Freestyle or
Latin Freestyle, also called
Latin Hip Hop in its early years, is a form of
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. Performers such as
Stevie BStevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was highly influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s. Also known as the King of Freestyle, Stevie B is perhaps best-known for his 1990 number-one hit "Because I Love...
,
TKATKA was a Latin Freestyle trio that was prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, mainly in New York City and Miami, Florida. Its members were Tony Ortiz, Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, and Ralph "Aby" Cruz, later replaced by Angel "Love" Vasquez. The acronym TKA represents their collective initials...
,
George LamondGeorge Lamond is an American Freestyle music singer. Born in Washington, DC, he is of Puerto Rican descent.-Career:...
,
Sa-FireWilma Cosme better known by her stage name Sa-Fire , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1967, is an American singer. She grew up mostly in East Harlem, New York and began her singing career as a session vocalist....
,
Information SocietyInformation Society is a U.S. band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Larson , Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist in 2007...
,
NoelNoel Pagan is a Puerto Rican American and Spanish male Latin freestyle singer born in the Bronx, New York. "Silent Morning" became his first Top-10 hit on the dance singles chart and peaked at #47 on the Hot 100 in 1987. "Like a Child" peaked at #67 in 1988, but it became his first number-one...
,
The Cover GirlsThe Cover Girls is a New York City-based freestyle-urban-dance-pop girl group that achieved the majority of its chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
,
NoceraMaria Nocera , known by her stage names, Nocera or DJ Nocera, is a Sicilian-born American club DJ, trip hop, pop, and freestyle singer...
, Laissez Faire,,
ShanaShana was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is an American singer.Shana released an album in 1989 entitled I Want You on Vision Records, which peaked at #165 on the Billboard Top 200. The album yielded two U.S...
,
TolgaTolga Katas is an entrepreneur who began his career as a rock singer and songwriter, then left the spotlight to become a behind-the-scenes independent record producer and promoter...
,
DinoDean Esposito , better known as Dino, is an American DJ, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Early life:Dino was born to Frank and Francis Esposito in Encino, California. The family later moved to Hawaii and Connecticut before settling in Las Vegas, Nevada, where his father became a restaurant...
, Joee Desimone,
FascinationFascination may refer to:In music:*Fascination!, 1982 synth pop album by The Human League**" Fascination", a song in The Human League album Fascination!...
,
SeductionSeduction was a female dance-pop, urban contemporary, house music, and freestyle trio from New York assembled and produced by Clivilles and Cole of C+C Music Factory, consisting of members Idalis DeLeon , April Harris and Michelle Visage .Originally intended as a studio project, Seduction's first...
,
CoroCoro is a Latin freesyle singer and actor of Cuban and Dominican heritage, who first had roles in numerous episodes of the star's hit television series, Miami Vice. While appearing on Vice, Coro struggled to put together a group to get his singing career off the ground...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
Denise LopezDenise 'DeDe' Lopez is not to be mixed up with Denise Lopez, who sang Every Dog Has Her Day in the 80's.Denise Lopez is a Swedish pop singer...
,
LinearLinear was a Latin freestyle-pop trio from Miami, Florida.It consisted of vocalist Charlie Pennachio, and percussionist Joey Restivo, who both hailed from New York, with Ecuadoran guitarist Wyatt Pauley. In 1990, the band had a hit with the gold single, "Sending All My Love," which was released...
,
Company BCompany B may refer to:*Company B - a dance-pop trio.**Company B , Company B's 1987 debut album.*Company B - a theatre company.Company B - A marketing and Public Relations firm in Milwaukee, WI...
,
CollageCollage is an American freestyle group featuring vocalist Anthony Monteleone and produced by Adam Marano, often in collaboration with vocalists Denine or Rockell...
,
Teena MarieTeena Marie is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer. Marie, nicknamed Lady T, is a protegée of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful white performers of R&B. She sings R&B with strong, robust vocals and plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and...
,
Lil' SuzySuzanne Casale better known as Lil' Suzy is a half Italian, half Puerto Rican American Latin freestyle, pop-, and dance-music singer.-Career:...
, Stacy Q,
Johnny OJohnny O is a freestyle music singer born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. He also, arguably with Stevie B, is known as The King of Freestyle. He has released eight albums, most of which were underground hits...
,
Pajama PartyPajama Party is a Latin-Italian female group that was put together by Peggy Sendars and Jim Klein, and originally made up of Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jennifer McQuilkin, and Suzi Ranta . It first released its 1988 Dance smash "Yo No Se," making the group the first female act to originally release a hit...
,
Lisa Lisa and Cult JamLisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were a Puerto Rican-American band and one of the original freestyle music groups of the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
, and Exposé are some notable performers of the genre. It continues to be produced today and enjoys some degree of popularity, especially in the urban
Italian AmericanAn Italian American is an American of Italian ancestry, and/or may also refer to someone possessing Italian/American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.-History:...
and
LatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent."* "A Latin American."...
(
Puerto RicanPuerto Ricans in the mainland Puerto Ricans in the mainland Puerto Ricans in the mainland (or "Puerto Rican Diaspora," "Nuyorican", "stateside or mainland Puerto Ricans" or, Puerto Rican American are Americans of Puerto Rican origin, including those who migrated to the United States mainland...
and Mexican-American) community, as it did when it first came on to the scene. Another popular modern dance music genre,
Florida breaksFlorida breaks, also referred to as Florida breakbeat, Funky Breaks, and Tampa Breaks, is a genre of breakbeat music which, as the name suggests, is most popular in the areas around the US state of Florida but it is reconized as a unique one of a kind sound around the world...
, evolved from this sound, as well as did Italo-Disco.
The music first developed primarily in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and Miami in the mid-1980s. Initially, it was a fusion of the vocal styles found in 1970s
discoDisco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
music with the syncopated, synthetic instrumentation of 1980s
electroElectro is a genre of electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and funk records. Records in the genre typically have electronic sounds and some vocals are delivered in a deadpan, mechanical manner, often through a vocoder or other electronic distortion.-Definition and...
, as favored by fans of breakdancing. Specifically, Freestyle's true roots are traced back to Soul Sonic Force's "
Planet Rock"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music. It is credited with re-developing the electro style that was originally pioneered by Kraftwerk and helped...
" (1982) and
ShannonShannon is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 million-selling record, "Let the Music Play"...
's "Let the Music Play", which debuted in 1983. It was also influenced by
samplingIn music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also...
, as found in
hip hop musicHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
.
Freestyle reached its peak in 1987 before it began to fall in popularity and was slowly replaced by burgeoning
house musicHouse is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American and Latino American communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City, New Jersey, Detroit and Miami...
. "Silent Morning", composed by
NoelNoel Pagan is a Puerto Rican American and Spanish male Latin freestyle singer born in the Bronx, New York. "Silent Morning" became his first Top-10 hit on the dance singles chart and peaked at #47 on the Hot 100 in 1987. "Like a Child" peaked at #67 in 1988, but it became his first number-one...
(poster boy for Freestyle), hugely boosted Freestyle's popularity and brought it to the forefront of the international scene in 1987, expanding its potential. Before Freestyle could make a permanent impact, however, by the late 1980s and early 1990s,
house musicHouse is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American and Latino American communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City, New Jersey, Detroit and Miami...
, a reincarnation of 1970's
discoDisco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, challenged the original, upbeat 1980s Freestyle. In the late 1980s and on through the 1990s, the electro and Latin hip hop influences of Freestyle were supplanted by house music, which marked Freestyle's downfall.
Freestyle has continued to have a strong following in its two founding cities, although a club sound, Freestyle has begun to spread back into the mainstream media. Beginning in 1996 New York's KTU radio station began holding live concerts titled "Freestyle Free for ALL". (They also presently hold Freestyle nights (Weekends), dedicating a few hours to freestyle music hosted by Judy Torres). Since its debut the concert reinserted Freestyle into the lime light paving the way for new releases later that year, such as "Do unto me" by Coro. After the popularity of Reggaeton began to diminish interest in Freestyle began to increase, with some radio stations giving up their Reggaeton blocks for Freestyle blocks. In 2006 KTU Invited Coro to perform in their "Beatstock" Concert which was very well received. Although Freestyle remained an "old school beat", its popularity continued to expand further than NYC and Miami, beginning to spread into Europe. In 2008 arguably the largest Freestyle concert in its existence was held at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The concert titled "Freestyle Extravaganza" Sold out and was one of the most celebrated concerts, with video clips all over Youtube and the rest of the internet's media. Freestyle has begun to influence Reggaeton with a few singles being released with Freestyle beats, as well as, remakes of old Freestyle songs; Pitbull and Stevie B releasing a remake of the hit "Spring Love".
Term usage
Why Freestyle is actually called freestyle is subject to speculation.
Some feel the term
freestyle may refer to the difference between the mixing techniques used by DJs spinning this form of music (at least in its pre-house incarnations) and those who were spinning disco, the only other widely played dance music that incorporated sung vocals. Disco, with its relatively predictable beat structure, could be mixed with smooth, slow, and consistent techniques, but freestyle's syncopated beat structures demanded that DJs get creative, incorporating aspects of both disco and
hip-hopHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
techniques; they often had to (or had more freedom to) mix more quickly and more responsively to the individual pieces of music.
Others believe it refers to the vocal technique: singing melodic pop vocals over the kind of beats that were previously used only with rap and semi-chanted electro-funk vocal styles was a form of freestyling —getting creative by mixing up the styles— somewhat akin to the use of the term in reference to competitive
freestyle rapFreestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised, i.e. performed with few or no previously composed lyrics, off the top of the head...
.
Another explanation is that the dancing associated with this music allows for a greater degree of freedom of expression than the other music that was prevalent at the time. Each individual dancer is free to create his or her own style.
In Miami, the freestyle name evolved after confusion between Tony Butler's track "Freestyle Express" by Freestyle and Debbie Deb's "When I Hear Music," a slightly older but more popular track that was produced by Butler. The sound became synonymous with Butler's production, and the name of the group he was in, Freestyle, became the genre's name.
The sound
It is a genre with rather clear features: a dance tempo with stress on beats two and four; syncopation with a bass line, lead synth, or
percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
, with optional
stabIn music, a stab is a single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition. Stabs are usually provided by horns or an orchestral sample, usually occur on a 1-beat, and are frequently used in funk, freestyle, and ska....
s (provided as synthesized brass or orchestral
sampleIn music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also...
s);
sixteenth-notethumb|right|Figure 1. A sixteenth note with stem facing up, a sixteenth note with stem facing down, and a sixteenth rest.thumb|right|Figure 2. Four Sixteenth notes beamed together....
hi-hatA hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.-Operation:...
s; a
chord progressionA chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord...
that lasts eight, 16, or 32 beats and is usually in a minor key; and relatively complex, upbeat melodies with singing, verses, and a chorus, with themes about
loveLove is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction...
or dancing. Freestyle music in general is heavily influenced by Latin music, especially with respect to rhythms and brass-horn and keyboard parts. The Latin
claveClave is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as salsa. The word clave is Spanish for “key”, in the sense of an answer key or a musical key signature...
rhythm can be felt in many songs (such as in the defining “Clave Rocks” by Amoretto). The tempo of Freestyle music is almost always between 110 and 130
beats per minuteBeats per minute is a unit typically used as either a measure of tempo in music, or a measure of one's heart rate. A rate of 60 bpm means that one beat will occur every second....
(BPM), typically around 118 BPM. The keyboard parts are often elegant and clever, with many short melodies and countermelodies, again a strong influence from Latin music. It also features complicated
drum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. Drum machines are very useful instruments for a wide variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
patterns that a human drummer would have extreme difficulty playing. Most lyrics involve breaking up or someone leaving another for the wrong reasons.
Freestyle in New York
Many people cite “Let the Music Play” (1983) by
ShannonShannon is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 million-selling record, "Let the Music Play"...
as the first freestyle track. However, many contend that it was
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of...
, with his hit release "
Planet Rock"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music. It is credited with re-developing the electro style that was originally pioneered by Kraftwerk and helped...
," that conceived Freestyle's first child and indeed earmarked that song as the first freestyle song produced. Indeed,
Let the Music Play became freestyle's biggest record, which still gets heavy airplay through radio and other venues. The song was produced by Mark Liggett and
Chris BarbosaChris Barbosa is a producer from New York who redefined electro funk as Latin freestyle in the early 1980s with Shannon's "Let the Music Play".- Early career :...
, who changed and refined the electro funk sound, adding Latin American rhythms and a syncopated
drum-machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. Drum machines are very useful instruments for a wide variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
sound.
This new, exciting sound rejuvenated the funk, soul and hip hop club scenes in New York City. While most of the neighborhood clubs were closing their doors for good, some
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
clubs were suddenly thriving. Places like the
RoxyRoxy NYC was a popular nightclub located at 515 West 18th Street in New York City. Located in Chelsea section of Manhattan it began as a roller skating rink and roller disco in the late 1970s, it was founded by Steve Bauman, Richard Newhouse and Steve Greenberg then acquired in 1985 by Gene DiNino...
, the
FunhouseA funhouse and fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and carnival midways in which patrons can have a number of unusual and hopefully amusing experiences, both physical or psychological. Unlike thrill rides, it is a participatory attraction, where patrons enter and move around...
, Broadway 96, Gothams West,
RoselandThe Roseland Ballroom is a catering hall/music venue/dance hall in a converted ice skating rink with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree in New York City's theatre district on West 52nd Street....
,
Webster HallWebster Hall is a nightclub in New York City. It is located at 125 East 11th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues. It acts as a nightclub, concert venue and corporate events center, and as a recording venue...
, The Underground,
PalladiumPalladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. Palladium is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal that was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named it after the asteroid Pallas, which in turn, was named after the epithet of the Greek...
, and The Tunnel, that played this were packed. Records like "Play At Your Own Risk" by
Planet PatrolPlanet Patrol is an American electro group from the 1980s. The members were Arthur Baker, John Robie, and a quintet of vocalists led by Herbert J. Jackson: lead singer Joesph Lites, Rodney Butler, Michael Anthony Jones, and the late Melvin Franklin...
, "One More Shot" by C Bank, "Al-Naafiyish (The Soul)" by Hashim, and "I.O.U." by
FreeezFreeez was a UK dance music group from London, initially known for its emergence as one of the UK's leading jazz-funk bands of the early 1980s...
became huge hits. More established European artists like
New OrderNew Order were an English musical group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris . New Order were formed in the wake of the demise of their previous group Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis...
("Confusion," "State of the Nation") both inspired the original Freestyle sound and then responded to it by incorporating certain Freestyle elements into their own productions.
Other producers from around the world soon began to replicate the sound in more radio-friendly productions. Records like "Let Me Be the One" by
Sa-FireWilma Cosme better known by her stage name Sa-Fire , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1967, is an American singer. She grew up mostly in East Harlem, New York and began her singing career as a session vocalist....
, "I Remember What You Like" by
Jenny BurtonJenny Burton, born November 18 1957 in New York, is a female R&B singer who had several hits on the dance chart. She was lead singer of the dance music band C-Bank's 1983 Top 5 Hot Dance Music/Club Play single "One More Shot", notable for producer John Robie's use of a "non-linear" approach to...
, "Running" by soon-to-be pop stars
Information SocietyInformation Society is a U.S. band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Larson , Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist in 2007...
, and "Give Me Tonight" by
ShannonShannon is an American singer. She is best known for her 1983 million-selling record, "Let the Music Play"...
were all over
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
radio.
Many of the original freestyle artists – and the DJs who played the music, such as
JellybeanJohn Benitez, better known as "Jellybean Benitez" is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, DJ, remixer and music producer of Puerto Rican descent...
, Tony Torres, Raul Soto and Roman Ricardo – were of Hispanic ancestry. This was one reason why the style came to be very popular among Hispanic Americans especially in the
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
area. This marks a notable merging of underground Hispanic and African-American urban cultures, hence, the names
Latin Hip Hop or
Latin Freestyle. Now, the more neutral term
Freestyle is generally preferred. Of course, performers and producers associated with the style came from around the world. For example,
Information SocietyInformation Society is a U.S. band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Larson , Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist in 2007...
's notable hit "Running", was written by Murat Konar, who is of Turkish descent, and produced by the band, who are of American descent. Paul Lekakis is Greek, and Two other popular freestyle artists,
FreeezFreeez was a UK dance music group from London, initially known for its emergence as one of the UK's leading jazz-funk bands of the early 1980s...
and
Samantha FoxSamantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English former glamour model and dance-pop singer.- Background :As the eldest daughter of the late Patrick John Fox and Carole Ann Wilken, Samantha Karen Fox came from a family of market traders in the East End of London...
, were both of British descent. Numerous artists and groups such as Rockell, Stacy Q, Will To Power and Taylor Dayne are American. There were many Italian and Italian-American Freestyle artists (hence the large following), artists and groups such as Nocera, Laissez Faire, Shana (Petrone), Tolga, Linear, Company B, Collage, Lil' Suzy (half), Pajama Party, Teena Marie, Joey Desimone, and Dino to name a few. Latin freestyle also touch the Asian community with the release of "Youngboys" by an Asian artist by the name of Leonard (aka Leon Youngboy), with a remix by Eddie Davis ( "Hungry For Your Love" by Hanson and Davis) and became the famous "SYB War Mix". Freestyle became more than a Latin thing, it became an instrument to bring together and unite the dance music lovers of all nationalities.
Freestyle radio in New York was exemplified by the production team of
Tony MoranAnthony "Tony" Moran is a remixer/producer and DJ known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Walk Away" featuring Kristine W.-Career:...
and Albert Cabrera, known as the Latin Rascals. Their original music on
WKTUWKTU is a radio station based in New York City. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New Jersey...
included Freestyle classics like 1984's "Arabian Nights", and later more hip-hop oriented projects, such as the Cover Girls' "
Show Me"Show Me" is the title of the debut single by the American freestyle girl group The Cover Girls. Released as a 12" single in early 1987, "Show Me" first charted on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it peaked at #4 in March of that year...
" (1986). Tony Moran later went on to form his own project, Concept of One, and the duo continued to produce big name Freestyle artists into the early 1990s. (Shapiro, 2000:104-105)
Freestyle around the USA
KPWRKPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
(Power 106) in Los Angeles,
WQHT-FMWQHT is a high-profile rhythmic radio station in New York City under the corporate ownership of Emmis Communications. The station broadcasts on 97.1 MHz FM and first signed on the air in the summer of 1986 as "Hot 103" . Throughout the years the radio station has seen controversy involving...
(HOT 103.5) in New York, and
XHRM-FMXHRM-FM or Magic 92.5 is an Rhythmic adult contemporary outlet licensed in the Mexican state of Baja California and is operated by Finest City Broadcasting of San Diego, California, United States broadcasting on 92.5 MHz.-External links:* *...
(Hot 92.5) in San Diego began playing hits by artists like
TKATKA was a Latin Freestyle trio that was prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, mainly in New York City and Miami, Florida. Its members were Tony Ortiz, Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, and Ralph "Aby" Cruz, later replaced by Angel "Love" Vasquez. The acronym TKA represents their collective initials...
,
Sweet SensationSweet Sensation was a female freestyle-dance music trio from the Bronx, New York.-History:Formed in 1986, the original group members were Betty LeBron and sisters Margie and Mari Fernandez. Originally on Next Plateau Records, in 1988 they were picked up by Atco and their debut album, Take It While...
, and
ExposéExposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
, Sa-Fire on the same playlists as Pop superstars like
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
and
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
. Tracks like TKA's
One Way Love, Sa-Fire's
Don't Break My Heart and Sweet Sensation's
Hooked On You received new life and the success of these tracks as well as the just-released
Show Me by the Cover Girls helped get them added to stations around the country. "(You Are My) All and All." by
Joyce SimsJoyce Sims is an American singer-songwriter. Her biggest hit single was "Come Into My Life", which reached Top 10 status in both the US Billboard R&B chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987/8....
became the first Freestyle record to cross over into the R&B market. It was also one of the first Freestyle records to crack the European market. Although still in its early stages, Freestyle was now getting national attention, and was fast becoming dance music for the 80s.
"Pretty Tony" Butler produced several huge freestyle hits on Jam-Packed records out of Miami. Most notable for
Debbie DebDebbie Deb is an American dance-pop singer, best known for 1980s freestyle dance classics such as "Lookout Weekend" and "When I Hear Music".-Biography:...
- "When I Hear Music" and "Lookout Weekend"
TrinereTrinere is a recording artist who had several major dance hits in the 1980s, and early 90s.She recorded with several record companies, mostly out of Miami, Florida; known for its output of popular Freestyle music. Trinere's music is mostly produced by popular Miami D.J. "Pretty Tony" Butler. Many...
- "I'll Be All You'll Ever Need".
Company BCompany B was a Latin freestyle dance-pop trio formed in 1986 by Cuban-American producer Ish "Angel" Ledesma , featuring members Lori L. , Lezlee Livrano and Susan Johnson...
,
Stevie BStevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was highly influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s. Also known as the King of Freestyle, Stevie B is perhaps best-known for his 1990 number-one hit "Because I Love...
, Paris By Air,
LinearLinear was a Latin freestyle-pop trio from Miami, Florida.It consisted of vocalist Charlie Pennachio, and percussionist Joey Restivo, who both hailed from New York, with Ecuadoran guitarist Wyatt Pauley. In 1990, the band had a hit with the gold single, "Sending All My Love," which was released...
,
Will to PowerWill to Power is the name of an American dance-pop group that originated in southern Florida in the mid-1980s. The group recorded a number of hit singles on the Billboard dance and pop charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", a medley of 1970s...
and Exposé's later hits defined Miami Freestyle. One of the most important pioneers and influential players within the Miami freestyle scene is the entrepreneur, music executive and music producer
Tolga KatasTolga Katas is an entrepreneur who began his career as a rock singer and songwriter, then left the spotlight to become a behind-the-scenes independent record producer and promoter...
. He is accredited as being one of the first persons to create a hit record entirely on a computer. His top notch productions influenced many copy cat producers that tried (and failed) to copy the sound he created for hits such as “Party Your Body”, “In my Eyes” and “Dreaming of Love”, all performed by Stevie B. His record label Futura Records became an incubator for great, high quality Freestyle music. The group Linear, who got its start there, was eventually picked up by Atlantic Records which resulted in the group achieving international success. Many labels confused New York Freestyle and Miami Freestyle, thinking they had the same audience. They thought their promotional strategy would work for both genres, which resulted in skipping the all too important step of cultivating a record at the street and club level before going to radio. This often led to poor results for the New York-based Freestyle. New York Freestyle, even in its most polished forms, retained a raw edge and underground sound, using minor chords that made the tracks darker and more moody. The lyrics also tended to be about unrequited love or other more somber themes, dealing with the reality of what inner city teens were experiencing emotionally. Also in the development of Freestyle was a club in the Bronx called The Devils Nest on the corner of Webster and Tremont avenues. It opened on August 2 1985 Freestyle legends The Cover girls, Expose , and TKA performed there. Lamour East, Avonti's and Silver Screens were some notorious freestyle clubs in urban Queens New York, hosting many Italian, American and Latin freestyle artists and groups.
California Freestyle
Although Freestyle's main territory was Miami and New York, it did have a recognizable following in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, particularly on
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
radio stations
KDAY AM-1580KDAY in Redondo Beach and KWIE in Ontario, are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs a Gold-leaning classic hip-hop format aimed at African-Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting and broadcast at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
and Power 106, on San Francisco Bay Area stations
Hot 97.7KFFG is an FM radio station licensed to Los Altos, California, broadcasting on 97.7 FM MHz. The 97.7 frequency simulcasts the programming of sister station KFOG...
,
KMELKMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
and 107.7 KSOL (now Wild 94.9),
XHRM-FMXHRM-FM or Magic 92.5 is an Rhythmic adult contemporary outlet licensed in the Mexican state of Baja California and is operated by Finest City Broadcasting of San Diego, California, United States broadcasting on 92.5 MHz.-External links:* *...
(Hot 92.5), and in San Diego. There was, and still is, a large following in San Jose, CA where the Freestyle label Upstairs Records was founded
Given California's large Latino community (predominantly Mexican-American), they greatly enjoyed the sounds of the Latin club scene in the East Coast, and although California Freestyle wasn't as prevalent New York or Miami Freestyle, there were a number of successful California Freestyle artists that also gained popularity from Freestyle fans in the East Coast. California Freestyle leans more toward a high-tempo dance beat,some of it sounding almost like HI-NRG mix with freestyle most of this style was being made in Los Angeles but, still most of California Freestyle retains the sound of freestyle.
Timmy TTimmy T is a Freestyle performer and musician. He is best known for his 1991 Billboard Hot 100 #1 single "One More Try."...
,Caleb-B,
Jocelyn EnriquezJocelyn Enriquez is a Dance-pop singer from San Francisco. She is of Filipino descent: her parents are from the province of Pangasinan.-Career:...
, The S Factor,
Angelina"Angelina" is a song written by Bob Dylan, originally recorded in 1981 for the album Shot of Love. However, "Angelina" was cut from the record, and fans would have to wait until 1991 when it was released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 1961-1991...
of Upstairs Records,
BuffyBuffy may refer to:*Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including:**Buffy the Vampire Slayer , a 1992 film**Buffy the Vampire Slayer , a 1997-2003 television series based on the film**Buffy Summers, the title character of both...
, Daize,
One VoiceOne Voice is the sixth studio album by singer and songwriter Barry Manilow. The album was recorded at United Western Studios and Allen Zentz Recording in Hollywood. The album was a signature of a general decline in Manilow's success. It reached double platinum, not triple platinum, as his past six...
, M:G DJ Spanish Fly and from San Diego artist
Internal AffairsInternal affairs may refer to:* Internal affairs of a sovereign state* Internal affairs , a division of a law enforcement agency which investigates cases of lawbreaking by members of that agency...
"Gustavo Campain, Alex Campain, Jose Santos, Robert Romo",other artist Felix, Marcus Gil, Tury Q and Frankie Boy aka
Frankie J Frankie J is a Mexican American Latin pop and adult contemporary singer. A native speaker of the Spanish language, he has had several hits in the United States, including "Don't Wanna Try" in 2003 and "Obsession" in 2005...
later becoming certified for platinum-level sales by the RIAA were very notable freestyle artists from California.
Freestyle as a pop-crossover genre
By 1987, Freestyle was at its peak as an underground genre until
house musicHouse is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American and Latino American communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City, New Jersey, Detroit and Miami...
replaced it in popularity in the 1990s. However, before its decline in 1990's,
Lisa Lisa and Cult JamLisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were a Puerto Rican-American band and one of the original freestyle music groups of the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
, one of the first Latino freestyle acts to get behind the microphone, began to make it big on the freestyle scene. Their records were produced by
Full ForceFull Force is a group of R&B and hip hop performers and producers from Brooklyn, New York, calling themselves "the original hip hop vocal band"...
, who also made
UTFOUTFO was an old school hip-hop group from the 1980s mentored by the contemporary R&B group Full Force. The group consisted of the Kangol Kid , the Educated Rapper , Doctor Ice , and Mix Master Ice...
's music and even once worked together with James Brown. The music of
Lisa Lisa and Cult JamLisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were a Puerto Rican-American band and one of the original freestyle music groups of the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
was less electro and more pop, and that was also probably the reason why groups such as
Lisa Lisa and Cult JamLisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were a Puerto Rican-American band and one of the original freestyle music groups of the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
, Sa-Fire,
TKATKA was a Latin Freestyle trio that was prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, mainly in New York City and Miami, Florida. Its members were Tony Ortiz, Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, and Ralph "Aby" Cruz, later replaced by Angel "Love" Vasquez. The acronym TKA represents their collective initials...
,
Sweet SensationSweet Sensation was a female freestyle-dance music trio from the Bronx, New York.-History:Formed in 1986, the original group members were Betty LeBron and sisters Margie and Mari Fernandez. Originally on Next Plateau Records, in 1988 they were picked up by Atco and their debut album, Take It While...
and especially the Cover Girls were able to crossover into the pop market at the end of the 1980s. Cross-over influences became even more evident with greater fervor when the Latin Rascals produced a remix of
Duran DuranDuran Duran are an English rock band from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States. Since the 1980s they have placed 14 in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the...
's "
NotoriousNotorious is a thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation.- Plot :...
" and The Pet Shop Boys' hit smash,
Domino Dancing"Domino Dancing" is a song recorded by the British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys which reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released as the lead single from their 1988 album, Introspective.- Song :...
produced by Lewis A. Martinee, who produced many of Expose's hits.
Soon thereafter, however, freestyle was seemingly swallowed up by the mainstream pop industry:
MC HammerStanley Kirk Burrell , best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a rapper, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
,
Paula AbdulPaula Julie Abdul is an American pop singer, record producer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality....
,
Bobby BrownRobert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
,
New Kids on the BlockNew Kids on the Block is an American pop group that enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a boy band which went on to sell 80 million albums worldwide. Assembled in Boston in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr, the members consist of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre,...
and
Milli VanilliMilli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved high sales internationally which earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990. The act became one of the most popular pop acts in...
, with their hip hop beats and electro samples, were undoubtedly a new pop-mainstream form of the underground dance music of the 1980s, repackaged with catchier tunes, slicker production and
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
-friendly videos. An exception to this was Linear with the crossover hit “Sending all My Love.” The reason for this exception is that Tolga Katas, inspired by Milli Vanilli’s commercial success, incorporated their sound with his own which resulted in a top ten hit that definitely benefited from the group’s MTV-friendly video. Along with this pop appropriation of the genre and the success of these artists, not only on crossover stations but R&B stations as well, freestyle ceased to be as important as an underground genre, giving way to newer genres such as
New Jack SwingNew Jack Swing, or "swingbeat", is a hybrid style popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s, which fuses the rhythms, samples and production techniques of hip-hop with the urban contemporary sound of R&B. The new jack swing style developed as many previous R&B styles did, by combining elements...
and new forms of
dance musicThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
coming from
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, Miami and
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
, such as
TranceTrance is a style of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between 130 and 155 BPM, short melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and down throughout a track. Trance can be understood as a combination of...
and
EurodanceEurodance is a genre of electronic dance music originated in the early 1990s. It combines many elements from House, Hi-NRG, Italo-Disco. Starting in the early 1990s and continuing these days, Eurodance production continues to evolve with a more modernized style that incorporates elements from...
, which seemed younger, fresher and newer than freestyle. R&B sensation
CiaraCiara Princess Harris , who performs under the mononym Ciara , is an American recording artist, producer, dancer, fashion model, and actress. Born in Austin, Texas, Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies"...
featured freestyle on her third studio album,
Fantasy RideFantasy Ride is the third studio album by American contemporary R&B singer Ciara. It was released on May 3, 2009 in the UK, May 5 in the United States and worldwide from May 8 by Jive Records...
, having already used it on her “1,2 Step” hit single.
The Freestyle Comeback
Freestyle saw an unexpected revival in dance/pop after the 2004 popularity of the songs "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child and "Rumors" by Lindsay Lohan. In 2005 The Pussycat Dolls album "PCD" featured a strong freestyle presence, and most of the freestyle songs on this album achieved notable popularity. In 2006 Nelly Furtado's album "Loose" and Danity Kane's first album "Danity Kane" each featured several freestyle songs, some of which achieved significant popularity. That same year Paris Hilton's first album "Paris" also featured some freestyle songs. In 2007 Rihanna's album "Good Girl Gone Bad" featured several freestyle songs which rose to great popularity. Also in 2007 Hilary Duff's album "Dignity" featured some prominent freestyle songs, some of which became popular; her song "Burned" bears a remarkable resemblance to the style of classic freestyle artist "Debbie Deb". Also in 2007 Katherine McPhee's self-titled album featured a freestyle song titled "Open Toes". 2008 saw the release of Danity Kane's second album "Welcome to the Dollhouse", and The Pussycat Doll's second album "Doll Domination".
Freestyle, staying largely an underground genre with still a sizeable following in New York, has seen a recognizable comeback in the cities the music once dominated. In Miami, a Latin radio station shoved aside their
ReggaetonReggaeton is a form of urban music that became popular with Latin American youth in the early 1990s. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton's predecessor was originated in Panama as reggae en español...
music blocks to make room for Freestyle playlists. In New York, freestyle artists languished in small venues mostly in the outer boroughs until April 1, 2004 when local NYC impresario Steve Sylvester contacted Fever Records honcho and rap/freestyle pioneer and producer Sal Abbetiello, the former owner of the Devil's Nest club in The Bronx, and single handedly brought freestyle back into the New York City mainstream with StevieSly's Freestyle Party show at Coda, a live music venue in Manhattan that featured Judy Torres, Cynthia, and The Cover Girls and was attended by several celebrity special guests. The success of the "Coda" show breathed new life into freestyle in Manhattan. Subsequently, a summer 2006
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
concert showcasing Freestyle's greatest performers went very well-received, and new Freestyle being released appears to be well-taken by longtime Freestyle enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Black Eyed Peas often use Freestyle lyrics, and Miami rapper
PitbullArmando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American recording artist. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
collaborated with Miami Freestyle artist
Stevie BStevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was highly influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s. Also known as the King of Freestyle, Stevie B is perhaps best-known for his 1990 number-one hit "Because I Love...
to create an updated version of Stevie B's 1988 hit "Spring Love."
Freestyle influences can be heard in modern indie electro acts such as
ChromeoChromeo is a Montreal based electrofunk duo whose music is described as "a shameless return to the glistening, sex-saturated synth-pop which ruled the eighties."...
.
In 2008, famed freestyle music producer Carlos "After Dark" Berrios released a double CD titled "Don't Look Back" Sessions One and Two with 22 new tracks of freestyle and Latin freestyle. Known artists George Lamond,
Lisette MelendezLisette Melendez is a freestyle/latin pop/dance-pop singer born in 1967 in Spanish Harlem, NYC. She is best known for her 1991 hits "Together Forever" and "A Day In My Life ". With powerful and sultry vocals, these songs propelled her debut album Together Forever to gold status with over 700,000...
, Joei Mae (formerly of C-BANK), and K7 perform on the album as do new artist Katya and Jessica Fabus. Berrios produced most of the albums while Frankie Cutlass and Eddie Frente produced a track a piece as well.
Jordin Sparks' 2009 single "Let The Music Play" can be considered part of the freestyle genre.