Newcleus contributed a true electro classic in "Jam on It," a Top Ten R&B hit that has been immortalized on hundreds of hip-hop mixtapes and often included in even techno DJs' sets. The origins of the group lay in a 1977 Brooklyn DJ collective known as Jam-On Productions, which included Ben Cozmo D Cenac, his cousin Monique Angevin, and her brother Pete (all of whom were teenagers and still in high school). Many members -- MCs as well as DJs -- came and went as the group played block parties all over the borough, and by 1979, the group centered around Cenac, his future wife Yvette Lady E Cook, Monique Angevin, and her future husband, Bob Chilly B Crafton. The foursome named their group Newcleus as a result of the coming together of their families.

By this time, Cenac had begun to accumulate a collection of electronic recording equipment, and the quartet recorded a demo tape of material. With several minutes left at the end of the tape, Newcleus recorded a favorite from their block parties, with each member's vocals sped up to resemble the Chipmunks. The track, "Jam-On Revenge," impressed producer Joe Webb more than the other Newcleus material, and it became the group's first single, released in 1983 on Mayhew Records. A huge street success, the track became known unofficially as "the Wikki-Wikki song" (after the refrain); when it was re-released later that year on Sunnyview, it had become "Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)."

The single hit Top 40 on the Billboard RB chart in 1983, and its follow-up, the more popular "Jam on It," reached the Top Ten and crossed into the Hot 100, where it peaked at number 56. "Computer Age (Push the Button)" was a more mature single, with accomplished rapping and better synthesizer effects, and it also hit the RB Top 40. The first Newcleus LP, Jam on Revenge, was a bit of a disappointment, and their second album, Space Is the Place, did even more poorly upon release in 1984. Without a single as noteworthy as "Jam On Revenge" or "Computer Age," and with the advent of Run-D.M.C.'s organic, rock-influenced approach to rap music, Newcleus faded quickly, though the group sporadically recorded and performed, and compilations such as Destination: Earth - The Definitive Newcleus Recordings kept their output in circulation. Chilly B died of a stroke in 2010. ~ John Bush, Rovi