Editing Freestyle music (section)

===1982–1987: Origin===
Freestyle music developed in the early 1980s, primarily simultaneously in the Hispanic (mainly [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]]/[[Latin Americans|Latin]]) communities of [[Upper Manhattan]] and [[The Bronx]] and in the [[Italian-American]] communities in [[Brooklyn]], the Bronx, other [[boroughs of New York City]], [[New Jersey]], [[Westchester County]] and [[Long Island]]. It initially was a fusion of synthetic instrumentation and [[syncopation|syncopated]] [[percussion]] of 1980s [[Electro (music)|electro]], as favored by fans of [[breakdance|breakdancing]]. [[Sampling (music)|Sampling]], as found in [[synth-pop]] music and [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]], was incorporated. Key influences include [[Afrika Bambaataa]] & [[Soul Sonic Force]]'s "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]" (1982) and [[Shannon (American singer)|Shannon]]'s "[[Let the Music Play (song)|Let the Music Play]]" (1983), the latter was a top-ten [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] hit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hot 100|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1984-02-25/hot-100|work=Billboard.com|publisher=Rovi Corporation|access-date=May 31, 2012|date=February 25, 1984}}</ref> 

In 1984, a Latin presence was established when the first song recorded in the genre by a [[Latin American]] artist, "[[Please Don't Go (Nayobe song)|Please Don't Go]]", by newcomer [[Nayobe]] (a singer from Brooklyn and of Cuban descent) was recorded and released.<ref>{{cite web|title=All Music - Please Don't Go - Nayobe|website=[[AllMusic]]|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/please-dont-go-mw0000049035}}</ref> The song became a success, reaching No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Dance Music/Club Play]] chart. In 1985, a Spanish version of the song was released with the title "No Te Vayas". By 1987, freestyle began getting more airplay on American pop radio stations. Songs such as "[[Come Go with Me (Exposé song)|Come Go with Me]]" by [[Exposé (group)|Exposé]], "[[Show Me (The Cover Girls song)|Show Me]]" by [[the Cover Girls]], "[[Fascinated (Company B song)|Fascinated]]" by [[Company B (band)|Company B]], "[[Silent Morning]]" by [[Noel Pagan|Noel]], and "[[Catch Me (I'm Falling)]]" by [[Pretty Poison (group)|Pretty Poison]], brought freestyle into the mainstream. [[House music]], based partly on [[disco]] rhythms, was by 1992 challenging the relatively upbeat, syncopated freestyle sound.<ref name="Gardner">{{cite web|title=History of Freestyle Music|url=http://music.hyperreal.org/library/history_of_freestyle.html|work=hyperreal.org|access-date=May 31, 2012|first=Joey|last=Gardner|archive-date=June 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610054831/http://music.hyperreal.org/library/history_of_freestyle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] considers the Miami Mix of [[ABC (band)|ABC]]'s single "[[When Smokey Sings]]" to be proto-freestyle, despite that version being released in 1987.<ref>http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11712 {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}</ref> 

Many early or popular freestyle artists and DJs were of Hispanic or [[Italians|Italian]] descent, including [[John Benitez|Jellybean]], Tony Torres, Raul Soto, Roman Ricardo, [[Mickey Garcia]] (who is of both Italian and Puerto Rican descent), [[Lil Suzy]], and [[Nocera (singer)|Nocera]], which was one reason for the style's popularity among [[Hispanic Americans]] and [[Italian Americans]] in the [[New York City]] area and [[Philadelphia]].