JONPITO
New member
I dont want to dump a loaf on others "triumphs".
but this is like a lil splinter that is actually bothering a lot of people. actually alot of the info going around is right,somewhat right, or even an outrage to many old skool FREESTYleres.
(ref: to post "is yo lil brother freestyle")
In memory of the old skool, as freestyles shoe's hang from a telephone wire.......i do have some to say about some topics up in here. And starting on behalph of the True latin hiphop people of Miami and new york (early to mid 80's) as claiming "Yo lil brother" by nolan thomas as it became property of the latin hiphop crowds.
The reasons to not accept "yo lil brother" as a early 80's freestyle record, becuase it has a (SLIGHT) rap on it, or becouse its the only song that actually says "YO" on it. Doesnt sit with me or many others.
The fact that someone heard from some one else that it was or wasnt, dosnet have an affect.
You can have nolan thomas himself sit up in here and claim that it wasnt a freestyle record. Of course not, the term "Freestyle" didnt exist, neither did a specific label for the sound that was hapening at that time.And if you refer to Freestyle, many will unclaim to be, as the term is still looked down upon. In reality it didnt matter. many records that came out of that time were unintentional. Information societies "running" and "pure energy" were not latin hiphop records to begin with. they were suposed to be new wave records, and like many records....thats what it became.a latin hiphop record, and they knew and rode on it.
I have my big ass books of contacts myself..and confirmed a couple of things myself as well.
And if nolan thomas or anyone else claims themselves not to have freestyle records, or anything to do with freestyle, i can sit them down and REMIND them of the CROWDS that made them what they were.
And to this day remind them WHO KEPT THIER RECORDS and MEMORY alive.
There is a large misunderstanding through out the freestyle world of what became a freestyle record, when exactly did freestyle records start merging out of electro funk. I cant and wont go deep into it.
there will be another place were you guys can go for that.
What made a record freestyle and separate from electro funk (or rap), was the fact that the earliest records all used the same drum programing. electrofunk and rap beats were also shared as freestyle's beats.
Freestyle had the first female vocal singing, unlike the male dominated electrofunk and rap records. The electro records started to become more musical and held melodies. BASSlines had ALOT to do with what was Dance and R&B or rap.
The melodies of the Basslines had alot to do with that as well, found mostly on early freestyle records.
Yo lil brother had those bass lines. it was also one of those records that was also considered both R&B and early latin hiphop.
Freestyle and R&b overlaped each other. also rap and electro funk overlaped with freestyle and R&B.
back then, we didnt sit there and segregated what was what...it was all part of the same scene...street music.
Lisa lisa "take me home" was more abstract and leaned more to hiphop/rap beats than anything, way more than "yo lil brother".
It also had its rap version of "take me home" comonly found with other raps in latinhiphop freestyle records of that time.
"yo lil brother" also held the slow tempo and basslines that the already pop dance/freestylerecords had at that time and became a huge latinhiphop anthem.(another good example is found on the slow tempo "private Property" by lisa lisa. Latin hiphop records were not only called latin hiphop becus of the fusion of both latin and hiphop elements, or becouse of the large presence and influence young puertorecans had in the bronx .......what made a latin hiphop record also was a reflection of what was going on in the streets at that time. the things that young minority youth faced.......and at the end it related to averyone..no matter what you were.
But the "Yo" in lil brother reflected the way the youth talked back then and still doese today. people walked around and said "yo", cuz most of the peeps were from da hood. The ghetto or tha barrio.
R&b records didnt reflect mostly what was going on , they had rap record reflecting that. For the same reason many latinhiphop/freestylers also opted and related to the rap records, also sharing the same sounds.
But yo lil brother was mostly singing in a ryme, about an older brother looking out for his lil brother who was facing absticles on the street.
naybobes "please dont go", focused on a girl telling her boi friend not to go to a street fight.....at the end he did and died anyway.
you had other records like C.O.D "in the bottle" between twilight 22 "electric Kindom" and over "crazy cutz", which originaly were the electro hiphop beats nayobe's "please dont go" was layed over.
It was a freestyle feature to sing in a dance record form and also relate what was comon for freestyle's following in their everyday life. this was even continued all the way up to cynthias "how i love him" talking about a girl and her abusive drug adict boi friend or tka's "Maria". the girl with the drug dealer boi freind and the lover who wnated to take her away from that world.
it was comon for freestyle people to sing and rap on their records for many years, especially those early years.
P.s.o. "start in something" was another huge freestyle record during the latin hiphop period. and it had more of a direct rap on it, than did "yo lil brother". same gose with the early STOP "Dance ,AHORA"....who had str8 up electro hiphop beats and then drops to freestyle synths and latin melodies.....but had strictly rap on it. it was freestyle music with rap and latin influences on "ahora".
these were all early prototypes for the later records like "be with you tonight" by power patrol.
To dismiss "yo lil brother" youd have to dismis so many freestyle records after that and of the same period.
Alot of latin hiphop/freestyle producers also had the talents to produce other music. alot did and produce rap records or R&B records. still talented and educated enough to do so. just cuz they were known as freestyle producers did not make those records Freestyle.they were not.
However in the same way, alot of Non latinhiphop/freestyle (not always latin or black) producers targeted to make dance/street records. In the process that is what became of those records.
Yo lil brother amung those and walked aside records like
Sly fox's "Commo tu te Llame(tell me whats your name)" or the classic "colegiana".
Early freestyle records from 83-85 came in all forms. some leaned towards R&B, others to more of a hi nrg, others to a street format.some fast tempo others slow tempo.
but all were freestyle.
the main two comon beats of early freestyle was the electro beated records, the shanonesque style synth records and the Dance/disco beated record.
Carol lyne towns "I like you" is a good example of a freestyle record holding both frestyle and the drum kick and snare disco beat that was common in early freestyle records and later also spilled and shered with Hi nrg music.While her "i crave for you" and "99.5" had a traditional shanonesque meets R&B feel to them.
But just as Anthony mc camp's "what i like" or poul parkers "one looks not enough" were all freestyle.
Add to this pool cynthia roundtrees "stop searching (for love)" , company b's "jam on me", janine carter's "s.a.v.e i.t." ,
bbeat girls "for the same man".
add to this, magazine 60's "donkey jote", records from the tom tom club,alisha "all night passion",debbie debs"cuz im Searching", Nu shooz "point of no return" and "I cant wait".......
who like many other records that would develop in time would change tempo or beats or rythm so, that the most devoted freestyle fan of the 90's wouldnt recognize them as freestyle, as freestyle that merged out of the early to mid 80's SOUNDS NOTHING like the freestyle of the late 80's and early 90's. "sasha's "so good for you" another good example of what later wuold result. add alishas "to turned on" , mantonix and joyce sims "all in all".
many of these record were teen club/roller rink and street jams.....so it wsnt uncomon to add disco loops to the mix and add records like cano's Are you ready.
No matter what the records were, the soul that linked everything and kept the groove alive was that of the latin hiphop/freestyle groove.
the records belong to that period and that community.
top 40 nor r&b stations keep any of these records alive. They are all seen as dance records and are now property of the freestyle community to be kept alive.
through out freestyles history, the key to survival was constant change.
and for many years that is and still is what is keeping freestyle alive. From the earliest electro/freestyle record.. to the most current freestylebreaks/electro clash record................
there are no restrictions for a freestyle record.it is freestyle.
(to some extent).
even if a record mutates to another form of dance music ,like a house record and trance record...what makes it a freestyle record is not so much the structure of the song.......but the soul and purpose of what it represents. and this is where alot of confusion somes when freestyle migrated to latin house.
the exact term was latin hiphop house, It was House music, with latinhiphop/freestyle roots and a large migration from freestyle behind it.
although the sound was completey diferent.....it was house music with the soul of freestyle and the community that went with it.
this too also bridged to house versions of freestyle records or other acid house records, as ACID house was the style of house that was pop at the time those records flourished.
"someone asked "is "this is acid" freestyle, cuz they heard it on a juddy torrez show. No its not, but it also was heard along with other records in the pool of that sound.
anyway..."this is acid" is not in the realm of freestyle as is "yo lil brother" is.
maybe if people called latino mix, im sure mickey garcia would play it.
i know in miami a request for "yo lil brother" will be taken seriously and apreciated on salsa 98.3..cuz its real old skool peeps down here.
Any Dj who did not play "yo lil brother" at freestyle jams was unheard of.
i was going to get into this......but ill have other chances.
I cant change anyones thought. so thats that.
but true latin hiphopers/freestylers from the old school consider "yo lil brother' as a earlyfreestyle record.
Especially those with a DJ mentality.
there is a prase "the message is in the music", the basslines and beats and structure of the song is all early freestyle.
if it looks like a cat, meows like a cat and scratches like a cat ...ITS A CAT!
but i do want to say something::::::
freestyle has such a rich history. the genre alone overlaps and once upon a time opend up to so many other styles of music.
and we accepted them and accepted them into our community as freestyle records. we tended to be difenret and embrace all style s of freestyle.
for the same reason..rap and house have prevailed. they continue to do the same and constantly change. they go out and claim the best sides of other genres for themselves..including some that are freestyle's.
This is the only community that i have seen that not only dismisses new forms of freestyle as non freestyle, but also now slowly dismisses records that were once our anthems.
I wouldnt be surprised if one day lisa lisa is also discredited and claimed non freestyle, cuz she doesnt sound anything that came out between the late 80's and early 90's.
This is strictly the difernece between a old skool latin hiphop mentality vs the now present freestyle mentality.
For those of you who dont want to consider "yo lil brother" freestyle and want to exile it.....go right ahead.
think what you want.....
but i know that in 1995 when i went to the cameo theatre for a huge latinhiphop freestyle reunion...it was the fever/afterdark and Timber party during WMC.........Tre-Duece (swing kid)(i beleive it was him), got up on stage and performed his version of "Yo lil brother", and the crowd went wild. it wouldnt of happen in any other party like that. that same night nayobe perfomed "please dont go" and her hit with fat joe called "all night long".And cynthia perfomed "love me tonight " produced by frankie cutlass, and also her "how i love him"(which talks about what i mentioned before).This is the last party i ever attended where the SOUL of true latin hiphop was present.
the musical structure of the song "yo lil brother' is what makes it early 80's freestyle. part of the latin hiphop movement. and not all were latin to be latin hiphop. one of the bigest ironys of the dance genre.
as the second biggest irony in the dance world : the prodominant white muscle boy gay circuite, with soulfull R&B and african american gospel divas wailing out spirituals and perfoming at gay circuite parties.
I know some people dont like to hear that term, latin hiphop, same as they get mad if someone who performs yells out "PUERTO RICO,OHH!!
at the end of the show.
butsometimes you have to look within that, to understand.
The latin hiphop is our past, and the word freestyle enough is not as powerful to explain what really happend in our historic past.
im not a fan,i am the industry, i m the future.
i been in this since day one and since i was 7.
I went from dealing with major label presidents to freestyle legends and founders. been through so much, belt is getting heavy.
now its my turn.
more of my credibility...a member of naras and also triple majoring in sound recording, music business, and education
leading to master in music, doctors of philosophy degrees (one day).
alot of people know alot on these sites. But at times i do out rank the others.
and i will make sure i will.
destroy and rebuild.......
we distroyed and rebuilt long ago, it just flew over your heads and many will soon find out why.
very soon.
JONPITO
MNGT
D'luna the china doll
"illknow (im blowing up)"
jellybean recordings
"come with me" up next
producer/pres. public relations
NRG TV
Detourrecords and film
www.detourrecords and film .com
artist development and mngt
eqs recordinsg and live action studio
13644 sw 142 ave suite d
miami fl 33186
(building that once was pantera and right touch)
freestyle conservatory
miami
lead columnist /Pres of marketing
WWW.freestylemusic.com
coming soon.
a new sound, a new look, a new movement.
YO im out.
"we know the world is hard, so get tough
We know the world is hard so get tough
we know the world is hard so get tough
ggggggg tough!"
but this is like a lil splinter that is actually bothering a lot of people. actually alot of the info going around is right,somewhat right, or even an outrage to many old skool FREESTYleres.
(ref: to post "is yo lil brother freestyle")
In memory of the old skool, as freestyles shoe's hang from a telephone wire.......i do have some to say about some topics up in here. And starting on behalph of the True latin hiphop people of Miami and new york (early to mid 80's) as claiming "Yo lil brother" by nolan thomas as it became property of the latin hiphop crowds.
The reasons to not accept "yo lil brother" as a early 80's freestyle record, becuase it has a (SLIGHT) rap on it, or becouse its the only song that actually says "YO" on it. Doesnt sit with me or many others.
The fact that someone heard from some one else that it was or wasnt, dosnet have an affect.
You can have nolan thomas himself sit up in here and claim that it wasnt a freestyle record. Of course not, the term "Freestyle" didnt exist, neither did a specific label for the sound that was hapening at that time.And if you refer to Freestyle, many will unclaim to be, as the term is still looked down upon. In reality it didnt matter. many records that came out of that time were unintentional. Information societies "running" and "pure energy" were not latin hiphop records to begin with. they were suposed to be new wave records, and like many records....thats what it became.a latin hiphop record, and they knew and rode on it.
I have my big ass books of contacts myself..and confirmed a couple of things myself as well.
And if nolan thomas or anyone else claims themselves not to have freestyle records, or anything to do with freestyle, i can sit them down and REMIND them of the CROWDS that made them what they were.
And to this day remind them WHO KEPT THIER RECORDS and MEMORY alive.
There is a large misunderstanding through out the freestyle world of what became a freestyle record, when exactly did freestyle records start merging out of electro funk. I cant and wont go deep into it.
there will be another place were you guys can go for that.
What made a record freestyle and separate from electro funk (or rap), was the fact that the earliest records all used the same drum programing. electrofunk and rap beats were also shared as freestyle's beats.
Freestyle had the first female vocal singing, unlike the male dominated electrofunk and rap records. The electro records started to become more musical and held melodies. BASSlines had ALOT to do with what was Dance and R&B or rap.
The melodies of the Basslines had alot to do with that as well, found mostly on early freestyle records.
Yo lil brother had those bass lines. it was also one of those records that was also considered both R&B and early latin hiphop.
Freestyle and R&b overlaped each other. also rap and electro funk overlaped with freestyle and R&B.
back then, we didnt sit there and segregated what was what...it was all part of the same scene...street music.
Lisa lisa "take me home" was more abstract and leaned more to hiphop/rap beats than anything, way more than "yo lil brother".
It also had its rap version of "take me home" comonly found with other raps in latinhiphop freestyle records of that time.
"yo lil brother" also held the slow tempo and basslines that the already pop dance/freestylerecords had at that time and became a huge latinhiphop anthem.(another good example is found on the slow tempo "private Property" by lisa lisa. Latin hiphop records were not only called latin hiphop becus of the fusion of both latin and hiphop elements, or becouse of the large presence and influence young puertorecans had in the bronx .......what made a latin hiphop record also was a reflection of what was going on in the streets at that time. the things that young minority youth faced.......and at the end it related to averyone..no matter what you were.
But the "Yo" in lil brother reflected the way the youth talked back then and still doese today. people walked around and said "yo", cuz most of the peeps were from da hood. The ghetto or tha barrio.
R&b records didnt reflect mostly what was going on , they had rap record reflecting that. For the same reason many latinhiphop/freestylers also opted and related to the rap records, also sharing the same sounds.
But yo lil brother was mostly singing in a ryme, about an older brother looking out for his lil brother who was facing absticles on the street.
naybobes "please dont go", focused on a girl telling her boi friend not to go to a street fight.....at the end he did and died anyway.
you had other records like C.O.D "in the bottle" between twilight 22 "electric Kindom" and over "crazy cutz", which originaly were the electro hiphop beats nayobe's "please dont go" was layed over.
It was a freestyle feature to sing in a dance record form and also relate what was comon for freestyle's following in their everyday life. this was even continued all the way up to cynthias "how i love him" talking about a girl and her abusive drug adict boi friend or tka's "Maria". the girl with the drug dealer boi freind and the lover who wnated to take her away from that world.
it was comon for freestyle people to sing and rap on their records for many years, especially those early years.
P.s.o. "start in something" was another huge freestyle record during the latin hiphop period. and it had more of a direct rap on it, than did "yo lil brother". same gose with the early STOP "Dance ,AHORA"....who had str8 up electro hiphop beats and then drops to freestyle synths and latin melodies.....but had strictly rap on it. it was freestyle music with rap and latin influences on "ahora".
these were all early prototypes for the later records like "be with you tonight" by power patrol.
To dismiss "yo lil brother" youd have to dismis so many freestyle records after that and of the same period.
Alot of latin hiphop/freestyle producers also had the talents to produce other music. alot did and produce rap records or R&B records. still talented and educated enough to do so. just cuz they were known as freestyle producers did not make those records Freestyle.they were not.
However in the same way, alot of Non latinhiphop/freestyle (not always latin or black) producers targeted to make dance/street records. In the process that is what became of those records.
Yo lil brother amung those and walked aside records like
Sly fox's "Commo tu te Llame(tell me whats your name)" or the classic "colegiana".
Early freestyle records from 83-85 came in all forms. some leaned towards R&B, others to more of a hi nrg, others to a street format.some fast tempo others slow tempo.
but all were freestyle.
the main two comon beats of early freestyle was the electro beated records, the shanonesque style synth records and the Dance/disco beated record.
Carol lyne towns "I like you" is a good example of a freestyle record holding both frestyle and the drum kick and snare disco beat that was common in early freestyle records and later also spilled and shered with Hi nrg music.While her "i crave for you" and "99.5" had a traditional shanonesque meets R&B feel to them.
But just as Anthony mc camp's "what i like" or poul parkers "one looks not enough" were all freestyle.
Add to this pool cynthia roundtrees "stop searching (for love)" , company b's "jam on me", janine carter's "s.a.v.e i.t." ,
bbeat girls "for the same man".
add to this, magazine 60's "donkey jote", records from the tom tom club,alisha "all night passion",debbie debs"cuz im Searching", Nu shooz "point of no return" and "I cant wait".......
who like many other records that would develop in time would change tempo or beats or rythm so, that the most devoted freestyle fan of the 90's wouldnt recognize them as freestyle, as freestyle that merged out of the early to mid 80's SOUNDS NOTHING like the freestyle of the late 80's and early 90's. "sasha's "so good for you" another good example of what later wuold result. add alishas "to turned on" , mantonix and joyce sims "all in all".
many of these record were teen club/roller rink and street jams.....so it wsnt uncomon to add disco loops to the mix and add records like cano's Are you ready.
No matter what the records were, the soul that linked everything and kept the groove alive was that of the latin hiphop/freestyle groove.
the records belong to that period and that community.
top 40 nor r&b stations keep any of these records alive. They are all seen as dance records and are now property of the freestyle community to be kept alive.
through out freestyles history, the key to survival was constant change.
and for many years that is and still is what is keeping freestyle alive. From the earliest electro/freestyle record.. to the most current freestylebreaks/electro clash record................
there are no restrictions for a freestyle record.it is freestyle.
(to some extent).
even if a record mutates to another form of dance music ,like a house record and trance record...what makes it a freestyle record is not so much the structure of the song.......but the soul and purpose of what it represents. and this is where alot of confusion somes when freestyle migrated to latin house.
the exact term was latin hiphop house, It was House music, with latinhiphop/freestyle roots and a large migration from freestyle behind it.
although the sound was completey diferent.....it was house music with the soul of freestyle and the community that went with it.
this too also bridged to house versions of freestyle records or other acid house records, as ACID house was the style of house that was pop at the time those records flourished.
"someone asked "is "this is acid" freestyle, cuz they heard it on a juddy torrez show. No its not, but it also was heard along with other records in the pool of that sound.
anyway..."this is acid" is not in the realm of freestyle as is "yo lil brother" is.
maybe if people called latino mix, im sure mickey garcia would play it.
i know in miami a request for "yo lil brother" will be taken seriously and apreciated on salsa 98.3..cuz its real old skool peeps down here.
Any Dj who did not play "yo lil brother" at freestyle jams was unheard of.
i was going to get into this......but ill have other chances.
I cant change anyones thought. so thats that.
but true latin hiphopers/freestylers from the old school consider "yo lil brother' as a earlyfreestyle record.
Especially those with a DJ mentality.
there is a prase "the message is in the music", the basslines and beats and structure of the song is all early freestyle.
if it looks like a cat, meows like a cat and scratches like a cat ...ITS A CAT!
but i do want to say something::::::
freestyle has such a rich history. the genre alone overlaps and once upon a time opend up to so many other styles of music.
and we accepted them and accepted them into our community as freestyle records. we tended to be difenret and embrace all style s of freestyle.
for the same reason..rap and house have prevailed. they continue to do the same and constantly change. they go out and claim the best sides of other genres for themselves..including some that are freestyle's.
This is the only community that i have seen that not only dismisses new forms of freestyle as non freestyle, but also now slowly dismisses records that were once our anthems.
I wouldnt be surprised if one day lisa lisa is also discredited and claimed non freestyle, cuz she doesnt sound anything that came out between the late 80's and early 90's.
This is strictly the difernece between a old skool latin hiphop mentality vs the now present freestyle mentality.
For those of you who dont want to consider "yo lil brother" freestyle and want to exile it.....go right ahead.
think what you want.....
but i know that in 1995 when i went to the cameo theatre for a huge latinhiphop freestyle reunion...it was the fever/afterdark and Timber party during WMC.........Tre-Duece (swing kid)(i beleive it was him), got up on stage and performed his version of "Yo lil brother", and the crowd went wild. it wouldnt of happen in any other party like that. that same night nayobe perfomed "please dont go" and her hit with fat joe called "all night long".And cynthia perfomed "love me tonight " produced by frankie cutlass, and also her "how i love him"(which talks about what i mentioned before).This is the last party i ever attended where the SOUL of true latin hiphop was present.
the musical structure of the song "yo lil brother' is what makes it early 80's freestyle. part of the latin hiphop movement. and not all were latin to be latin hiphop. one of the bigest ironys of the dance genre.
as the second biggest irony in the dance world : the prodominant white muscle boy gay circuite, with soulfull R&B and african american gospel divas wailing out spirituals and perfoming at gay circuite parties.
I know some people dont like to hear that term, latin hiphop, same as they get mad if someone who performs yells out "PUERTO RICO,OHH!!
at the end of the show.
butsometimes you have to look within that, to understand.
The latin hiphop is our past, and the word freestyle enough is not as powerful to explain what really happend in our historic past.
im not a fan,i am the industry, i m the future.
i been in this since day one and since i was 7.
I went from dealing with major label presidents to freestyle legends and founders. been through so much, belt is getting heavy.
now its my turn.
more of my credibility...a member of naras and also triple majoring in sound recording, music business, and education
leading to master in music, doctors of philosophy degrees (one day).
alot of people know alot on these sites. But at times i do out rank the others.
and i will make sure i will.
destroy and rebuild.......
we distroyed and rebuilt long ago, it just flew over your heads and many will soon find out why.
very soon.
JONPITO
MNGT
D'luna the china doll
"illknow (im blowing up)"
jellybean recordings
"come with me" up next
producer/pres. public relations
NRG TV
Detourrecords and film
www.detourrecords and film .com
artist development and mngt
eqs recordinsg and live action studio
13644 sw 142 ave suite d
miami fl 33186
(building that once was pantera and right touch)
freestyle conservatory
miami
lead columnist /Pres of marketing
WWW.freestylemusic.com
coming soon.
a new sound, a new look, a new movement.
YO im out.
"we know the world is hard, so get tough
We know the world is hard so get tough
we know the world is hard so get tough
ggggggg tough!"
