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Chris Barbosa is an American record producer and Freestyle pioneer from New York.
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Chris Barbosa is an American record producer and Freestyle pioneer from New York.
In 1989, Barbosa, the Bronx-Puerto Rican born Barbosa served as a reporting DJ for New York's WKTU. In this role, the radio station would contact select club and mobile DJs, including Barbosa, to report on popular records, which would then influence the station's playlist. Other DJs involved in this process included Ralph Rivera Jr., Nelson Cruz, Frank Forti Jr., and Vin Rivera, all part of the New York City Mixologists Disco Spinners. This system contributed to the success of artists like Twister.
In 1983, an executive from Emergency Records named Sergio Cossa signed Barbosa to do production work with the record label. Some of Barbosa's musical influences were Arthur Baker and John Robie, the duo that invented electro funk with their production of Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock". Later that year, he teamed up with Mark Liggett to produce a vocal version of "Fire and Ice", the instrumental track of "Let the Music Play". [1] [2] They used a young contemporary R&B background vocalist named Shannon Brenda Greene, later changing her name to simply Shannon. This track was produced differently from the rest of the electro-funk records. It had a more Latin American-based rhythm with a heavy syncopated drum sound than the records produced by Baker and Robie. This style of electro funk was defined as "freestyle music" because of the way it was produced and mixed. Barbosa is widely credited as the genre's founder.
In September 1983, the 12-inch single of the song was released. Following the song's initial success, Shannon recorded a full-length album of the same name. The Grammy-nominated single received significant airplay on radio stations across the country. The album, released in February 1984, included another hit, “Give Me Tonight” and became the first freestyle album in dance music history. It was eventually certified gold, having sold over 500,000 copies. Both the 12-inch and 7-inch singles also achieved gold certification.
In 1984, Barbosa and Liggett sought out other session singers to lay down tracks on more freestyle songs. These artists included Nolan Thomas - "Yo Little Brother", Jay Novelle - "If This Ain't Love" and Xena - "On The Upside". Barbosa also played keyboards, programmed sequencers and produced Robin Gibb's album, Secret Agent .
Barbosa has been awarded Multiple RIAA Certified Gold, Platinum & Silver Records for various projects as well as an Ampex Golden Reel Award for "Let The Music Play".
In 1986, Emergency Records stopped signing new artists, forcing Barbosa and Liggett to launch their own Ligosa Records. [3] The duo immediately signed Monet and George Lamond. In addition, their subsidiary, Ligosa Entertainment produced songs for upcoming freestyle music acts such as Judy Torres (dubbed the "Queen of Freestyle"), Sa-Fire, and Mark Kalfa. Barbosa found chart success in 1990 with Lamond's "Bad of the Heart", which hit the Billboard Top 100 and peaked at #25.
In 1995, Barbosa and Liggett dismantled their company and parted ways. Barbosa continued producing for underground artists. In 1999, Shannon invited him back to update her 1980s singles "Let the Music Play" and "Give Me Tonight".
Barbosa was also affiliated with the tape editing scene. Barbosa served as the Director of Multimedia Services at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in New York City from 2006 to 2012. In September 2011, he relocated to Orlando, Florida; he was a remote worker until January 2012.
He is currently volunteering at IEC House of Worship where he is a Camera Operator, and a Producer/Master Control Operator/Engineer utilizing a NewTek Tri Caster 855 Live Multi-Camera Video Production system.
Barbosa is married with two children. His son Brandon is autistic. Barbosa is also involved in various charities and organizations related to autism.[ citation needed ]
Freestyle, or Latin freestyle is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, and Miami, primarily among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the 1980s. It experienced its greatest popularity from the late 1980s until the early 1990s. A common theme of freestyle lyricism originated as heartbreak in an urban environment typified by New York City.
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's Black gay underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.
Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture.
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, with an immediate origin in early hip hop and funk genres. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.
Brenda Shannon Greene, known professionally as Shannon, is an American singer and songwriter of freestyle and dance-pop music. She is best known for her single "Let the Music Play", which topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 1983 and was certified gold.
The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio.
Todd Norton Terry is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop. He has remixed a wide variety of artists.
"Let the Music Play" is a song recorded by American singer Shannon and released on September 19, 1983, as both her debut single and the lead single from her 1984 debut studio album of the same name. Written by Chris Barbosa and Ed Chisolm, and produced by Barbosa and Mark Liggett, "Let the Music Play" was the first of Shannon's four number ones on the US Dance Club Songs chart, reaching the top spot in October 1983. It also became a huge crossover hit in the US, peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984. It was Shannon's only top 40 hit in the US. Some mark "Let the Music Play" as the beginning of the "dance-pop" era. "Let the Music Play" was ranked 43rd on the 2009 VH1 Special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s, while Rolling Stone and Billboard featured it in their lists of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The song also appears in the film Totally Killer and the video games Dance Central 3 and Scarface: The World Is Yours.
George Lamond, sometimes styled George LaMond, is an American freestyle music and salsa music singer.
Nolan Thomas is a fashion photographer and former Latin freestyle artist, mostly known for his 1984 single "Yo' Little Brother" which peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Kalfa was discovered by dance-music producers Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa of Shannon fame when he was still in high school. While he did appear in the music video of "Yo' Little Brother" and sang all of the other tracks on the Yo' Little Brother album, he did not actually perform the vocals on this particular track: Elan Lanier sang them instead. The original 12-inch single of "Yo' Little Brother" was initially released by Emergency Records. The music video was conceived by the Manager-Director-Producer team of Stu Sleppin & Bob Teeman who created the rock star look-a-likes that became known as The Vid Kids. Nolan Thomas & The Vid Kids toured the US in the mid 1980s. A full-length LP was released by Mirage/Atco/Atlantic Records in 1984, which yielded two more singles to modest success. In the UK during the mid-1980s "Yo' Little Brother" received some cult status after it was aired on Channel 4's The Max Headroom Show. In 1989 he released the single "Once Around The Block", under the name Mark Kalfa.
Funk carioca, also known as favela funk, in other parts of the world as baile funk and Brazilian funk, or even simply funk, is a hip hop-influenced music genre from Rio de Janeiro, blending the rap subgenres of Miami bass and gangsta rap. Despite its name, funk carioca has no musical correlation with the American funk by any means.
"Planet Rock" is a song by the American hip hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force. The song was produced by Arthur Baker and released by Tommy Boy Records in 1982. The recording came together after DJ and producer Baker met with Bambaataa and the two bonded over the idea of creating a song about their mutual appreciation for the band Kraftwerk. Baker and Bambaataa had worked together previously on the song "Jazzy Sensation" and decided to compose a more electronic based version of the hip hop song, as opposed to the more disco-oriented work popular at the time. Along with musician John Robie, the group recorded the single at Intergalactic Studios in New York. Robie duplicated the sound on the record and had Bambaataa's rappers in the Soul Sonic Force rap over it. To create the raps, the lyricist of the group, Emcee G.L.O.B.E., had to develop a style he called "mc popping", which involved rapping off time, an unusual style at the time.
John Robie is an American musician, producer and songwriter. He has produced and/or written for such artists as: Chaka Khan, New Order, UB40, Cabaret Voltaire, Soulsonic Force, Boy George, Planet Patrol, Laura Branigan, and Freeez, among others.
"Bad of the Heart" is the second single from freestyle singer George Lamond's debut album Bad of the Heart. It is his biggest hit, peaking at number 25 in the U.S. The song was released on March 22, 1990 by Columbia Records. It was written by Philip Andreula, Marilyn Rodriguez and with production by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa.
"Look into My Eyes" is the third single from freestyle singer George Lamond's debut album Bad of the Heart. The song was released on August 2, 1990 by Columbia Records. It was written by Philip Andreula, Dominic Marabeti and produced by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa.
"Without You" is the debut single from freestyle singer George Lamond's debut album Bad of the Heart. The song was released on August 14, 1989, by Columbia Records. It was written by Philip Andreula and produced by Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa.
Bad of the Heart is the debut studio album by the Latin freestyle singer George Lamond. It was released on July 16, 1990, by CBS Records/Columbia Records. The album's title track scored Lamond his biggest hit single to date, when the tune reached No. 25 on the U.S. pop charts in early 1990.
Let the Music Play is the debut studio album by American dance and freestyle singer Shannon. The title track, written by the team of Chris Barbosa and Ed Chisolm, became a big hit, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 1 on the Billboard dance chart. The album itself would go on to sell over one million copies worldwide. The album garnered Shannon her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, presented at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985.
Secret Agent is the third solo album by British singer Robin Gibb, released in 1984. The album enjoyed limited success, mostly in Europe and Australia. The lead single "Boys Do Fall in Love" made the Top 10 in Italy and South Africa.
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