Cozmo D of Newcleus joins Manchester Scene Stories to look back at the roots of Jam-On Productions, the birth of Newcleus, the making of Jam-On’s Revenge and Jam On It, and the Brooklyn street culture that shaped his music.
The conversation starts in Brooklyn in the mid-1970s, where Cozmo began DJing at house parties with family before Jam-On Productions took shape in 1977. He talks about building sound systems, playing block parties, parks, weddings and neighbourhood events, and learning how to move very different crowds across one of New York’s most diverse boroughs.
Cozmo explains how Brooklyn’s approach differed from the Bronx. While breakbeats became central to the Bronx story, he remembers Brooklyn crews being driven heavily by bass, funk and whatever worked on the dancefloor.
He also talks about teaching himself to make music using early synthesizers, drum machines and tape-to-tape recording before getting a Tascam Portastudio. Those experiments eventually led to Positive Messenger, a project built around spirituality, love and positive messages, before a very different track changed everything.
That track was Jam-On’s Revenge.
Originally made as a humorous response to rap records Cozmo felt did not reflect the harder Brooklyn style he knew from the streets, the track was added almost as an afterthought to a demo tape. Producer Joe Webb heard it and immediately saw its potential.
Cozmo tells the story of how the Newcleus name emerged from the coming together of several families involved in the music, and how a studio accident meant Jam-On’s Revenge ended up with live bass rather than the TB-303 bassline originally planned.
From there, we move into Jam On It, the record that took Newcleus to a much wider audience. Cozmo explains how the follow-up was written, how Chili B became part of the vocal performance, and why he still sees himself primarily as a DJ and musician rather than a rapper.
We also discuss Computer Age, Space Is the Place, Newcleus’ impact outside America and the way the group’s music travelled into clubs and communities far beyond New York.
Towards the end, Cozmo challenges narrow versions of hip-hop history. For him, hip hop was a culture long before rap records became a commercial genre. He talks about New York street parties, DJs, neighbourhood identity and the importance of recognising that different boroughs developed their own sounds and styles.
Cozmo also talks about continuing to make music today and the reissue of the Jam-On’s Revenge album, including new material.
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