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Early on? It was not easy. I didn't learn how
to navigate it till later. On when I met Tony,
because she's the one who's taught me how to say no,
and I you know, I found my voice say no.
It was difficult. I come from a family of ten
and there's a ton of ather. I'm the youngest, but
there's seven women and three guys, right, so you know
(05:44):
I tried. You know, everything was about just move, press on,
move on. You know, it was the eighties, you know,
boys club music industry was definitely still is two run
by men, and it was difficult to get my point
across us.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
It was about an arm, a hand over your shoulder
and be quiet, don't speak right, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And did you ever say you left school? You dropped
out of school?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
No? I stayed in Yeah, no, I had. I stayed
in school, but I also had tutors on the road.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Okay, because some things we don't get to see in
the whole.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You know, you don't get to see everything. You Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Couldn't everything at all. And I know you're also doing
a book, right.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I absolutely am, Yes, so everything will be in that
bad boy. I'm gonna speak my truth. I thank god.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
How far along are you with this bug?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Huh? Hopefully?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It'll be finished.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I have so much to say. I hope to have
it done by the end of the year. I hope
my fingers across.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
And what made you decide now, because, like you said,
you've always been not really like putting your life out there.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Okay, Tony. She was like, come on, you gotta you
gotta tell your story. People want to hear it. And
I said, what do they want to know? I just
I loved to sing. That's all I want people to know.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
And yeah, speaking you, I just you know, I think
it's important. And I've repeated this a few times.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
I think it's important that we give her her flowers
and her due credit now while she's here to appreciate it.
And I think for us, for me, it was very
important to do this movie now because you know, Selena
had a great movie and it gave j Lowe a
huge career, but she wasn't here to be part of
(07:33):
her project. So having Lisa at on set every day,
you know, with the cast talking to them and them
getting information from her outside of the research that they
did on their own, was priceless. It created a family environment.
You know, the movie was shot in a few weeks.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
It wasn't.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
We didn't have months to shoot this, so you know
we're on set sixteen hour days even when she's out
of character because she plays her mom and my mom.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah yeah, I was saying, we talked about this before
the cameras came on. Angie Martinez is in this and
she's playing a nurse.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yes, I love you, Angie, thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I was I told Angie, I said, I screamed when
I when I saw you on the screen. I was
so excited at Lever's in here. Also, he had a
cameo and then you played your mom. I did, how
did you prepare for that? And how did you feel
after you saw yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I remember when we went into makeup, hair and makeup,
and when the eyebrows got on. When they put those
eyebrows on, I was like, Oh, she's here. She's here,
because they made me look exactly like her. It was scary,
but it was therapeutic for me seeing my life through
her eyes and everything that she went through. The first
(08:50):
scene was killer for me. That was killer for me
because to remember that she had to pull me out
of the scene for a minute while we were filming.
I was bowling just to remember all of that.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Your father was abusive, yes, and then we didn't see
him again.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
So have you ever like I never had a relationship
with my father. Okay, that's actually how I met my father.
I met my father when I walked in. I heard
my mom whimpering. And when I walked into the apartment,
she was pinned to the kitchen window and he was
abusing her, beating her, and I just we always, you know,
living in hell's kitchen. You kept the bat by the doors.
(09:28):
I took that back and I actually connected boom, you know,
and my mother's like, no, that's your father. I was like, really, yeah,
this is my father keeping out of here, you know, crazy.
It was nuts.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
What was the decision to open the movie with that?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Because, like you said, that's a really tough emotional thing,
but it caught your attention right away and kind of
says the stage for.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, basically how I believe that that needed to be
shown because then we're alone. My mom raised us all
by herself. She had to get rid of that. We
tried to pull her out of it, you know, the kids,
all of us, we pulled her out of it, and
then we went, you know, to another place, and we
all had to work right, you know, we all had
(10:11):
to put our part. I wanted them to see that.
I wanted the audience to see that, definitely.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
We also had a fantastic director and she's thirty years old.
First of all, I just want to say that we
had all brown women work on this project.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Nice.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
It was very important that we had a Puerto Rican writer,
and you know that women worked on this film because
of the content.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
But Talia is phenomenal and she.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Directed this film and it became a personal project for her.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You know.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
The first cut that you know, we sat through it
was two hours and she was like, I pray that
the network lets me keep this.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I know they're not.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
They're going to cut at least thirty minutes of this film.
There was so much more in there.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Tell me what got cut so I could get an
idea of some things that you wish would have made
it in.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
But I mean, I think the things that got cut
were conversation conversations.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
No, but I don't think you know, a lot of
the audience is not going to finish listening to or
hear be able to hear the rest of the conversation
because there was just so much more in a scene.
They had to cut the scenes down.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
That's tough.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I know you were like each part because damn I
had so much more to say.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Now.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
There's also a part where one of the members of
Cold Jam actually kind of like, has you up against
It's not it's a manager. Oh that's the manager. Okay,
that was a manager.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
But it repped, you know, like she said it was.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
It was the eighties and even me as a as
a lesbian woman.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
You know, nobody was safe if in that time exactly.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Even today, Yeah, you have here like you know, depending
on but yes, I think hopefully things are getting better.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
It absolutely yes, I was able to take control of
it all.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
She showed me the way. Like again, when I met Tony,
my angel, I want to smack you, but I love
you so much. She taught me. She showed me my voice.
She said, come on, don't let this happen, you know.
But again the eighties Boys Club, everybody tried to get
(12:25):
their feel and I'm just happy that I came through that.
I'm here today to speak on it.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
And I was watching that, I was like, Laura, please
don't let this go.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Oh there was a lot more that wasn't shown.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
I feel like it has one of the scenes that, yeah,
because that's why I was asking it, because I felt
like it probably was more than that.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
But you know, and I feel like it was enough, right,
because we didn't want to take away from the impact
that she made in this industry by having people focus
on the trauma, right, because we're addicted to trauma now,
it's all in our feed constantly, and so we've become
almost immune to the idea that these things happened. There
(13:04):
was a time where you would be terrified when you
saw certain things, and now it's normal to us.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
It's become normal to see that far.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
It's terrible if we've been desensitized to traumas.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
So it was just we wanted to keep it classy.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
We wanted to keep the focus on her story, the
friendship between us, the relationship between her and Colt jam
and I think that we accomplished that with this film.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Absolutely did an Tony.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I want to get to your part in this too,
as Freezy plays you. She did a phenomenal I love you, Breezy.
She did a phenomenal job playing your character. So you
came into this having some knowledge of having had a
record deal.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yes, well this is your real life.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
So yes, and so you had a terrible deal. I
think you said you got two hundred dollars.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
I put out a record called Video Burnout in nineteen
eighty three. I was fourteen. They recorded me without any
adult surround. They wrote me a check for two hundred dollars,
endorsed it and gave me the cash. And that's what
I made for that song. And it's still an underground
dance hit today. Yeah. So yeah, I learned. But the
(14:11):
thing about me is you're only going to get to
dupe me once because I don't like, I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Privd with me once on you.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Yeah, I'm prideful, So I'm not going to allow you
to make me look stupid twice. So you know, I
started asking questions and you know, reading up and talking
to people, and so by the time I got to Lisa,
I was seventeen.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And Lisa was very afraid. You know. I'd be like,
I don't sound right. She'd be like, she's.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Like, I'm not trying to have to go back to
bag and gross.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
She's like, I don't.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Don't rock the boat. Don't rock the boat, Tony. She's
still like that.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Now, you know, she's like, well, you know, but you well,
all right, we'll get to that in the second. What
you're like now, But what did you think your younger
self when you first met Lisa Lisa, Because in the
movie she has a very sweet, nice interaction with you.
I want to know what your thoughts were when you
first met her, because sometimes you could look at somebody
(15:07):
like that and be like, you know, what's she going
to be like?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Is she a mean girl?
Speaker 5 (15:11):
Is she was at least has consistently been a sweetheart
for the last forty years that I've known her, almost
too in my opinion, almost to a faults right, because
people see that as a way to get in and
take advantage. I feel like this movie represents how because
I think they think, you know, when you're lesbian or
(15:33):
you live that life, that you want to sleep with
all women. I hope that they understand that this friendship
had nothing to do.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
It was never even a thought.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
We literally built a sisterhood instantly, and I think it's
because we were the only two women on the tour,
and we found comfort and safety in hanging out together
and talking and singing in the back of the bus.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And you know, she was my blanket man. She made
me feel comfortable, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
She she told me to make them.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I had to save your legs, and that's for real,
you know, that's really for real.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
I was like, I remember the first time I saved
my legs.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
It didn't go well because I was always afraid to
cutting off.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
I cut myself off, my shame with the bonus.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Men don't have to go through that. Men don't have
to go through that.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
But she was a beast, and I told her, come on,
you have to take care of that situation. Handle that.
That's oh.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I was like, well, I gotta do this.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
I needed each other though, yes, yeah, you know, just
as much as Lisa needed you, Tony, Tony, you needed her.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
I needed her.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
I mean I was I was rough around the edges,
you know. I was the movie like, I was a pill.
And when I think back to younger me, I was like, damn,
you had to deal with you. But Lisa stories, she
gave me the She she softened me up in ways
where I needed it, and later on it worked for
(16:58):
my life when I started and reacting with people and
running my own companies. That growing experience with her was
she just taught me how to be a kinder. I
didn't have to be so hard all the time.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
And you tell her to be a little more hurry
and you need to be a little more rough.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Yeah she did.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
She's a happy medium, nice balance.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
And your father, you know that was depicted in the
movie as well, Tony. That was an I mean, what
is your relationship with him or what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Was there ever?
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Any So my father died in prison years back.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
I'm a product of rape, so I happened to meet
my father. But you know, my mother was thirteen when
she had WOW, so you know, I didn't know she
was my mother though she was my sister.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
She was being raised as my sister.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
So when I all this truth came out as a
teenager and I finally met him like any other child
that was trying to cling to him and build a relationship.
But he was from the streets and so what he
saw that as he was an opportunity to use me
to do other things.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
You know, whole drugs, sell drugs.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
You know, you get high with me and then you
tell me to go to my room and then I'm
like what this don't work. So we had that kind
of relationship. I loved him like any kids. You know,
I tell people all the time, you have children, Your
children love you with a clean slate.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
You could be anything.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
You ruin it, you turn it into whatever you're going
to turn it into. Me And I still love him.
I mean, you know, whatever his traumas were, his story was,
I'm sure it was, you know, traumas passed on. So
I'm not angry with him. I don't blame him, but
you know, his life technically ended up in his demise,
(18:51):
and you know, and that's that's the cycle. I'm fortunate
enough to have at least to saved my life because
getting into that tour changed the direction that I was going.
And it could have gone it could have split up
and gone either way. But this tour, this, you know,
and I thankful force for giving me that opportunity. I
(19:13):
think cult Jim, I think Lisa. But this friendship was
built as a result of that one audition, which I
wasn't even supposed to be at.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
She killed it real fast, she did.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Smoking a cigarette. I was drinking.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
I want to tell that story. She walks in. I
didn't see we were having this discussion. Oh my god,
we gotta have another audition. Because I didn't find anybody,
and blah blah, blah blah, and all of a sudden,
his voice starts to come out and it stopped me
writing my tracks. And I listened, and then when I
turn around, I see this, this thing. She looked like
a boy. She had a head to the back, she
(19:45):
had a bubble jacket on, a beer in one hand
and a cigarette in the other, and she's blowing. She
didn't she was like this with the.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Beer as I am and was blowing.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
And I was like, oh my god, that's what I want.
And the reaction that I got from everybody else, I
was like, I don't care. I ran after her, right,
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
They let you because the thing is, it was a
very controlling situation. You were the only woman before that,
and it felt like they were making all the decisions,
even you know, the music, giving it to you. But
that day you knew that that was something you had
to I had to make happen, and they actually.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Did, even though they tried to kick you out there.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
You know how many time they kicked me out a
couple of times. But like I said, I was you know,
I was a pill. I was seventeen. I was raw.
You know, you talk crazy to me, I talk crazy back.
You know.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
That didn't bother me because I came from a family
of ten, right, I'm the youngest of ten of them,
and I had some rough brothers.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Rough, thank god.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, my oldest brother helped you out, right. Yeah, he
did three tours in the Vietnam War. So when he
came back, oh god, he was he was a pill. Yeah,
I was. I was used to that.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
But the whole neighborhood knew not to mess with you.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Oh they didn't. They didn't. That's Raymon's little sister. Don't
mess with me.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
She embraced me like there was no you know more
where I would walk into certain environments. I was used
to being judged, and I was already deferent. That's where
the heart I was defensive. I was ready to defend
myself constantly because I had to. She never made me
feel like I had to defend myself to never just
I was.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Tony has the heart of gold. She really told people,
I have to. It's my experience. She has a heart
of gold. She really really does, and she loves to
take care of people. She has such a maternal personality
as people cling to her, you know, so that was
all to me. We shut that away, We shud that up.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
What did you think when Lisa got married?
Speaker 4 (21:45):
I told her what I say.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
I said, if you marry this dude, I'm wearing a
tux to your wedding.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
And she did and I did.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
When you got married, Lisa.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Oh my god, I was almost turning twenty, I was
nineteen twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I know. Everybody was like, don't do it.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
They did, family said don't do it. My mother was like,
you don't need to marry this kid. I'm like, but
I love them. And I think that's.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
You think you and you know, but you know, listen,
I wanted to be grown, but I think that's that's like,
that's the innocence of Lisa. Lisa is and I feel
like your nest who is fantastic the young lady that
plays her. The most important thing was that whoever played
Lisa had to look like Lisa.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I was like, looked just like you.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
People don't hear with their eyes, you know.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
And I feel like, if you do a biopic about
an artist, you have to have two things.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
A visual that makes that draws people in and the music.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Amen.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know that's those two things are super important. And
your nest man, she had just enough innocence to play
the the soft, beautiful Lisa that we know, and just
enough fire to rep present the hurdles that she had
to jump and the strength that she had to build
throughout the film.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
And I feel like she captured that all the way.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
She is man, that iconic pink outfit.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Man, that's the iconic man. She walked out with that
as she walked on, like, oh my god, they did it.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
The costume, hair and makeup did their thing.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yeah, even with pictures, I've seen people like looking at
pictures of it and saying like this brings me back,
you know, to this is so eighties, so amazing times.
Now got to ask you also about breast cancer. This
was something that I didn't even know until, you know,
way later, And you got to think, back then, we
didn't have like social media. We didn't have that peeking
(23:44):
into people's lives to know what's going on. I can't
imagine what that must have been like for you, being
tired all the time, having to be on tour. Get up,
let's go, not taking a break. I mean, talk to
us about that, because you were only what twenty twenty
one years old, when you got diagnosed with breast cancer.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
When yeah, I remember when I was told that I
had the breast cancer. I was like, the only thing
that I was focusing on was my mother. My mother
went through so much. Just to see her pick herself up,
wipe those tears away, and keep going, and she always
had a smile on her face. That's what I thought about.
(24:23):
I was like, I don't want anybody to be able
to take away what I worked so hard for. I
want to keep doing it. I was afraid that it
was going to pull that right from under me. I
got reactions from the guys, you know, why are you
sleeping while you tired? Are you pregnant?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Yeah, that's the first thing they're going to think they
are pregnant.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
I was asked so many times, are you pregnant? Because
I was swelling at one point and I used to
cover the pack underneath my clothes and it was hard.
But all I wanted to do was get through it
and continue to perform, because that's all I've ever wanted
to do.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
You know, the blessing is that you found that early
that you actually went to the dance. Yes, when something
was wrong, and you saw something and you went to
find it, because imagine not finding out.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You know, the earlier you find out, the better it
is for you.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Absolutely, absolutely, I saw those bruises and I was like,
why am I feeling so uncomfortable? Right, you know? And
they found six tumors, and I was like, I gotta
do this immediately, Let me go, Let me go. I
couldn't tell my mother. I was so afraid that she
was going to pull me off the road as well.
I didn't want to give her anymore to deal with, right,
And then the guys, you know, I don't want them
to And then you were dealing.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
With it by yourself.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Yes, yes, every day I had the greatest oncologist and
the nurse to whatever city they had. I handed them
the schedule of whatever we were doing, and they would
make sure in whatever city they would find a hospital
where I could go and get filled or get treatment there.
We would get to the city at six in the morning,
by seven I was in. I was in. I didn't
(25:54):
let anybody know.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And then eventually, was Tony the first person you told?
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Actually, yeah, yeah, she was. She was when I told
my mother was years after that. Wow, yes, you know
she never knew, never knew. And then, you know, one
day I decided to tell her because I started working
with Sloan kettering and doing you know, all that work.
And she was like, well, why are you working with
these people?
Speaker 3 (26:18):
And I had to tell her, right yeah, oh my gosh,
I know. She felt like, I can't even imagine you
going through that without telling anyone, you know, because people
want to support you and be there for you.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
But I understand the journey. She cried, and she was like,
I would have been there for you. And I was like,
you had too much to deal with and I wanted
to continue my career. I didn't want anybody to take
it away from me, and.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
That would have right.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
And you know, not to mention that you bought your
mama house, you bought her a car, and we think
about your deal, right, because there was a lot of
conversations about what was in that contract?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
What was in that deal?
Speaker 4 (26:53):
I mean, who knows? You know.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
They said you couldn't get married, I couldn't do nothing,
you couldn't have a relationship, nothing like you couldn't drive
fast cars, but not all kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
It was a bunch of crazy stuff. I couldn't make
any move without their their say. Anything that I said
or did went people I hung out with my family
had to go through them to hang out with you.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I'm here today, guys.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yeah, I'm alive, weird and HAPPI Lisa because work never
stopped for you. Because I think people also have to
understand what Lisa Lisa. Even after Lisa Lisa and cult
Jam broke up, you still as an individual had been
making amazing moves too, and that's a blessing.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Also, thank you.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I remember when I decided to sever Tize, I had
already in my head I'm gonna do this, so I
started writing out a contract on yellow notebook paper. I
started doing that, and then I put together some music
and I went to a record label. I went to
somebody who I worked with in the past on Columbia.
I went to Ruben Rodriguez and I said, I need
a record you know. He was like, oh absolutely, and
(28:06):
I signed that deal. But I gave him the yellow notebook.
It was funny. I had it rolled up and tied
with rubber band and I took it out of my
pocket and I said, here, this is what I want.
And he was like, okay, so you know what you
got to do. Now, go get a lawyer and have
them reprint this, write it correctly, and then you come
back to me, okay with that lawyer and we'll sign it.
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Also recently, you said you were going to re record
your music, right, yes, so talk to me about that
because we've been hearing a lot about people rerecording classic album.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Well, what I want to do is I want it.
We just released All Cried Out in SASA and it's
called no Yoda de massan all platforms and I love it.
Everybody's been asking me why haven't you done any Spanish music,
and I'm like, I had to do it rite. I
don't want to sell out. I had to make sure
that it was done right. Tony was beautiful enough to
find me the right producers, you know, and we did it.
(28:58):
So now what I want to do is re record
some of my hits in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Oh that'll be amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, it's a lane, you know, it absolutely goes.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I just want to say, All Cried Out such a
classic song. Great to do a karaoke to. My favorite
part of that song, and I think The most powerful
part is when you say apology not accepted, Yes, because
that is something that we all need to say sometimes.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Absolutely absolutely apology not accepted at me too, the broken
hearts you've collected. I do not want to be a
notch on your strength. Let it go.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
How did you relate to songs like that, especially when
you first came out to being so young?
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I know, I was a kid, what the hell that
I know? But I related because I think I really
feel that I had to grow up early. I have
to grow up fast because Hell's Kitchen, you have you
grown up fast? Oh yeah? And I love hell Hell's Kitchen.
My hometown here now, yeah yeah, yeah, down the block
from where I used to live. I just feel that
(30:00):
because I had to grow up so early, and I
came from a family of ten, and we helped my mom,
you know, to take care of us. Those were questions
that we were all asking already, you know. So I
definitely related to that because I was able to sit
back and watch my brothers and sisters go through all
what they went through, and I was like, Okay, I'm
not going to do that. I want to do this,
(30:21):
and oh I'm not hanging out with that one. So
it taught me.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I learned. Now this wasn't in the movie.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
But I want to ask when your husband, because you
did get married left right, he took all his stuff
and got out.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
What happened after that?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Like, did y'all have a pre I know you didn't
have a prenup? No, so did Like what happened? Did
he try to come after any of your money?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Like? Oh he did?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Okay, I figured that he tried. I was upset when
you got married. I was like, I know she didn't
do no prenup because she didn't also sign her contract
with a lawyer, so I knew that wasn't happening.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
So I was like, please don't let him take all
her money.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
He didn't. He didn't. He tried. He definitely tried, but
I have three big brothers, and uh, he deafly was
not able to And.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
That's the truth.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And after that, because you know, going through things like
that at a at a young age, like you said,
you were so young when you first got married, you
were on the road. There were a lot of things
going on that it makes it hard to trust people.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, and I'm afraid of that still to this day.
So they never know, you never know who's there for you.
And that's again I thank god that I have her
because she's the one who's constantly come here, didn't put
out of here.
Speaker 5 (31:29):
Now we argue a lot because when our crew from
from the Tour Our Tour Life Family saw the movie,
they were like, y'all still do this do the same thing.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
You know, she'd be, man, stop telling me what to do.
I'm a grown woman, and I'll be like, oh man,
she sms.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
The dog is.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
People think Lisa is like the sweet, quiet little guy.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Yeah, except when it comes to you, because she could
be herself aroun she's bossy.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I'm not. I'm not, but if I got to throw
a brush at you, I will.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
So how did you find love again after that?
Speaker 3 (32:03):
How is that for you?
Speaker 5 (32:04):
Just?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I think because it always comes back to Tony Man.
Tony she made She helped me find my voice, and
it was it was from her that I learned that
it's okay to say no, it's okay to cry, and
it's okay to love. So I met my children's father.
(32:26):
We hung out a lot. He used to dance for
me and we became really good friends. And after three
years of hanging out it just happened we had babies.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh yeah, well that's good. That's see.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
We love happy stories. And then you also played on
Tina I did.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I played the mom.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
That was a vibe too.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Thank you. We were the first Latino family on TV.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
I didn't even realize.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, we were the first, and it was great.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
You broke down a lot of you feel like people
even realize just all the things that you represented.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
No, she does.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
She's really not aware of herself. I told her, I said,
when you see the movie, when the movie, when you're
watching it, I want you to look at the impact
from another perspective.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
She's so humble and so not aware.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
I just I know I am really, I don't focus
on anything like that is. My happiness comes from me
being able to do what I love to do. And
that's the same I love to sing. I may sound
redundant and nancy looking at me.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You know when your kids realize what a big.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Deal you are.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Recently, because when they were babies, I took them on
the road with me a little bit. But now that
they're twenty and eighteen, they're like, damn MO, because they're friends'
parents are like, we love your mother and they knock
on my door, can we take pictures with you? I'm
gonna robe, so yeah, my kids will know now mm mmmmm.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
But listen, I'm so excited to have you here.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Another thing I wanted to talk about was just as
when you broke up with Cult Jam and that was
coming to an end, right, what happened? Like how did
you just separate sever things? Because I know it got
a little confusing with Faux Force. You know, there was
Cult Jam. People were like, Okay, who's in it? And
then I know you were really the face that they
(34:31):
were pushing, and that's not good for men's egos or
really anybody's egos, you know, and you know, like it
was like, let's do the interview, but we just want
Lisa Lisa or Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
That was really hard for them. And I felt that, man,
because I was like, we're banned. We got to do
this together. But you know, the producers and management were like,
m they want to see you, they want to talk
to you. But you know, we cleaned that up in
the years as we went on as a group together.
But the day I decided to subvertise it was because
you know, I had to fight to get other producers
(35:03):
on the last album that I did with them, straight
out of Hell's Kitchen. I was like, can I work
with Clesten Cole please? I want to do this, And
it was a fight. So I bought in Cleverlessen. I
set up a media and come on, guys, let me
do this. And the only way they were going to
do that is if they did one half of the
album and then Clovlyssen Cole were able to do the
second half of the album. I thought that was dumb,
(35:23):
but it worked, and it was just really really difficult
that I felt stifled. I wanted to continue on making
music and the record label was being really tough on me.
So I was like, please just let me go. I'll
do whatever I have to do, just let me go
from this contract. And thank you God, they did. And
I sat the guys down and I said, I just
(35:44):
have to go. I gotta go. I gotta pursue my career.
I got to pursue my dreams I want to do. Yeah. Yeah,
and it was it was good. It was an okay thing.
We all cried, we all hugged, and I moved on.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Right Yes, no, because y'all had a great run.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
The number one top forty hits, but you get to
see an experience in the movie.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I feel like this could be a Broadway play too.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Nothing from Your Mouth to God's Ears, that's a plan.
Let's do this. Come on, anybody want to come up
and do this with me? Please?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Just seeing it, I mean.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
It was, you know, just the time period, the hit songs,
the woman that is the face of this but doesn't
have the power that she should have as far as
making decisions. The best friend who in the eighties is
a lesbian, and they keep on trying to push her
out of the way. I mean, there's just so many
different things she.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Needed to be seen, and now we're getting her seen
because she deserves that definitely.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
And I think even back then that is like something
that you know, it wasn't something that people were very
accepting of.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
They weren't.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Yeah, oh no, it was at all.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
I honestly just you know, it's so funny because Breeze
is one of my favorite people, fast like, she's just
an amazing she's a amazing actor, amazing artist. But she
said something last the other day.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
She said that.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Playing my role made her feel seen and and that
and that made me feel honored.
Speaker 4 (37:14):
I was honored by it.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
Yes and yeah the first like this relationship inside of
this iconic artist movie represents my character represents a whole
group of people, a whole group of of of lesbian
in the community that weren't seen and what weren't heard
(37:36):
in that time it was taboo. So I'm honored to
have her represent I'm a fan. Imagine you want to
make a movie about your life and on the first pick.
Speaker 4 (37:47):
You get exactly who you want to play.
Speaker 5 (37:48):
If it was yes, that's what I wanted, I thought.
I called that I was harassing Twinkie. I was like,
did you did you clear her skeedus? Did she clear
her schedule?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
And and then she keept sending other auditions and she said, Breeze,
it's Breezy available.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
And I know what I wanted, And I told I
told Breeze, I said, I think I just I willed you.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
And then you were able to eventually start writing too, right,
because I know that was something you wanted to have
some input into the music.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Absolutely absolutely. It took forever, and then years later they
let me write one song and I was like, can
I write more? And I was like, you relax, I
wrote one song, someone to Love Me for Me, And
after I sadvertized with them and I started to started
to pursue my own thing. I started writing my own music.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
That's empowering, absolutely, and it's oh my god, it's so
what is the word. I'm sure it's nurturing and it's
it's it's like eating chocolate.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
It's like it's like healing too. Yes, and someone to
love me for me?
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I know you grew up singing in a church, and
it gives me that type of feeling exactly.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Know absolutely. I started when I was six years old
and to see my mom when she gave me my
first soul because my mom was the director of the
choir and they were all women, all Latin women, and
it was we would call Maria Mary's daughters. And she
gave me my first solo six years old and it
was Ave Maria, and I sang that for her. She
(39:22):
started tearing and I was like, I want to do this.
This is a reaction that I want. That feeling filled
me up.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
But I feel like once every well everybody's been watching
this movie all weekend and they're gonna continue to watch it.
But I feel like this is also gonna clearly give
you a significant spike. And everything that's been going on
on streaming services, on everything that you have. I know
you're gonna be doing shows coming up to and you've
been selling our shows.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
We saw the Radio City scene. I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
If you haven't seen it, that's such an impactful scene.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
But how has it been for you already?
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Now with everybody getting ready to see well, when they
were getting ready to see it, and now that they've
seen it, how's that for you?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Oh it's crazy. I was so nervous, but now that
it's out, it's so warming. It's like, Wow, people really
did want to see my life.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
I was excited you. I was excited as soon as
I seen it.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
I think when the news came out, I was up here, like,
guess what they're doing at Leasta Lisa movie on Lifetime
and I'm excited to see and I'm so happy to
meet both of you. I feel like Tony's got a
story she needs to tell too.
Speaker 5 (40:26):
At some point, I think that's gonna tell it and
then we're gonna work on it together. Absolutely, I'm grateful.
It's so funny because I'm used to being on the
other side of this and you know, you know, even
they're like, yo, sit down, you're talent today you're not
you're talent.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Look, I'm surprised. It like, can you please sit down?
Speaker 5 (40:50):
And she was like, okay, shout out to our publicist
j Nancy and Joe love.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
Them very much.
Speaker 5 (40:58):
They have done a fantastic job helping Lifetime promote this thing,
and it's been it's been a whirlwind, it's been amazing fun.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Well, congratulations, and I cannot wait to read the book.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Oh, thank you, she said, I'm gonna let it all out.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
I cannot wait because I know, I mean, just even
from watching this movie, I could read underneath like the.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Layers and know that there's a lot more.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Thank you that.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
Obviously they couldn't do it justice in an hour and
a half, but they did a fantastic job. So congratulations.
You should be so proud of yourselves.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Thank you for writing me.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Yes, and I want you to know that I'm your
biggest fan. Yes, and God bless you continue to be
so nice. I can't take it.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
She was excited about this.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Yeah, they said, Angeley, Yes, and that's what I said.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
All right, Well, thank you so much, both, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
I appreciate and make sure if you haven't seen it
and if you have watched, to check it out again.
Lisa Lisa on Lifetime. Can you fail to beat? Yeah,
it's way up
Speaker 4 (42:00):
One
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Its way up with Angela yee and this is so exciting.
If y'all could have heard my reaction when they were like, oh,
would you want to interview Lisa Lisa? I said yes absolutely.
I was like, whatever day we need to do it,
I will be there. But Lisa Lisa is here alongside
her best friend Slash manager Slash also an artist, Tony Minaj.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yeah happening.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
I asked her to step into the interview too, because
you played such a big part in Lisa Lisa's life,
which you know me growing up like listening to Lisa
Lisa in the eighties, you don't know anything about what's
going on behind the scenes. We know the music and
we know Cold Jam, we know Full Force, But this
biopic that's out now on Lifetime really helped put things
(00:45):
into perspective to see how it all happened.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Which is what we really really wanted to do. We
wanted to focus on who col Jam was because they
were never in the front, in the front lines. Everybody
thought the Full Force was culture, right they did, because.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
A lot of confusion around that.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
We would get yeah, the guys from a house, Yeah
that's Cult Jam, right, and I'm like, no, that's not
that's for the separate group.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
So I'm sorry, focus, So.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
This representing just them.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
I mean, everyone knows how legendary full forces they wrote
these amazing songs and produced these amazing songs that gave
us Lisa, Lisa, but you know, I thought it was
I think we both when we sat down at the
table with Twinkie, we just decided, you know what, let's
represent the group. Yes, so people kind of have you
(01:30):
people here with their eyes, so now they'll know they'll
see those two.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Guys, Mike and Alex.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's cult jat because I learned I learned a lot
about that from watching and you know, you talk about
Twinkie and I know Lisa, they said you said Twinky
was in your DMS.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Like, she, what are we doing this story?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
She goes, I know you, I love you. We need
to tell your story. Please allow me. My father was
a teacher and Julia Richmond and I was like, oh,
okay no, But like five years later and she would
come into my DMS like maybe once or twice a month,
you know, for five years, and then Tony came in
(02:07):
to my DMS and acted like it.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Was me, right, we took over to social to make sure,
you know, clean it up and get it yes, get
it right. And so you know, we go in and
check out, you know, the DM sometimes and Twinkie was
in there and I was like, yeah, we want to
make a movie.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Let's let's make where. She told me I said, yes,
my face sign something. I said, we had contract issues before.
We don't want to go. My answer, my answer was,
does anybody want to know my life?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh my gosh, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I think sometimes you don't understand the impact that you had,
even for me as a kid, you know, growing up,
because we can talk about you really setting the trend.
I'm from Brooklyn, you're from Hell's Kitchens. But growing up
in New York, you know, we were very into obviously
R and B. Yes, pop was it was still early
ish you know for that, but your genre of music
(03:05):
was different. It was also R and B. It also
was very I think music really brings people together. And
for you being Puerto Rican and doing what you were doing,
it's not even something we thought about.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I learned K Sarah K Sarah from you.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
I used to say that all the time, just from
listening to your music. You know, but it wasn't even
anything that you really think about. It just existed, you know.
And so for you to be able to cross over
into all these different genres, that's not an easy thing
to do.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
No, it wasn't. And back then I didn't focus on
any of that. I just wanted to sing. So come on,
let's do this, like you know, we kept it pushing,
And now that everybody says that to me, I'm like, okay,
thank you all. Take it.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Everybody talks about how humble and how nice you are
and how kind your spirit is.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
That's also not easy.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
When you've been famous for a long time and you've
been through a lot, because you meet people who get
so jaded and you've been through so much, you know,
just to see you still being like a good, kind person,
that's also not an easy thing.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Thank you. I think I had good grounding, good raising.
My mom. She kept me on the street and narrow
come home. You gotta do the dishes, you gotta wash
the clothes, you gotta clean the floor, you gotta do it.
She kept me grounded. And there was ten of us
on the youngest of ten, yeap, so we had to
do our chores and we all helped her, you know,
take care, but she was raising ten on her own.
(04:25):
I think that there the fight that she put to
make sure that her ten children, you know, live their dream.
That's my strength.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So let's get into this story because I know some
people have seen it. It came on over the weekend. Yes,
and can you feel that Lisa Lisa's story And if
you haven't seen it, you know people know some of
your story, but we're gonna give some some things up now.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So when you first got signed, right, you were only
you were a teenage you were still in high school.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yes, fifteen. I didn't know anything nothing. I just wanted
to say, snuck into the funhouse and met one of
the guys from Cult Jam Mike Cues, and he said,
come to this audition, and.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I did you know what I wanted to ask you?
Because there were some tinges of it throughout. Did you
ever feel because beautiful, young but young underage girl in
this industry of sharks and a lot of men, surrounded
by a lot of men, how was that for you?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And how did you learn how to navigate that?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Early on? It was not easy. I didn't learn how
to navigate it till later. On when I met Tony,
because she's the one who's taught me how to say no,
and I you know, I found my voice say no.
It was difficult. I come from a family of ten
and there's a ton of ather. I'm the youngest, but
there's seven women and three guys, right, so you know
(05:44):
I tried. You know, everything was about just move, press on,
move on. You know, it was the eighties, you know,
boys club music industry was definitely still is two run
by men, and it was difficult to get my point
across us.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
It was about an arm, a hand over your shoulder
and be quiet, don't speak right, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And did you ever say you left school? You dropped
out of school?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
No? I stayed in Yeah, no, I had. I stayed
in school, but I also had tutors on the road.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Okay, because some things we don't get to see in
the whole.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You know, you don't get to see everything. You Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Couldn't everything at all. And I know you're also doing
a book, right.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I absolutely am, Yes, so everything will be in that
bad boy. I'm gonna speak my truth. I thank god.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
How far along are you with this bug?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Huh? Hopefully?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
It'll be finished.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I have so much to say. I hope to have
it done by the end of the year. I hope
my fingers across.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
And what made you decide now, because, like you said,
you've always been not really like putting your life out there.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Okay, Tony. She was like, come on, you gotta you
gotta tell your story. People want to hear it. And
I said, what do they want to know? I just
I loved to sing. That's all I want people to know.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
And yeah, speaking you, I just you know, I think
it's important. And I've repeated this a few times.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
I think it's important that we give her her flowers
and her due credit now while she's here to appreciate it.
And I think for us, for me, it was very
important to do this movie now because you know, Selena
had a great movie and it gave j Lowe a
huge career, but she wasn't here to be part of
(07:33):
her project. So having Lisa at on set every day,
you know, with the cast talking to them and them
getting information from her outside of the research that they
did on their own, was priceless. It created a family environment.
You know, the movie was shot in a few weeks.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
It wasn't.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
We didn't have months to shoot this, so you know
we're on set sixteen hour days even when she's out
of character because she plays her mom and my mom.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah yeah, I was saying, we talked about this before
the cameras came on. Angie Martinez is in this and
she's playing a nurse.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yes, I love you, Angie, thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I was I told Angie, I said, I screamed when
I when I saw you on the screen. I was
so excited at Lever's in here. Also, he had a
cameo and then you played your mom. I did, how
did you prepare for that? And how did you feel
after you saw yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I remember when we went into makeup, hair and makeup,
and when the eyebrows got on. When they put those
eyebrows on, I was like, Oh, she's here. She's here,
because they made me look exactly like her. It was scary,
but it was therapeutic for me seeing my life through
her eyes and everything that she went through. The first
(08:50):
scene was killer for me. That was killer for me
because to remember that she had to pull me out
of the scene for a minute while we were filming.
I was bowling just to remember all of that.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Your father was abusive, yes, and then we didn't see
him again.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
So have you ever like I never had a relationship
with my father. Okay, that's actually how I met my father.
I met my father when I walked in. I heard
my mom whimpering. And when I walked into the apartment,
she was pinned to the kitchen window and he was
abusing her, beating her, and I just we always, you know,
living in hell's kitchen. You kept the bat by the doors.
(09:28):
I took that back and I actually connected boom, you know,
and my mother's like, no, that's your father. I was like, really, yeah,
this is my father keeping out of here, you know, crazy.
It was nuts.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
What was the decision to open the movie with that?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Because, like you said, that's a really tough emotional thing,
but it caught your attention right away and kind of
says the stage for.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, basically how I believe that that needed to be
shown because then we're alone. My mom raised us all
by herself. She had to get rid of that. We
tried to pull her out of it, you know, the kids,
all of us, we pulled her out of it, and
then we went, you know, to another place, and we
all had to work right, you know, we all had
(10:11):
to put our part. I wanted them to see that.
I wanted the audience to see that, definitely.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
We also had a fantastic director and she's thirty years old.
First of all, I just want to say that we
had all brown women work on this project.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Nice.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
It was very important that we had a Puerto Rican writer,
and you know that women worked on this film because
of the content.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
But Talia is phenomenal and she.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Directed this film and it became a personal project for her.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You know.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
The first cut that you know, we sat through it
was two hours and she was like, I pray that
the network lets me keep this.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I know they're not.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
They're going to cut at least thirty minutes of this film.
There was so much more in there.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Tell me what got cut so I could get an
idea of some things that you wish would have made
it in.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
But I mean, I think the things that got cut
were conversation conversations.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
No, but I don't think you know, a lot of
the audience is not going to finish listening to or
hear be able to hear the rest of the conversation
because there was just so much more in a scene.
They had to cut the scenes down.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
That's tough.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I know you were like each part because damn I
had so much more to say.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Now.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
There's also a part where one of the members of
Cold Jam actually kind of like, has you up against
It's not it's a manager. Oh that's the manager. Okay,
that was a manager.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
But it repped, you know, like she said it was.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
It was the eighties and even me as a as
a lesbian woman.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
You know, nobody was safe if in that time exactly.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Even today, Yeah, you have here like you know, depending
on but yes, I think hopefully things are getting better.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
It absolutely yes, I was able to take control of
it all.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
She showed me the way. Like again, when I met Tony,
my angel, I want to smack you, but I love
you so much. She taught me. She showed me my voice.
She said, come on, don't let this happen, you know.
But again the eighties Boys Club, everybody tried to get
(12:25):
their feel and I'm just happy that I came through that.
I'm here today to speak on it.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
And I was watching that, I was like, Laura, please
don't let this go.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Oh there was a lot more that wasn't shown.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
I feel like it has one of the scenes that, yeah,
because that's why I was asking it, because I felt
like it probably was more than that.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
But you know, and I feel like it was enough, right,
because we didn't want to take away from the impact
that she made in this industry by having people focus
on the trauma, right, because we're addicted to trauma now,
it's all in our feed constantly, and so we've become
almost immune to the idea that these things happened. There
(13:04):
was a time where you would be terrified when you
saw certain things, and now it's normal to us.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
It's become normal to see that far.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
It's terrible if we've been desensitized to traumas.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
So it was just we wanted to keep it classy.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
We wanted to keep the focus on her story, the
friendship between us, the relationship between her and Colt jam
and I think that we accomplished that with this film.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Absolutely did an Tony.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I want to get to your part in this too,
as Freezy plays you. She did a phenomenal I love you, Breezy.
She did a phenomenal job playing your character. So you
came into this having some knowledge of having had a
record deal.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yes, well this is your real life.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
So yes, and so you had a terrible deal. I
think you said you got two hundred dollars.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
I put out a record called Video Burnout in nineteen
eighty three. I was fourteen. They recorded me without any
adult surround. They wrote me a check for two hundred dollars,
endorsed it and gave me the cash. And that's what
I made for that song. And it's still an underground
dance hit today. Yeah. So yeah, I learned. But the
(14:11):
thing about me is you're only going to get to
dupe me once because I don't like, I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Privd with me once on you.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Yeah, I'm prideful, So I'm not going to allow you
to make me look stupid twice. So you know, I
started asking questions and you know, reading up and talking
to people, and so by the time I got to Lisa,
I was seventeen.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And Lisa was very afraid. You know. I'd be like,
I don't sound right. She'd be like, she's.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Like, I'm not trying to have to go back to
bag and gross.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
She's like, I don't.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Don't rock the boat. Don't rock the boat, Tony. She's
still like that.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Now, you know, she's like, well, you know, but you well,
all right, we'll get to that in the second. What
you're like now, But what did you think your younger
self when you first met Lisa Lisa, Because in the
movie she has a very sweet, nice interaction with you.
I want to know what your thoughts were when you
first met her, because sometimes you could look at somebody
(15:07):
like that and be like, you know, what's she going
to be like?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Is she a mean girl?
Speaker 5 (15:11):
Is she was at least has consistently been a sweetheart
for the last forty years that I've known her, almost
too in my opinion, almost to a faults right, because
people see that as a way to get in and
take advantage. I feel like this movie represents how because
I think they think, you know, when you're lesbian or
(15:33):
you live that life, that you want to sleep with
all women. I hope that they understand that this friendship
had nothing to do.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
It was never even a thought.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
We literally built a sisterhood instantly, and I think it's
because we were the only two women on the tour,
and we found comfort and safety in hanging out together
and talking and singing in the back of the bus.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And you know, she was my blanket man. She made
me feel comfortable, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
She she told me to make them.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I had to save your legs, and that's for real,
you know, that's really for real.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
I was like, I remember the first time I saved
my legs.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
It didn't go well because I was always afraid to
cutting off.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
I cut myself off, my shame with the bonus.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Men don't have to go through that. Men don't have
to go through that.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
But she was a beast, and I told her, come on,
you have to take care of that situation. Handle that.
That's oh.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I was like, well, I gotta do this.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
I needed each other though, yes, yeah, you know, just
as much as Lisa needed you, Tony, Tony, you needed her.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
I needed her.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
I mean I was I was rough around the edges,
you know. I was the movie like, I was a pill.
And when I think back to younger me, I was like, damn,
you had to deal with you. But Lisa stories, she
gave me the She she softened me up in ways
where I needed it, and later on it worked for
(16:58):
my life when I started and reacting with people and
running my own companies. That growing experience with her was
she just taught me how to be a kinder. I
didn't have to be so hard all the time.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
And you tell her to be a little more hurry
and you need to be a little more rough.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Yeah she did.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
She's a happy medium, nice balance.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
And your father, you know that was depicted in the
movie as well, Tony. That was an I mean, what
is your relationship with him or what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Was there ever?
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Any So my father died in prison years back.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
I'm a product of rape, so I happened to meet
my father. But you know, my mother was thirteen when
she had WOW, so you know, I didn't know she
was my mother though she was my sister.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
She was being raised as my sister.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
So when I all this truth came out as a
teenager and I finally met him like any other child
that was trying to cling to him and build a relationship.
But he was from the streets and so what he
saw that as he was an opportunity to use me
to do other things.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
You know, whole drugs, sell drugs.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
You know, you get high with me and then you
tell me to go to my room and then I'm
like what this don't work. So we had that kind
of relationship. I loved him like any kids. You know,
I tell people all the time, you have children, Your
children love you with a clean slate.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
You could be anything.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
You ruin it, you turn it into whatever you're going
to turn it into. Me And I still love him.
I mean, you know, whatever his traumas were, his story was,
I'm sure it was, you know, traumas passed on. So
I'm not angry with him. I don't blame him, but
you know, his life technically ended up in his demise,
(18:51):
and you know, and that's that's the cycle. I'm fortunate
enough to have at least to saved my life because
getting into that tour changed the direction that I was going.
And it could have gone it could have split up
and gone either way. But this tour, this, you know,
and I thankful force for giving me that opportunity. I
(19:13):
think cult Jim, I think Lisa. But this friendship was
built as a result of that one audition, which I
wasn't even supposed to be at.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
She killed it real fast, she did.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Smoking a cigarette. I was drinking.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
I want to tell that story. She walks in. I
didn't see we were having this discussion. Oh my god,
we gotta have another audition. Because I didn't find anybody,
and blah blah, blah blah, and all of a sudden,
his voice starts to come out and it stopped me
writing my tracks. And I listened, and then when I
turn around, I see this, this thing. She looked like
a boy. She had a head to the back, she
(19:45):
had a bubble jacket on, a beer in one hand
and a cigarette in the other, and she's blowing. She
didn't she was like this with the.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Beer as I am and was blowing.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
And I was like, oh my god, that's what I want.
And the reaction that I got from everybody else, I
was like, I don't care. I ran after her, right,
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
They let you because the thing is, it was a
very controlling situation. You were the only woman before that,
and it felt like they were making all the decisions,
even you know, the music, giving it to you. But
that day you knew that that was something you had
to I had to make happen, and they actually.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Did, even though they tried to kick you out there.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
You know how many time they kicked me out a
couple of times. But like I said, I was you know,
I was a pill. I was seventeen. I was raw.
You know, you talk crazy to me, I talk crazy back.
You know.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
That didn't bother me because I came from a family
of ten, right, I'm the youngest of ten of them,
and I had some rough brothers.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Rough, thank god.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, my oldest brother helped you out, right. Yeah, he
did three tours in the Vietnam War. So when he
came back, oh god, he was he was a pill. Yeah,
I was. I was used to that.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
But the whole neighborhood knew not to mess with you.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Oh they didn't. They didn't. That's Raymon's little sister. Don't
mess with me.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
She embraced me like there was no you know more
where I would walk into certain environments. I was used
to being judged, and I was already deferent. That's where
the heart I was defensive. I was ready to defend
myself constantly because I had to. She never made me
feel like I had to defend myself to never just
I was.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Tony has the heart of gold. She really told people,
I have to. It's my experience. She has a heart
of gold. She really really does, and she loves to
take care of people. She has such a maternal personality
as people cling to her, you know, so that was
all to me. We shut that away, We shud that up.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
What did you think when Lisa got married?
Speaker 4 (21:45):
I told her what I say.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
I said, if you marry this dude, I'm wearing a
tux to your wedding.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
And she did and I did.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
When you got married, Lisa.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Oh my god, I was almost turning twenty, I was
nineteen twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I know. Everybody was like, don't do it.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
They did, family said don't do it. My mother was like,
you don't need to marry this kid. I'm like, but
I love them. And I think that's.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
You think you and you know, but you know, listen,
I wanted to be grown, but I think that's that's like,
that's the innocence of Lisa. Lisa is and I feel
like your nest who is fantastic the young lady that
plays her. The most important thing was that whoever played
Lisa had to look like Lisa.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I was like, looked just like you.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
People don't hear with their eyes, you know.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
And I feel like, if you do a biopic about
an artist, you have to have two things.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
A visual that makes that draws people in and the music.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Amen.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You know that's those two things are super important. And
your nest man, she had just enough innocence to play
the the soft, beautiful Lisa that we know, and just
enough fire to rep present the hurdles that she had
to jump and the strength that she had to build
throughout the film.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
And I feel like she captured that all the way.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
She is man, that iconic pink outfit.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Man, that's the iconic man. She walked out with that
as she walked on, like, oh my god, they did it.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
The costume, hair and makeup did their thing.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yeah, even with pictures, I've seen people like looking at
pictures of it and saying like this brings me back,
you know, to this is so eighties, so amazing times.
Now got to ask you also about breast cancer. This
was something that I didn't even know until, you know,
way later, And you got to think, back then, we
didn't have like social media. We didn't have that peeking
(23:44):
into people's lives to know what's going on. I can't
imagine what that must have been like for you, being
tired all the time, having to be on tour. Get up,
let's go, not taking a break. I mean, talk to
us about that, because you were only what twenty twenty
one years old, when you got diagnosed with breast cancer.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
When yeah, I remember when I was told that I
had the breast cancer. I was like, the only thing
that I was focusing on was my mother. My mother
went through so much. Just to see her pick herself up,
wipe those tears away, and keep going, and she always
had a smile on her face. That's what I thought about.
(24:23):
I was like, I don't want anybody to be able
to take away what I worked so hard for. I
want to keep doing it. I was afraid that it
was going to pull that right from under me. I
got reactions from the guys, you know, why are you
sleeping while you tired? Are you pregnant?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Yeah, that's the first thing they're going to think they
are pregnant.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
I was asked so many times, are you pregnant? Because
I was swelling at one point and I used to
cover the pack underneath my clothes and it was hard.
But all I wanted to do was get through it
and continue to perform, because that's all I've ever wanted
to do.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
You know, the blessing is that you found that early
that you actually went to the dance. Yes, when something
was wrong, and you saw something and you went to
find it, because imagine not finding out.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You know, the earlier you find out, the better it
is for you.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Absolutely, absolutely, I saw those bruises and I was like,
why am I feeling so uncomfortable? Right, you know? And
they found six tumors, and I was like, I gotta
do this immediately, Let me go, Let me go. I
couldn't tell my mother. I was so afraid that she
was going to pull me off the road as well.
I didn't want to give her anymore to deal with, right,
And then the guys, you know, I don't want them
to And then you were dealing.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
With it by yourself.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Yes, yes, every day I had the greatest oncologist and
the nurse to whatever city they had. I handed them
the schedule of whatever we were doing, and they would
make sure in whatever city they would find a hospital
where I could go and get filled or get treatment there.
We would get to the city at six in the morning,
by seven I was in. I was in. I didn't
(25:54):
let anybody know.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And then eventually, was Tony the first person you told?
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Actually, yeah, yeah, she was. She was when I told
my mother was years after that. Wow, yes, you know
she never knew, never knew. And then, you know, one
day I decided to tell her because I started working
with Sloan kettering and doing you know, all that work.
And she was like, well, why are you working with
these people?
Speaker 3 (26:18):
And I had to tell her, right yeah, oh my gosh,
I know. She felt like, I can't even imagine you
going through that without telling anyone, you know, because people
want to support you and be there for you.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
But I understand the journey. She cried, and she was like,
I would have been there for you. And I was like,
you had too much to deal with and I wanted
to continue my career. I didn't want anybody to take
it away from me, and.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
That would have right.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
And you know, not to mention that you bought your
mama house, you bought her a car, and we think
about your deal, right, because there was a lot of
conversations about what was in that contract?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
What was in that deal?
Speaker 4 (26:53):
I mean, who knows? You know.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
They said you couldn't get married, I couldn't do nothing,
you couldn't have a relationship, nothing like you couldn't drive
fast cars, but not all kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
It was a bunch of crazy stuff. I couldn't make
any move without their their say. Anything that I said
or did went people I hung out with my family
had to go through them to hang out with you.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I'm here today, guys.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yeah, I'm alive, weird and HAPPI Lisa because work never
stopped for you. Because I think people also have to
understand what Lisa Lisa. Even after Lisa Lisa and cult
Jam broke up, you still as an individual had been
making amazing moves too, and that's a blessing.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Also, thank you.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I remember when I decided to sever Tize, I had
already in my head I'm gonna do this, so I
started writing out a contract on yellow notebook paper. I
started doing that, and then I put together some music
and I went to a record label. I went to
somebody who I worked with in the past on Columbia.
I went to Ruben Rodriguez and I said, I need
a record you know. He was like, oh absolutely, and
(28:06):
I signed that deal. But I gave him the yellow notebook.
It was funny. I had it rolled up and tied
with rubber band and I took it out of my
pocket and I said, here, this is what I want.
And he was like, okay, so you know what you
got to do. Now, go get a lawyer and have
them reprint this, write it correctly, and then you come
back to me, okay with that lawyer and we'll sign it.
And that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Also recently, you said you were going to re record
your music, right, yes, so talk to me about that
because we've been hearing a lot about people rerecording classic album.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Well, what I want to do is I want it.
We just released All Cried Out in SASA and it's
called no Yoda de massan all platforms and I love it.
Everybody's been asking me why haven't you done any Spanish music,
and I'm like, I had to do it rite. I
don't want to sell out. I had to make sure
that it was done right. Tony was beautiful enough to
find me the right producers, you know, and we did it.
(28:58):
So now what I want to do is re record
some of my hits in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Oh that'll be amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, it's a lane, you know, it absolutely goes.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
I just want to say, All Cried Out such a
classic song. Great to do a karaoke to. My favorite
part of that song, and I think The most powerful
part is when you say apology not accepted, Yes, because
that is something that we all need to say sometimes.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Absolutely absolutely apology not accepted at me too, the broken
hearts you've collected. I do not want to be a
notch on your strength. Let it go.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
How did you relate to songs like that, especially when
you first came out to being so young?
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I know, I was a kid, what the hell that
I know? But I related because I think I really
feel that I had to grow up early. I have
to grow up fast because Hell's Kitchen, you have you
grown up fast? Oh yeah? And I love hell Hell's Kitchen.
My hometown here now, yeah yeah, yeah, down the block
from where I used to live. I just feel that
(30:00):
because I had to grow up so early, and I
came from a family of ten, and we helped my mom,
you know, to take care of us. Those were questions
that we were all asking already, you know. So I
definitely related to that because I was able to sit
back and watch my brothers and sisters go through all
what they went through, and I was like, Okay, I'm
not going to do that. I want to do this,
(30:21):
and oh I'm not hanging out with that one. So
it taught me.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I learned. Now this wasn't in the movie.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
But I want to ask when your husband, because you
did get married left right, he took all his stuff
and got out.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
What happened after that?
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Like, did y'all have a pre I know you didn't
have a prenup? No, so did Like what happened? Did
he try to come after any of your money?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Like? Oh he did?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Okay, I figured that he tried. I was upset when
you got married. I was like, I know she didn't
do no prenup because she didn't also sign her contract
with a lawyer, so I knew that wasn't happening.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
So I was like, please don't let him take all
her money.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
He didn't. He didn't. He tried. He definitely tried, but
I have three big brothers, and uh, he deafly was
not able to And.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
That's the truth.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And after that, because you know, going through things like
that at a at a young age, like you said,
you were so young when you first got married, you
were on the road. There were a lot of things
going on that it makes it hard to trust people.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, and I'm afraid of that still to this day.
So they never know, you never know who's there for you.
And that's again I thank god that I have her
because she's the one who's constantly come here, didn't put
out of here.
Speaker 5 (31:29):
Now we argue a lot because when our crew from
from the Tour Our Tour Life Family saw the movie,
they were like, y'all still do this do the same thing.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
You know, she'd be, man, stop telling me what to do.
I'm a grown woman, and I'll be like, oh man,
she sms.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
The dog is.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
People think Lisa is like the sweet, quiet little guy.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Yeah, except when it comes to you, because she could
be herself aroun she's bossy.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I'm not. I'm not, but if I got to throw
a brush at you, I will.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
So how did you find love again after that?
Speaker 3 (32:03):
How is that for you?
Speaker 5 (32:04):
Just?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I think because it always comes back to Tony Man.
Tony she made She helped me find my voice, and
it was it was from her that I learned that
it's okay to say no, it's okay to cry, and
it's okay to love. So I met my children's father.
(32:26):
We hung out a lot. He used to dance for
me and we became really good friends. And after three
years of hanging out it just happened we had babies.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh yeah, well that's good. That's see.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
We love happy stories. And then you also played on
Tina I did.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I played the mom.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
That was a vibe too.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Thank you. We were the first Latino family on TV.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
I didn't even realize.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, we were the first, and it was great.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
You broke down a lot of you feel like people
even realize just all the things that you represented.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
No, she does.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
She's really not aware of herself. I told her, I said,
when you see the movie, when the movie, when you're
watching it, I want you to look at the impact
from another perspective.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
She's so humble and so not aware.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
I just I know I am really, I don't focus
on anything like that is. My happiness comes from me
being able to do what I love to do. And
that's the same I love to sing. I may sound
redundant and nancy looking at me.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You know when your kids realize what a big.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Deal you are.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Recently, because when they were babies, I took them on
the road with me a little bit. But now that
they're twenty and eighteen, they're like, damn MO, because they're friends'
parents are like, we love your mother and they knock
on my door, can we take pictures with you? I'm
gonna robe, so yeah, my kids will know now mm mmmmm.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
But listen, I'm so excited to have you here.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Another thing I wanted to talk about was just as
when you broke up with Cult Jam and that was
coming to an end, right, what happened? Like how did
you just separate sever things? Because I know it got
a little confusing with Faux Force. You know, there was
Cult Jam. People were like, Okay, who's in it? And
then I know you were really the face that they
(34:31):
were pushing, and that's not good for men's egos or
really anybody's egos, you know, and you know, like it
was like, let's do the interview, but we just want
Lisa Lisa or Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
That was really hard for them. And I felt that, man,
because I was like, we're banned. We got to do
this together. But you know, the producers and management were like,
m they want to see you, they want to talk
to you. But you know, we cleaned that up in
the years as we went on as a group together.
But the day I decided to subvertise it was because
you know, I had to fight to get other producers
(35:03):
on the last album that I did with them, straight
out of Hell's Kitchen. I was like, can I work
with Clesten Cole please? I want to do this, And
it was a fight. So I bought in Cleverlessen. I
set up a media and come on, guys, let me
do this. And the only way they were going to
do that is if they did one half of the
album and then Clovlyssen Cole were able to do the
second half of the album. I thought that was dumb,
(35:23):
but it worked, and it was just really really difficult
that I felt stifled. I wanted to continue on making
music and the record label was being really tough on me.
So I was like, please just let me go. I'll
do whatever I have to do, just let me go
from this contract. And thank you God, they did. And
I sat the guys down and I said, I just
(35:44):
have to go. I gotta go. I gotta pursue my career.
I got to pursue my dreams I want to do. Yeah. Yeah,
and it was it was good. It was an okay thing.
We all cried, we all hugged, and I moved on.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Right Yes, no, because y'all had a great run.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
The number one top forty hits, but you get to
see an experience in the movie.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I feel like this could be a Broadway play too.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Nothing from Your Mouth to God's Ears, that's a plan.
Let's do this. Come on, anybody want to come up
and do this with me? Please?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Just seeing it, I mean.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
It was, you know, just the time period, the hit songs,
the woman that is the face of this but doesn't
have the power that she should have as far as
making decisions. The best friend who in the eighties is
a lesbian, and they keep on trying to push her
out of the way. I mean, there's just so many
different things she.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Needed to be seen, and now we're getting her seen
because she deserves that definitely.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
And I think even back then that is like something
that you know, it wasn't something that people were very
accepting of.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
They weren't.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Yeah, oh no, it was at all.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
I honestly just you know, it's so funny because Breeze
is one of my favorite people, fast like, she's just
an amazing she's a amazing actor, amazing artist. But she
said something last the other day.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
She said that.
Speaker 5 (37:03):
Playing my role made her feel seen and and that
and that made me feel honored.
Speaker 4 (37:14):
I was honored by it.
Speaker 5 (37:15):
Yes and yeah the first like this relationship inside of
this iconic artist movie represents my character represents a whole
group of people, a whole group of of of lesbian
in the community that weren't seen and what weren't heard
(37:36):
in that time it was taboo. So I'm honored to
have her represent I'm a fan. Imagine you want to
make a movie about your life and on the first pick.
Speaker 4 (37:47):
You get exactly who you want to play.
Speaker 5 (37:48):
If it was yes, that's what I wanted, I thought.
I called that I was harassing Twinkie. I was like,
did you did you clear her skeedus? Did she clear
her schedule?
Speaker 1 (37:59):
And and then she keept sending other auditions and she said, Breeze,
it's Breezy available.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
And I know what I wanted, And I told I
told Breeze, I said, I think I just I willed you.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
And then you were able to eventually start writing too, right,
because I know that was something you wanted to have
some input into the music.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Absolutely absolutely. It took forever, and then years later they
let me write one song and I was like, can
I write more? And I was like, you relax, I
wrote one song, someone to Love Me for Me, And
after I sadvertized with them and I started to started
to pursue my own thing. I started writing my own music.
Speaker 4 (38:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
That's empowering, absolutely, and it's oh my god, it's so
what is the word. I'm sure it's nurturing and it's
it's it's like eating chocolate.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
It's like it's like healing too. Yes, and someone to
love me for me?
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I know you grew up singing in a church, and
it gives me that type of feeling exactly.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Know absolutely. I started when I was six years old
and to see my mom when she gave me my
first soul because my mom was the director of the
choir and they were all women, all Latin women, and
it was we would call Maria Mary's daughters. And she
gave me my first solo six years old and it
was Ave Maria, and I sang that for her. She
(39:22):
started tearing and I was like, I want to do this.
This is a reaction that I want. That feeling filled
me up.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
But I feel like once every well everybody's been watching
this movie all weekend and they're gonna continue to watch it.
But I feel like this is also gonna clearly give
you a significant spike. And everything that's been going on
on streaming services, on everything that you have. I know
you're gonna be doing shows coming up to and you've
been selling our shows.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
We saw the Radio City scene. I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
If you haven't seen it, that's such an impactful scene.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
But how has it been for you already?
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Now with everybody getting ready to see well, when they
were getting ready to see it, and now that they've
seen it, how's that for you?
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Oh it's crazy. I was so nervous, but now that
it's out, it's so warming. It's like, Wow, people really
did want to see my life.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
I was excited you. I was excited as soon as
I seen it.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
I think when the news came out, I was up here, like,
guess what they're doing at Leasta Lisa movie on Lifetime
and I'm excited to see and I'm so happy to
meet both of you. I feel like Tony's got a
story she needs to tell too.
Speaker 5 (40:26):
At some point, I think that's gonna tell it and
then we're gonna work on it together. Absolutely, I'm grateful.
It's so funny because I'm used to being on the
other side of this and you know, you know, even
they're like, yo, sit down, you're talent today you're not
you're talent.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Look, I'm surprised. It like, can you please sit down?
Speaker 5 (40:50):
And she was like, okay, shout out to our publicist
j Nancy and Joe love.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
Them very much.
Speaker 5 (40:58):
They have done a fantastic job helping Lifetime promote this thing,
and it's been it's been a whirlwind, it's been amazing fun.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Well, congratulations, and I cannot wait to read the book.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Oh, thank you, she said, I'm gonna let it all out.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
I cannot wait because I know, I mean, just even
from watching this movie, I could read underneath like the.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Layers and know that there's a lot more.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Thank you that.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
Obviously they couldn't do it justice in an hour and
a half, but they did a fantastic job. So congratulations.
You should be so proud of yourselves.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Thank you for writing me.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Yes, and I want you to know that I'm your
biggest fan. Yes, and God bless you continue to be
so nice. I can't take it.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
She was excited about this.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Yeah, they said, Angeley, Yes, and that's what I said.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
All right, Well, thank you so much, both, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
I appreciate and make sure if you haven't seen it
and if you have watched, to check it out again.
Lisa Lisa on Lifetime. Can you fail to beat? Yeah,
it's way up
Speaker 4 (42:00):
One
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