How did Freestyle peak?

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DJ_Havok!

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When do you think Freestyle peaked in NYC?

I think it was mixture of house of evolving with it's constant evolution that it was going thru, and the coporate struggle that Hot 103/97 went thru. That radio station went from dance to rap, and closed all doors to any rhythmic music.
I remember when Change On Me by Cynthia 1st came out. The 12" had both Freestyle and a heavy House Tinged Dub. I remember it well... Studio 54, Roseland, 1018, The Underground, etc. Now I go thru the old 12"s and cassette's remembering those times.

Shame we can't get a station that shares the present state of mind instead of living so heavily in the past.
 
It all depends on when you think it peaked then went downhill. I say it reached its peak when "MARIA" came out. That was the last, true freestyle song to come out. It died right after that.
 
I think it reached it's peak in 88'

House & Hip Hop began to grow strong in 89' as it seemed to take momentum away from freestyle. At least that's how I remember it.

The baddest freestyle songs were 88' and before in my opinion.

Slammin' songs like Out Of Control, Don't You Think It's Time, Can't Take These Lies, Crimes Of Passion, Scars Of Love, No reason To Cry, Change On Me, Don't Break My Heart, etc....were prior to 89'

Once 89'/90' hit, the formula began to change some (to go with the times I suppose)

Again, all this is only the way I happen to see it.
 
FREESTYLES PEAK WAS 88-89.

It was a peak for the entire genre.
Most people (mainstream) discovered it after that time and continued with it till the early 90's. but the freestyla world of the early 90's was a diferent world of the early through mid 80's.

Freestyles peak was huge in 88 and 89, cuz BOTH MIAMI and NEW YORK were unified. New York always favored the Traditional style of latin hiphop records and miami had its share also.
But the miami freestyle came in so many styles and crossed boundaries and linked so many music genres together. And that favored alot of people from many other scenes.

Miami had Electro freestyle..that crossed over to the Miami electro bass and booty bass scene.this created/infused the miami freestyle bass influences also (teaz Ii pleaze,power patrol, etc).it had its pop freestyle..that had its sides to nearly pop rock formats, usually achieved by those who also had live bands. Miami also always had the more hi-energetic records that would be more favorable to clubs. the records from company b, sequel, genuine parts,erotic exotic etc...deemanded higher synths, louder sirens and would bridge to hi-nrg records coming from europe (hazel dean,etc).(miami freestyle history is larger and more complex than that of new york).

the peak was reached, becouse at the time freestyle had a foundation. it had a strong undergound following also.
it was strong on the street and the clubs way before hitting radio.

around the late 80's...miami freesttyle died out in all its forms.
alot of miami freestyle artist started off by using house keys and influences on their records. (note that there have always been house influences on some freestyle records, just as you can find alot of electro and freestyle influences on early house records from the early 80's, especially if they came from people like tod terry..who also produced freestyle records).After miami artist started sampling more and more house.....it was in due time that they eventually went house all the way. it wasnt succesfull for many of em and they just wiltered into the industry. others went undergound and started their journey into the rave scene rising in the late 80's and early 90's......later with people like dynimix II,would in the undergound and rise out again today.(now called florida break/ravers).

around this time new tork records started with the using of house influneces also, like you mantioned cynthia etc. but at this time...those records were not street records no more, nore where they as strong as undergound club records (a new underground took over). they were all too dependent on radio and many saw artist (even today) as changing into what radio wanted them to be. freestyle lost its respect and following o f the undergound street and club world. but was embraced by the commercial world.

when miami died..this effected new york and everyone was wondering why. but the reason new york stood for another couple of years, was due to the fact that when the new school era began..it was strictly a new york thing. it totally reinovated iteslf within the club and street culture new york had at that time.

i mean the pop thing was the disco 2000 and the lime light. rave was booming. house and hiphop were huge.

what freestyle acomplished was that it took its old influences from house and hiphop and updated them, infused them back into the music and hit huge in the street, at a time when house and hiphop were kinda of unified (hiphop house). thats when the whole migration that began from freestyle to house began in the undergound and started years before and would escalate in time..with the earlier latin house (latin hiphouse records).

and at the same time..the break dubs of freestyle records found themselves to the raves and can still be heard to this day.

but prodominantly..after established freestyle artist depended too much on radio...when radio droped them..they didnt have the same scene that actually made them. they forgot about the undergound..and the undergound forgot about them.

the undergound moved on with the sound and is now flourishing present day in diferent ways.the sound of freestyle is flourishing in other scenes. but one thingthat isnt going to flourish is the careers of those artist.(some...like nyasia will and can succeed. but others are already played out and tired. they are not hip enough to compete with whats out there and radio and new fans see this.)..

but freetyle reached its peak...becouse it had struggle in both miami and new york. it had to fight its way from the undergound street and club. and it took many years to do so.

the diference with the scenes today is that the freestyle scene of today is waiting for radio to pick up wher it left off..and it aint gana happen.also..the freestyle scene today..is not tha same freestyle scene from many years ago. we had so many changes already in pockets of artist and labels and the mentality of the scene.also the freestyle scene of today is more conserned about the succeess of the artist themselves and not really the development of the sound.

as far as the freestyle sound..it has updated and re-invonted itself and already has had a 5 year jouney in the undergound and is finding itsway through new artist and a new generations outside of the freestyle community. bythe time the new generation reaches radio success, at the status of those artist of the 88-89 period, whats left of the freestyle community will already have had an invasion from new comers and outside genres jumping on the breaks and 80's revival of the early-mid 2k's. Not only does nu-freestyel have to conmbat its way though the undergound club and streets of today..it also has to combat againts the old freestyle scenes that wont let go and let new things grow.

I see freestyle's sound and new geneartion with a new hope and some day will rach its peak. But as far as that old freestyle world making a comeback..it wont happen.the new freestyle world will rise and is now rising out of the undergound electro music scene.

but yes, that was its peak..and that is the reason why.


JONPITO
d'luna the chinadoll
next step/jellybean recordings.
 
Personally for me I'd have to say 1989 but then again some of the all-time chart toppers like "Maria" and "Temptation" came afterwards. But after 90 around the time Berrios came out with his new sound via "Together Forever" I could tell things were changing. I remember all to well that horrible summer >91< the year of "Marky Mark" and "OPP".....that's when the shit really hit the fan and Hot 97 said "c ya later" to Freestyle. So for me it was 89!

:realsad
 
I think freestyle hit it's peak when "spring love" by stevie b came out, cause like i said before no matter if your a freestyle fan or not everyone know's "spring love" that is the only freestyle song that everyone knows, freestyle lover or not everyone know's stevie, before that freestyle was only realy known in New York, he made it known world wide.
 
I would have to say it hit it's peak in 88, when Tka, safire , stevie b, judy torres etc etc were going strong.
 
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