The sound of '80s Freestyle (or "Latin Freestyle" -- its golden era being 1984-1989, tappering off in the first few years of the '90s) may've disappeared off the pop radar in the last decade, but its influence can still be felt in acts today like Frankie J (whose big hit "Obsession" totally jocks Stevie B's '88 classic "I Wanna Be The One" -- from his vocals, the beat, even down to the one-letter-acronym last name), J.Lo, Richard X, Kelis, etc.

It interpolated and infused elements of the sounds that were hot in the inner city in the early- and mid-'80s such as electro, house (... a very close cousin to this genre), hip hop, garage (Freestyle's midtempo sound has a lot to do with blossoming amidst NYC's vibrant garage scene) and, yes, even disco. It was synth-heavy, largely mid-tempo, percolating and electronically-based with 4-on-4 drum machine beats and big (often nasal or high pitched) vocals -- and even bigger hair.

Acts like Exposé, Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, Corina and Freestyle (whose name became synonymous with the sound) came to typify this sound of urban dance music that rocked in the barrios of major urban centers such as NYC, New Jersey, Philadelphia, L.A., Miami, etc. The genre was like an '80s manifestation of '50s doo wop, in my opinion. They were songs mostly obsessing about innocent teenage love, hearts being crushed into a million pieces, etc.

Stylistically, it falls under the catch-all term dance music, but its more urban than mainstream. Hence, its cult status among admirers. Often times I feel Freestyle doesn't get it's proper due when people look back on the '80s. It was a sound that definitely made noise and racked up hits during its prime.

Some definitive Freestyle gems:
Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam - I Wonder If I Take You Home (the definitive Freestyle cut, IMO. Lisa Lisa was like the Diana Ross of the genre)
Freestyle - Party Has Begun
Connie - Rock Me
Seduction - Heartbeat
Sweet Sensation - Hooked On You
Lisette Melendez - Together Forever
Exposé - Point of No Return
Will To Power - Dreamin'
Alisha - Too Turned On
The Jets - Crush On You
Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam - Head To Toe
Noel - Silent Morning
Lil Suzy - Take Me In Your Arms
Samantha Fox - Naughty Girls Need Love Too
SaFire - Boy, I've Been Told
Nayobe - Please Don't Go
Cover Girls - Show Me
Pretty Poison - Catch Me (I'm Falling In Love)
Taylor Dayne - Tell It To My Heart
Shannon - Let The Music Play
Debbie Deb - When I Hear Music / Lookout Weekend
Stevie B - I Wanna Be The One
Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam - Lost In Emotion

What are some of your favorite freestyle cuts?

One More Shot - C-Bank
I.O.U. - Freeez
Honey To A Bee - Tina B
Diamond Girl - Nice And Wild
Let Me Be The One - Sa-Fire
Let's Go - Nocera
Change On Me - Cynthia
Sayin' Sorry (Don't Make It Right) - Denise Lopez
Dancing On The Fire - India
Yo No Sé - Pajama Party
Together Forever - Lisette Melendez

I have three 90-minute comps from various 12" singles at home. I could go on and on.

sextonseven said:

Ooh, now that's a nice little list. "Let Me Be The One": now there's a song I forgot to add.

During freestyle's heyday in the late 80s, Latin artists really had a stranglehold on the genre. Non-Latin artists may have borrowed the sound from time to time (are The Jets really considered freestyle?), but the fans (at least in NY) really embraced the Latin artists the most.

I love these tracks but don't always know when to consider them "Freestyle".

sextonseven said:

So freestyle was initiated by Latin artists or just popularized and kept alive by Latin artists? I need some insight.

Reason being, blacks started what would later be dubbed "rock 'n' roll" but whites largely usurped it.

JANFAN4L said:

Popularized and kept alive. That's why it was initially called 'Latin Hip-Hop'. The genre later came to be known as 'freestyle' because many of the artists didn't like that term. The earliest freestyle tracks were by anyone. I think Freeez were even from England.

There's a great website about all things freestyle here: http://www.jam2dis.com/j2dfmhist1.htm

spelling edit
[Edited 5/10/05 9:03am]
[Edited 5/10/05 9:04am]

CinisterCee said:

I can usually differentiate a Freestyle cut from, say, an electro tune, but I can see the confusion. Early Freestyle was very electro in its approach. If you put some early Freestyle such as "Don't Stop The Rock" next to Pretty Tony's "Fix It In The Mix" I can see where the lines get blurred.

In retrospect, Freestyle was a movement that took shape during the death knell of b-boying and electro in 1985. B-boying and electro were fading because of commercialization and oversaturation. Breakdancing just got played out at one point. Hip hop, around this time, became more minimalist, ditching its Electro elements, while Freestyle continued to embrace Electro and Garage with a more urban dance pop appeal. This is when you start to see acts like Lisa Lisa and Exposé flourish.

Really it's the pre-1985 stuff that is hard for me to differentiate from electro to b-boy to club (or is it freestyle?) yknow

Shannon was Freestyle?

CinisterCee said:

Her first album is definitely freestyle.

I associate alot of these cuts with last generation b-boying.

CinisterCee said:

She's often categorized as a Freestyle artist, but then again you could say she was electro/R&B or (even more general) dance pop.

sextonseven said:

Yay!

Now I can stop calling it "uhh 80s disco sorta electro-y"

CinisterCee said:

It's one of those roots records--like C-Bank/Jenny Burton and Freeez.

sextonseven said:

Oh OK. See, that's why I put the term "Latin" in parentheses because the genre's orgins are debatable. Some may prefer to just call it "Freestyle" because the music may not have been made by Latin artists, but were huge amongst a Latin fanbase.

Case in point, a radio station in L.A. called Power 106 has been trying to latch on and cater to a latino audience for decades. Back in the '80s, all they played were freestyle (or "latin hip hop") cuts. Eventually in the mid-'90s, when L.A.'s latino community got fully enwrapped in deep house, Power 106 followed suit.

sextonseven said:

Those are the ones I like most.

CinisterCee said:

You've heard those?

JANFAN4L said:

The individual singles, hell yeah

http://www.prince.org/msg/8/144690


U fools forgot stevie b rival George Lamond. "bad of the heart" "heaven in my hands (freestyle meets gospel) "serenade you" "look into my eyes" "Loves contagious" etc.....

thesexofit said:

George Lamond, like Linear and Lisette Melendez, released his album too late. Freestyle was already dying at the time (although "Bad Of The Heart" was a big hit).

sextonseven said:

HA linear. I got both there albums. Trully is rubbish. Their second album (with non freestyle cut "tlc" was alright though.

Stevie b went very poppy on "love and emotion". And it paid off too.

"bad of the heart" rocks.

U must see (iam sure most have seen) 1991's "hangin' with the homeboys". I saw this as a kid and loved it. It reminds me of my old area (I was from chicago but alot of latino's lived there)



it perfectly capured the era of 1991. it is not a hood movie though. It's just about 1 night out with 4 guys. It is actually quite sad in some ways. A classic coming of age movie.

Anyone got the soundtrack? It has stevie b's best song "pretty girls". I love that song.

thesexofit said:

I bought this movie on DVD Xmas-time last year. They all give winning performances. John was on point in his depiction of a grocery store worker. Some of the dude's best cinematic performances appear in this film.

Funny movie. Great performances!



I'd like to get it someday.

I don't know if The Jets and Alisha qualify as "freestyle".