Manuella “Ya Kid K” Komosi was the lead vocalist on Pump up the Jam and most other Technotronic songs, but she was not in the video or on the album cover, which instead featured Zairean-born fashion model Felly lip-synching the lyrics. Felly had nothing to do with recording the song, and didn’t speak English. Bogaert used her to establish an image for the group, even if it meant some awkward miming in the video. Around the same time, C&C Music factory did something similar when they had a model pretend to sing the parts of Martha Wash on hits like “Gonna Make You Sweat.” Snap! also used a fake singer in their video for “The Power.” When Technotronic toured with DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Felly didn’t come along - they were fronted by their real vocalists Ya Kid K and MC Eric.
Ya Kid K’s Congolese accent definitely has some of that marbles-in-the-mouth Staten Island sound. I was also surprised to learn she wasn’t from the Burroughs.
This meme was posted 35 years after the release of unrelated Belgian techno anthem Pump Up the Jam
I would like more fun facts about pump up the jam please
Pump Up the Jam is an anagram of Jam Up the Pump
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Bonus Facts
I had the soundtrack to the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on cassette when I was a kid. There was a Ya Kid K song on it.
This was approximately three years after the debut of Belgian techno anthem Pump Up The Jam.
This song was played five times in a row at the funeral of director Stanley Kubrick.
Belgian? I guess I was always caught up on that thick new York accent…
Or did the Belgians just decide that was their shit.
Ya Kid K’s Congolese accent definitely has some of that marbles-in-the-mouth Staten Island sound. I was also surprised to learn she wasn’t from the Burroughs.