Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam emerged in the summer of 1985, during the height of the Reagan era, as one of the first Latin freestyle groups to achieve significant crossover and commercial success. Their debut single, “I Wonder If I Take You Home,” not only exemplified the burgeoning freestyle genre—a genre that became a platform for young English-language Puerto Rican and Latiné singers—but the song also served, mainly through its lyrics, as a cultural marker of a period when pop music, the emerging concept of safer sex, and the anxiety surrounding AIDS were all colliding.
1985 was a critical year in the history of AIDS. Annual infections had risen steadily, from 20,000 in 1981 to 130,000 by 1984 and 1985, and public recognition of AIDS as a growing health crisis was beginning to take hold. This shift was culturally punctuated by Hollywood icon Rock Hudson’s disclosure of his AIDS diagnosis on July 25, 1985, the same week that “I Wonder If I Take You Home” was sitting at #45 on Billboard’s Hot 100, on its way to a #34 peak. Lisa Lisa’s breakthrough was occurring in this rapidly-evolving AIDS backdrop when conversations around safer sex and risk reduction were permeating into the mainstream.
Baby, I know you’re wondering
Why I won’t go over to your place
Cause I’m not to sure about how you feel
So I’d rather go at my own pace
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, formed in 1984, was the brainchild of the pioneering Brooklyn-based, multi-genre group Full Force. The trio featured vocalist the charismatic lead vocalist Lisa Velez, guitarist/bassist Alex “Spanador” Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. After signing with Columbia Records, the group’s debut single, “I Wonder If I Take You Home,” was released in the U.K., just months after freestyle’s big-bang moment, Shannon’s “Let the Music Play,” reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “I Wonder If I Take You Home” gained traction in the U.S. at the club and radio levels in the spring of 1985.
President Ronald Reagan did not mention AIDS publicly until September 1985, four years after the onset of the crisis. It would be another two years before the country took steps to raise awareness about AIDS with the launch of the “America Responds to AIDS” campaign. But as early as 1983, the gay community and AIDS activists took the lead in raising awareness about safer sex and risk reduction, particularly in the communities most impacted.
Written and produced by Full Force, “I Wonder If I Take You Home” was a groundbreaking blend of electro-funk, Latin rhythms, hip-hop, and pop/dance elements that would define Latin freestyle music. Lisa Lisa’s youthful yet soulful vocals, pulsating production, and infectious melody helped solidify the song’s crossover appeal. For many Black and Latine youth coming of age during the AIDS crisis and amid early safe-sex messaging, the song’s lyrical content of trust, intimacy, and the decision to have sex resonated and reflected the realities of teen sexuality.
“I Wonder If I Take You Home” became a massive crossover success. It topped Billboard’s Dance Chart, reached the top 10 on the Black Singles Chart, and became the group’s first top 40 pop hit. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s success continued into the early 1990s with R&B/Pop hits, including a pair of #1 singles, “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” and the cook-out classic “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em.”
The Legacy of “I Wonder If I Take You Home” looms large. The song has transcended generations, sampled and interpolated by artists such as Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Kelis, Kylie Minogue, and covered by Black queer, two-spirit bassist and singer Meshell Ndegeocello in 2018.
While it doesn’t explicitly reference AIDS, “I Wonder If I Take You Home” unintentionally captures the hesitation and concern that infiltrated broader cultural conversations about sex while also pointing to a future where Puerto Rican young pop artists people could garner multi-genre mainstream success.
“I Wonder If I Take You Home” remains a touchstone of 1980s pop music, not only for the ground it broke for the Latin Freestyle, but the song also stands as a rhythmic artifact that reflects the anxiety Black and Latine young people in the mid-1980s experienced navigating relationships in a world forever changed by AIDS.