Freestyle music, also called Latin freestyle or (initially) Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area and Philadelphia, 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.
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.
Exposé is an American freestyle vocal group formed in 1984 in Miami, Florida. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success between 1984 and 1993. They became the first group to attain four top-10 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 since their debut album, including 1988 number-one single "Seasons Change." In March 2015, Billboard magazine named the group the eighth most-successful girl group of all-time.
The Force M.D.s are an American R&B vocal group that was formed in 1981 in Staten Island, New York. Although the group has old school hip hop roots, it is perhaps best known for two tunes that are widely considered 1980s quiet storm classics, "Tender Love" and "Love Is a House". They are considered major forerunners of the new jack swing movement.
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.
Jocelyn Enriquez is a Filipino American dance-pop singer born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her most popular songs are "Do You Miss Me", "A Little Bit of Ecstasy", and the Stars on 54 cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind". Her success helped inspire and pave the way for many Asian American, particularly Filipino Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area, artists during the mid to late 1990s such as Buffy, Kai, One Vo1ce, Pinay, Sharyn Maceren, and others.
Stephen Robert Nesta Marley is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of younger brother Damian Marley's Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock albums, and a further three times as a member of his older brother Ziggy Marley's group Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.
Company B is an American Latin freestyle trio formed in 1986 by Cuban-American producer Ish "Angel" Ledesma, featuring members Lori L. (Ledesma), Charlotte McKinnon and Susan (Gonzalez) Johnson. Before the group's self-titled album was released, Charlotte McKinnon left and was replaced by Lezlee Livrano. After the group's self-titled debut album, Susan Johnson left and was replaced by Sheena B. For the group's second album, 1989's Gotta Dance, Sheena B. and Lezlee Livrano both left the group and were replaced by Donna Huntley and Julie Marie.
Judy Torres is an American freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer.
Suzanne Casale Melone, better known by her stage name Lil Suzy, is an Italian-Puerto Rican American freestyle/pop singer who was mainly active in the 1990's. Lil Suzy is best known for the singles "Take Me in Your Arms", "Promise Me", and "Can't Get You Out of My Mind".
"Part-Time Lover" is a song by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder, released as the first single from his twentieth studio album, In Square Circle (1985). The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance, and adult contemporary charts, becoming Wonder's final number one hit to date. The song's simultaneous chart successes made Wonder the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard charts. The song was also released as a special 12" version. Lyrically, it tells the story of a man who is cheating on his wife with a mistress, only to find out in the end that his wife is cheating on him as well.
Steven Bernard Hill, known professionally as Stevie B, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was influential in the freestyle and hi-NRG dance music scene of the late 1980s, mostly in Miami. He had a 1990 number-one hit ballad, "Because I Love You ".
Deborah Claire Wesoff-Kowalski, known professionally as Debbie Deb, is an American singer and songwriter best known for her 1980s freestyle dance singles "Lookout Weekend" and "When I Hear Music".
Trinere Veronica Farrington, better known as Trinere, is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist who had several major dance hits in the 1980s and early '90s and who was very influential in the freestyle music genre. Today these songs are considered classics of the freestyle genre. Trinere continues to perform live and numerous concerts throughout New York, Florida, Santa Fe Springs, California, Brazil, and other venues in Latin America. Her popularity is still going strong and has gained fans of younger generations. She is making an effort at crossing over to Jazz music in order to showcase her versatility and range.
"We Didn't Know" is a mid-tempo duet by American recording artists Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, and was released as the sixth and final single from Houston's third album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990). The single was released on April 14, 1992 by Arista Records. Wonder wrote and produced the song. The single peaked at number 20 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart. There was no music video made for the song. This is the first and only single from the album that was issued without a music video.
Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with "Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Keep Your Body Working" featuring Martha Wash. Moran also has a total of seven number one hits on the Billboard Dance Club Songs music charts in the United States and he has recently had four number one Billboard chart hits in the years 2016 and 2017.
Adam Steven Barta is an American actor, reality star, and musician from the Bronx, New York. He has had four charting singles on the Billboard Dance Chart and is known for his duets and viral videos with Alana Thompson from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Farrah Abraham, Margaret Cho, Nadya Suleman (Octomom), Tan Mom, Eureka O'Hara, Mariah Lynn, and Jonah Falcon.
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" is a song recorded by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and released as the first single from Nicks' debut solo album Bella Donna (1981). The track is the album's only song that was neither written nor co-written by Nicks. Written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell as a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song, Jimmy Iovine, who was also working for Stevie Nicks at the time, arranged for her to sing on it. Petty sang with Nicks in the chorus and bridge, while his entire band played on the song.
Camille Filfiley, known professionally as Camille, is an American singer best known for her recordings with Eumir Deodato and her prominence in the early 1990s freestyle music and dance music genres.
