Editing Freestyle music

{{short description|Electronic dance music genre}}
{{About|a genre of electronic dance music|the freestyle form of rhyming in music|freestyle rap}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Freestyle
| native_name       = 
| etymology         = 
| other_names       = Latin freestyle, [[Latin hip hop#Freestyle|Latin hip hop]]
| image             = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = 
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Dance-pop]]|[[Latin music (genre)|Latin music]]|[[Electro (music)|electro]]<ref name=NRG/><ref name=Global>Loza, Susana Ilma (2004). ''Global Rhetoric, Transnational Markets: The (post)modern Trajectories of Electronic Dance Music''. Page 245. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved August 10, 2018.</ref>|[[boogie (genre)|boogie]]<ref name=NRG/>|[[hip hop music|hip hop]]<ref name=Global/><ref name=Oye/><ref name=Deutsch/>|[[synth-pop]]<ref name=Deutsch/>|[[hi-NRG]]|[[post-disco]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Early 1980s, United States: [[Music of New York City|New York]]/[[Music of New Jersey|New Jersey]],<ref name=Global/><ref name=Oye/>[[Philadelphia]], and [[Miami]]<ref name="Katel">{{cite web|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/miami-freestyle-13-best-acts-of-all-time-6437316|title=Miami Freestyle: 13 Best Acts of All Time|first=Jacob|last=Katel|date=11 September 2013|website=Miami New Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://music.hyperreal.org/library/history_of_freestyle.html|title=History of Freestyle Music|website=music.hyperreal.org|access-date=December 20, 2010|archive-date=July 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706033436/http://music.hyperreal.org/library/history_of_freestyle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/specials/freestyle-oral-history|title=Freestyle: An Oral History|date=21 September 2013|website=Red Bull Music Academy Daily|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-date=12 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312113239/http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/specials/freestyle-oral-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
(mostly by [[Hispanic Americans]] and [[Italian Americans]])
| instruments       = 
| derivatives       = NYC hard house<ref name=NRG/><ref name=Deutsch/>
| subgenres         = 
| fusiongenres      = 
| regional_scenes   = {{hlist|New York City<ref name=Eddys>Eddy, Chuck (Jan 2011). "ESSENTIALS - Latin freestyle simmers and weeps". Page 74. ''SPIN Media LLC''. {{ISSN|0886-3032}}. Retrieved August 10, 2018</ref>|Philadelphia<ref>[https://www.philebrity.com/blog/2016/5/12/attn-pastfuture-diamond-girls-the-super-freestyle-explosion-is-on-its-way] name=Ordells/>|Baltimore<ref=Eddys Accessed March 7, 2020</ref>|Miami<ref name=Eddys/><ref name=Global/>|Los Angeles<ref name=Global/>|Detroit<ref name=Global/><ref name=Oye/>|Chicago<ref name=Global/>}}
| local_scenes      = 
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[List of Latin freestyle musicians and songs|Freestyle musicians]]|[[Latin pop]]|[[Dance-pop]]|[[Miami bass]]}}
}}
'''Freestyle''',<ref>Deborah Pacini Hernandez. ''Oye Como Va!: Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music.'' Temple University Press, 2010. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zNcJkzg1OuQC&pg=PA63 p. 63.] {{ISBN|9781439900918}} ''"The music was called '''freestyle''' or, in a nod to its ethnic roots, '''Latin freestyle''' or '''Latin hip-hop'''."''</ref> or '''Latin freestyle'''<ref name=Deutsch>Klanten, Robert (1995). ''Die Gestalten Verlag: Localizer 1.0''. Die-Gestalten-Verlag. {{ISBN|9783931126001}}. Quote: "The other unavoidable influence [on NYC hard house] was latin freestyle. A blend of hip hop, synth pop and salsa, latin freestyle was big in NY in the mid and later eighties, and little known anywhere else. Among the best known tracks is Jellybean Benitez's "Dreams of Santa Anna" and Benitez kicked off the whole latin freestyle movement with his sessions at the Funhouse in Manhattan. The labels were [[Sleeping Bag Records]] and Cutting." Retrieved August 10, 2018.</ref> (initially called '''Latin hip hop''') is a form of [[electronic dance music]] that emerged in the [[New York metropolitan area]], [[Philadelphia]], and [[Miami]], primarily among [[Black Americans]], [[Hispanic Americans]],  and [[Italian Americans]]. 

An important precursor to freestyle is 1982's "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]" by [[Afrika Bambaataa]] & [[Soul Sonic Force]]. [[Shannon (American singer)|Shannon]]'s 1983 hit "[[Let the Music Play (song)|Let the Music Play]]" is often considered the first freestyle song and the first major song recorded by a [[Latin American]] artist is "[[Please Don't Go (Nayobe song)|Please Don't Go]]" by [[Nayobe]] from 1984.  From there, freestyle gained a large presence in American clubs, especially in New York and Miami.  Radio airplay followed in the mid-1980s.<ref name="Gill">Michael F. Gill. [http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-bluffers-guide-to-freestyle.html "The Bluffer's Guide to Freestyle."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216203320/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-bluffers-guide-to-freestyle.html |date=February 16, 2022 }} ''Stylus''. August 13, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2022.</ref>

Performers such as [[Exposé (group)|Exposé]], [[Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam]], [[Stevie B]] and [[Sweet Sensation (trio)|Sweet Sensation]] gained mainstream chart success with the genre in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but its popularity largely faded by the end of the decade.  Both classic and newer freestyle output remain popular as a niche genre in Brazil (where it is an influence on ''[[funk carioca]]''), Germany and Canada.

==History==
===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]].

===1988: Pop crossover===
Freestyle's Top 40 Radio airplay started to really take off by 1987, and it began to disappear from the airwaves in the early 1990s<ref name="Gardner"/> as radio stations moved to Top 40-only formats. Artists such as [[George Lamond]], [[Exposé (group)|Exposé]], [[Sweet Sensation (trio)|Sweet Sensation]], and [[Stevie B]] were still heard on mainstream radio, but other notable freestyle artists did not fare as well. Carlos Berrios and Platinum producer [[Frankie Cutlass]] used a freestyle production on "[[Temptation (Corina song)|Temptation]]" by [[Corina (American singer)|Corina]] and "[[Together Forever (Lisette Melendez song)|Together Forever]]" by [[Lisette Melendez]]. The songs were released in 1991, almost simultaneously, and caused a resurgence in the style when they were embraced by Top 40 radio. "Temptation" reached the number 6 spot on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Hot 100 Chart. These hits were followed by the success of [[Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam]], who had been one of the earliest freestyle acts. Their records were produced by [[Full Force]], who had also worked with [[UTFO]] and [[James Brown (musician)|James Brown]].

Several primarily freestyle artists released [[Sentimental ballad|ballads]] during the 1980s and early 1990s that crossed over to the pop charts and charted higher than their previous work. These include "[[Seasons Change (song)|Seasons Change]]" by Exposé, "[[Thinking of You (Sa-Fire song)|Thinking of You]]" by [[Sa-Fire]], "[[One More Try (Timmy T. song)|One More Try]]" by [[Timmy T]], "[[Because I Love You (The Postman Song)]]" by Stevie B, and "[[If Wishes Came True]]" by Sweet Sensation. Brenda K. Starr reached the Hot 100 with her ballad "[[I Still Believe (Brenda K. Starr song)|I Still Believe]]". Freestyle shortly thereafter gave way to mainstream pop artists such as [[MC Hammer]], [[Paula Abdul]], [[Bobby Brown]], [[New Kids on the Block]], and [[Milli Vanilli]] (with some artists utilizing elements of freestyle beginning in the 1980s) using hip hop beats and electro samples in a mainstream form with slicker production and [[MTV]]-friendly videos. These artists were successful on crossover stations as well as R&B stations, and freestyle was replaced as an underground genre by newer styles such as [[new jack swing]], [[Trance music|trance]] and [[Eurodance]]. Despite this, some freestyle acts managed to garner hits well into the 1990s, with acts such as [[Cynthia (singer)|Cynthia]] and [[Rockell]] scoring minor hits on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Hot 100 as late as 1998. As this new music style took over many big cities in America, the labels that signed these artists such as [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros]], and other labels did not know how to market these artists originally.<ref name="Test">{{Cite web |last=Test |first=Irene |date=2014-03-31 |title=On the Cusp of a Comeback: A Return for Freestyle Music |url=https://crossfadr.com/2014/03/31/cusp-comeback-return-freestyle-music/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Crossfadr |language=en-US}}</ref> Instead of pushing this style of music as a solidified sound, the labels separated the cities. This caused the Miami sound of freestyle music to be more popularized through the radio compared to NYC's sound at the time. The labels who pushed out low quality tracks ended up hurting themselves, instead of making the track a quality piece of music.<ref name="Test"/>

===Post-freestyle era===

Freestyle remained a largely [[underground music|underground]] genre with a sizable following in New York, but has recently seen a comeback in the cities where the music originally experienced its greatest success.  New York City impresario Steve Sylvester and producer [[Sal Abbatiello]] of Fever Records launched Stevie Sly's Freestyle Party show at the [[Manhattan]] live music venue, Coda on April 1, 2004. The show featured Judy Torres, Cynthia, and the Cover Girls and was attended by several celebrity guests. The Coda show was successful, and was followed by a summer 2006 [[Madison Square Garden]] concert that showcased freestyle's most successful performers. New freestyle releases are popular with enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Miami rapper [[Pitbull (entertainer)|Pitbull]] collaborated with Miami freestyle artist Stevie B to create an updated version of Stevie B's hit, "Spring Love".

Currently,{{when|date=May 2025}} freestyle music continues to have a thriving fanbase in certain parts of the country, with New York City Italian-American DJs such as [[Bad Boy Joe]] and [[Louie DeVito]] helping to maintain an active freestyle scene in the NYC metro area.<ref>{{Cite web|title = On the Cusp of a Comeback: A Return for Freestyle Music|date = March 31, 2014|url = http://www.crossfadr.com/2014/03/31/cusp-comeback-return-freestyle-music/|access-date = October 30, 2015}}</ref>

==Influence on other genres==

===NYC hard house===
{{distinguish|text=Chicago hard house, nor [[UK hard house]]}}
As Latin freestyle in the late 1980s and early 1990s gradually became superseded with house music, dance-pop, and regular hip hop on one front and [[Latin pop|Spanish-language pop music]] with marginal Latin freestyle influences on another, "harder strain" of house music originating in New York City was known to incorporate elements of Latin freestyle and the old school hip hop sound. Principal architects of the genre were [[Todd Terry]] (early instances include "Alright Alright," and "Dum Dum Cry")<ref name=NRG>Reynolds, Simon (2012). ''Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture ''. Page 31. Soft Skull Press. {{ISBN|1593764774}}. Retrieved August 10, 2018.</ref><ref name=Deutsch/> and Nitro Deluxe.<ref name=NRG/> Deluxe's "This Brutal House," fusing Latin percussion and the New York electro sound of [[Man Parrish]] with brash house music, proved to have an impact on the United Kingdom's club music scene, presaging the early 1990s British [[Rave music|rave]] scene.<ref name=NRG/>

===Terminology===
The genre was recognized as a subgenre of hip-hop in the mid-1980s.<ref name="gill">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-bluffers-guide-to-freestyle.htm | title=The Bluffer's Guide to Freestyle | magazine=[[Stylus Magazine|Stylus]] | access-date=June 15, 2012 | author=Gill, Michael F. | date=August 13, 2007 | archive-date=October 29, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029035209/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-bluffers-guide-to-freestyle.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> It was dominated by "hard" electro beats of the type used primarily at the time in hip-hop music.  Freestyle was more appreciated in larger cities.<ref name="gill"/><ref name="voice">{{cite news | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-04-11/music/let-the-music-play-again/ | title=Let the Music Play (Again) | newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] | access-date=June 15, 2012 | author=Verán, Cristina | date=April 11, 2006 | archive-date=December 13, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213010057/http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-04-11/music/let-the-music-play-again/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Freestyle scenes==
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2012}}

===New York===
"[[Let the Music Play (song)|Let the Music Play]]" by [[Shannon (American singer)|Shannon]], is often named as the genre's first hit, and its sound, called "The Shannon Sound", as the foundation of the genre, although also known as the beginnings of the electro genre which then gave birth to techno. [[Afrika Bambaataa]]'s "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]" was arguably the first freestyle song produced. "Let the Music Play" eventually became freestyle's biggest hit, and still receives frequent airplay. Its producers [[Chris Barbosa]] and Mark Liggett changed and redefined the electro funk sound with the addition of Latin-American rhythms and a syncopated drum-machine sound.

In March 2013, [[Radio City Music Hall]] hosted a freestyle concert. Top freestyle artists included in the line-up were TKA, Safire, Judy Torres, Cynthia, Cover Girls, Lisa Lisa, Shannon, Noel, and Lisette Melendez. Originally scheduled as a one-night event, a second night was added shortly after the first night was sold out in a matter of days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-Freestyle-Old-School-Extravaganza-Sells-Out-Radio-City-Music-Hall-20130402|title=The Freestyle & Old School Extravaganza Sells Out Radio City Music Hall|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|access-date=February 6, 2019}}</ref>

===Miami===
Radio stations nationwide began to play hits by artists like [[TKA]], [[Sweet Sensation (trio)|Sweet Sensation]], Exposé, and Sa-Fire on the same playlists as [[Michael Jackson]] and [[Madonna]]. "(You Are My) All and All" by [[Joyce Sims]] became the first freestyle record to cross over into the [[contemporary R&B|R&B]] market, and was one of the first to reach the European market. Radio station [[WPOW]]/Power 96 was noted for exposing freestyle to South Florida in the mid-'80s through the early '90s, as well as mixing in some local [[Miami bass]] into its playlist.

'[[Pretty Tony]]' Butler produced several hits on Miami's Jam-Packed Records, including [[Debbie Deb]]'s "When I Hear Music" and "Lookout Weekend", and Trinere's "I'll Be All You'll Ever Need" and "[[They're Playing Our Song (Trinere song)|They're Playing Our Song]]". Company B, Stevie B, [[Paris by Air (group)|Paris by Air]], [[Linear (pop group)|Linear]], [[Will to Power (band)|Will to Power]] and Exposé's later hits defined Miami freestyle. [[Tolga Katas]] is credited as one of the first people to create a hit record entirely on a computer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.becomingtheidol.com/producer-on-demand/|title=Producer On Demand (PROD)|date=December 12, 2017|website=StarMentors Music Artist Career Development and Mentoring, LLC|language=en-US|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207075404/http://www.becomingtheidol.com/producer-on-demand/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and produced Stevie B's "Party Your Body", "In My Eyes" and "Dreamin' of Love". Katas' record label Futura Records was an incubator for artists such as Linear, who achieved international success after a move from Futura to Atlantic Records.

===Philadelphia===
The groundbreaking "Nightime" by [[Pretty Poison (group)|Pretty Poison]] featuring red headed diva [[Jade Starling]] in 1984 initially put Philadelphia on the freestyle map. Their follow-up "Catch Me I'm Falling" was a worldwide hit and brought freestyle to [[American Bandstand]], [[Soul Train]], [[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold]] and the [[The Arsenio Hall Show|Arsenio Hall Show]]. "Catch Me I'm Falling" broke on the street during the summer of 1987 and was the #1 single at WCAU (98 Hot Hits) and #2 at WUSL (Power 99) during the first two weeks of July. [[Virgin Records]] was quick to sign [[Pretty Poison (group)|Pretty Poison]] helping to usher in the avalanche of other major label signings from the expanding freestyle scene.

Several freestyle acts followed on the heels of [[Pretty Poison (group)|Pretty Poison]] emerging from the metropolitan Philadelphia, PA area in the early 1990s, benefiting from both the clubs and the overnight success of then-Dance friendly Rhythmic Top 40 [[WIOQ]]. Artists such as [[T.P.E.]] (The Philadelphia Experiment) enjoyed regional success.

===California===
Freestyle had a notable following in California, especially Los Angeles, the Central Valley, San Francisco Bay, and San Diego. California's large Latino community enjoyed the sounds of America's East Coast club scene, and a number of California artists became popular with East Coast freestyle enthusiasts. In Northern California, primarily San Francisco and San Jose, they leaned toward a similar rhythm dance to [[hi-NRG]], so most of the Californian freestyle emerged from the southern regions of the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

[[Timmy T]], Bernadette, Caleb-B, SF Spanish Fly, Angelina, [[One Voice (girl group)|One Voice]], M:G, Stephanie Fastro and The S Factor were from the Bay Area. 

The Filipino American community in California also embraced freestyle music during the late 1980s and early 1990s. [[Jaya (singer)|Jaya]] was one of the first Filipino-American freestyle singers, reaching number 44 in 1990 with "If You Leave Me Now".

===Canada===
Freestyle's popularity spread outward from the [[Greater Toronto Area]]'s Italian, Hispanic/Latino and Greek populations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was showcased alongside [[house music]] in various [[Toronto]] nightclubs, but by the mid-1990s was replaced almost entirely by house music.

[[Lil' Suzy]] released several 12-inch singles and performed live on the Canadian live dance music television program ''[[Electric Circus]]''. Montreal singer [[Nancy Martinez]]'s 1986 single "For Tonight" would become the first Canadian freestyle single to reach the top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, while the Montreal girl group [[11:30]] reached the Canadian chart with "Ole Ole" in 2000.

===Elsewhere in the world===
{{unsourced section|date=May 2025}}
Performers and producers associated with the style also came from around the world, including Turkish-American Murat Konar (the writer and singer of Information Society's "[[Running (Information Society song)|Running]]"), [[Paul Lekakis]] from [[Greece]], Asian artist Leonard (Leon Youngboy) who released the song "Youngboys", and [[United Kingdom|British]] musicians including [[Freeez]], [[Paul Hardcastle]], [[Samantha Fox]] (whose singles "[[Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)]]", "[[Love House]]" and "[[I Wanna Have Some Fun (song)|I Wanna Have Some Fun]]" were all top 10 chart hits), and even [[Robin Gibb]] of the [[Bee Gees]], who also adopted the freestyle sound in his 1984 album ''[[Secret Agent (Robin Gibb album)|Secret Agent]]'', having worked with producer [[Chris Barbosa]]. 

Several British [[New wave music|new wave]] and [[synth-pop]] bands also teamed up with freestyle producers or were influenced by the genre, and released freestyle songs or remixes. These include [[Duran Duran]] whose song "[[Notorious (Duran Duran song)|Notorious]]" was remixed by the Latin Rascals, and whose album ''[[Big Thing (Duran Duran album)|Big Thing]]'' contained several freestyle inspired songs such as "[[All She Wants Is]]"; [[New Order (band)|New Order]] who teamed up with [[Arthur Baker (musician)|Arthur Baker]], producing and co-writing the track "[[Confusion (New Order song)|Confusion]]"; [[Erasure (duo)|Erasure]] and the Der Deutsche mixes of their song "[[Blue Savannah]]"; and the [[Pet Shop Boys]], whose song "[[Domino Dancing]]" was produced by [[Miami]]-based freestyle producer [[Lewis Martineé]]. Australian act [[I'm Talking]] utilized freestyle elements into their singles "[[Trust Me (I'm Talking song)|Trust Me]]" and "[[Do You Wanna Be?]]", both becoming top ten hits in their native Australia.

==Record labels==
;Prehistory
* [[Salsoul Records]]<ref name=Oye>Hernandez, Deborah Pacini  (2010). ''Oye Como Va!: Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music ''. Page 64. Temple University Press, January 25, 2010. {{ISBN|9781439900918}}. Retrieved June 30, 2018.</ref>
;Golden age Latin freestyle era
* [[Sleeping Bag Records]]<ref name=Deutsch/>
* [[Fever Records]]
* [[Profile Records]]
* [[Metropolitan Recording Corporation]]

==See also==
*[[:Category:Freestyle musicians]]
*[[:Category:Freestyle music albums]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{amerisalsa}}
{{hiphop}}
{{Post-disco}}
{{Electronica}}
{{synth pop-footer}}
{{Pop music}}

[[Category:Freestyle music| ]]
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Electronic dance music genres]]
[[Category:Pop music genres]]
[[Category:Dance-pop]]
[[Category:Electro (music)]]
[[Category:1980s in music]]
[[Category:1990s in music]]
[[Category:Hispanic American music]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American culture]]
[[Category:Italian-American culture in New York City]]
[[Category:Italian-American culture]]