Stereotype Solved: Information Society Was Freestyle

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From the upcoming: The other Hip Hop: Freestyle, Miami Bass, Electro-Funk, Hip House, Trip Hop, and Jungle-Drum N Bass

Information Society holds its place in freestyle music...

take a lesson from the originator of them all, Afrika Bambaataa, the foremost Hip Hop master and godfather of Hip Hop...

Yes, Information Society were Freestyle...

as well as electro-pop (i.e. new wave/synthpop/rock/dance hybrids Thomas Dolby, New Order, etc.). Info Society (also known as Insoc back then), from Bloomington, Minnesota and signed to Tommy Boy Records (the same company that broke "Planet Rock" in April-May of 1982), were a cross between Afrika Bambaataa and the Human League, combining Latin Hip Hop with synthpop/rock and funk. Their sound emanated from influences such as Yello, Devo, Bootsy Collins, Kraftwerk, James Brown (godfather of soul), and The Residents--as band member Paul Robb said, the secret to the bands' sound...

When their single "running" hit the streets in April of 1985, it exploded in clubs such as Hearthrobs, from New York all the way to Miami, charting very high on Billboard's dance charts. Billboard crowned InSoc as a breakthrough in Latin Hip Hop. "Running" fused "Planet Rock" with cutting edge sounds of Freestyle, funk, dance, and rock...

Released in May of 1986, Insoc's biggest single ever "What's on Your Mind? (Pure Energy)" took freestyle music to a whole new level, playing heavily on the "Planet Rock" beat. Receiving "The Nest Treatment" (the very same that broke the Cover Girls' with "Show Me", it stood the test of time as one of the best songs of the 80s....And who could ever forget that "Little" Louie Vega (who would later become a House legend as well) remixed the classic tune that still gets airplay to this day?

Paul Robb, who masterminded Noel Pagan's freestyle classic "Silent Morning", also remixed rockers Red Flag's November 1988 release "Russian Radio" which received a considerate amount of airplay at Freestyle and dance clubs across the U.S. thanks to the inclusion of a "Planet Rock" like beat ...

They were even featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Earth Girls" with "Hit Me" in May of 89...

Still, their hit "Think" in August of 1991 still focused on the "Planet Rock" beat...

Their counterparts, the rock-dance classic band Dead or Alive (of "You Spin Me Around (Like a Record)" fame) had a big freestyle hit in June of 89 with "Come Home With Me Baby" which is a different story...
 
The debate is solved. Afrika Bambaataa and Kraftwerk have the final say and all agree.







Stereotype dismissed.
 
Sorry, Not freestyle. 😉

I'll buy the argument that "Running" is a freestyle song, but Info Soc was not a freestyle group.
 
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jboyvip said:
The debate is solved. Afrika Bambaataa and Kraftwerk have the final say and all agree.
Click to expand...

The members of Info Soc don't agree, nor do their fans. A past member of this forum once went to Info Soc's website and asked the fans if they considered Info Soc to be freestyle. They gave a resounding NO!
 
The reason there is such a debate is because Information Society's vocal sound is more like the new wave groups of the 80's such as "Depeche Mode" and others. The singer did not have a freestyle vocal style at all, and the song melodies were not typical freestyle melodies. I think Information Society took a little from different types of danceable music that was hot in the 80's and did their own thing with it. I have the full cd and it does not sound like freestyle to me. Running has some freestyle elements to it, but the album is not what I would consider true freestyle.
 
:sick

It's a New Wave group that did couple of Freestyle songs as New Order, Depeche Mode, PetShop boys, etc. So they can be considered as part of both styles: Freestyle and/or New Wave. It's up to you to decide...I won't debate! LOL

Even if Information Society is more considered as A New Wave band than a Freestyle group by many people, to me, they are part of Freestyle history, period! LOL

:cheers
 
How many Die hard Freestyle Fans own any Cd's by Information Soc.......

I own 2 Cd's one for Running and the Other for the reason India is listed on there singing......

Jon
 
jboyvip said:
From the upcoming: The other Hip Hop: Freestyle, Miami Bass, Electro-Funk, Hip House, Trip Hop, and Jungle-Drum N Bass

Information Society holds its place in freestyle music...

take a lesson from the originator of them all, Afrika Bambaataa, the foremost Hip Hop master and godfather of Hip Hop...

Yes, Information Society were Freestyle...

as well as electro-pop (i.e. new wave/synthpop/rock/dance hybrids Thomas Dolby, New Order, etc.). Info Society (also known as Insoc back then), from Bloomington, Minnesota and signed to Tommy Boy Records (the same company that broke "Planet Rock" in April-May of 1982), were a cross between Afrika Bambaataa and the Human League, combining Latin Hip Hop with synthpop/rock and funk. Their sound emanated from influences such as Yello, Devo, Bootsy Collins, Kraftwerk, James Brown (godfather of soul), and The Residents--as band member Paul Robb said, the secret to the bands' sound...

When their single "running" hit the streets in April of 1985, it exploded in clubs such as Hearthrobs, from New York all the way to Miami, charting very high on Billboard's dance charts. Billboard crowned InSoc as a breakthrough in Latin Hip Hop. "Running" fused "Planet Rock" with cutting edge sounds of Freestyle, funk, dance, and rock...

Released in May of 1986, Insoc's biggest single ever "What's on Your Mind? (Pure Energy)" took freestyle music to a whole new level, playing heavily on the "Planet Rock" beat. Receiving "The Nest Treatment" (the very same that broke the Cover Girls' with "Show Me", it stood the test of time as one of the best songs of the 80s....And who could ever forget that "Little" Louie Vega (who would later become a House legend as well) remixed the classic tune that still gets airplay to this day?

Paul Robb, who masterminded Noel Pagan's freestyle classic "Silent Morning", also remixed rockers Red Flag's November 1988 release "Russian Radio" which received a considerate amount of airplay at Freestyle and dance clubs across the U.S. thanks to the inclusion of a "Planet Rock" like beat ...

They were even featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Earth Girls" with "Hit Me" in May of 89...

Still, their hit "Think" in August of 1991 still focused on the "Planet Rock" beat...

Their counterparts, the rock-dance classic band Dead or Alive (of "You Spin Me Around (Like a Record)" fame) had a big freestyle hit in June of 89 with "Come Home With Me Baby" which is a different story...
Click to expand...
not to nit pick on you j boy but the infosoc think track came out around september of 1990 and did not use the planet rock beat.
 
Gornicevo said:
The members of Info Soc don't agree, nor do their fans. A past member of this forum once went to Info Soc's website and asked the fans if they considered Info Soc to be freestyle. They gave a resounding NO!
Click to expand...


Gornicevo, and how many people will tell you that soul and funk are not hybrids of rock? How many people will tell you that disco, rap, etc. are all not rock? A lot of people don't realize that all of these genres are offshoots of rock, and that Freestyle is a part of hip hop as is electro-funk, Miami Bass, freestyle, trip hop, etc. All this is African American music. Do many know that country, rock, blues, jazz, etc. are all African American forms of music? Rock is not about "white guys with guitars". Unless you want to be a revisionist, so be it, but all those revisionists can't even answer this question and fail to respond, even at the many conventions I attended because for one, they start to lose the battle when they:

a. hold stereotypes
b. lack information
c. are narrowminded
 
francis said:
:sick

It's a New Wave group that did couple of Freestyle songs as New Order, Depeche Mode, PetShop boys, etc. So they can be considered as part of both styles: Freestyle and/or New Wave. It's up to you to decide...I won't debate! LOL

Even if Information Society is more considered as A New Wave band than a Freestyle group by many people, to me, they are part of Freestyle history, period! LOL

:cheers
Click to expand...

Francis, many people seem to misread what I was saying. If you notice, I said Freestyle and electro-hop which is a synthesis of synthpop/New Wave/Rock dance which acts such as Soft Cell and Human League etc. Regardless if any band says that a certain song isn't freestyle, if a song uses a planet rock beat, it can be two things: electro and freestyle.

I consider InSoc a hyrbid of genres which can include freestyle if people read the beginning--a cross between Afrika Bambaataa and Human League. Just as Aretha and James Brown are hyrids of soul, pop, rock, and funk.
 
damianwild said:
The reason there is such a debate is because Information Society's vocal sound is more like the new wave groups of the 80's such as "Depeche Mode" and others. The singer did not have a freestyle vocal style at all, and the song melodies were not typical freestyle melodies. I think Information Society took a little from different types of danceable music that was hot in the 80's and did their own thing with it. I have the full cd and it does not sound like freestyle to me. Running has some freestyle elements to it, but the album is not what I would consider true freestyle.
Click to expand...

Damian, InSoc is a hybrid of genres. Freestyle is more broad than a narrow definition as that. Do all Freestyle vocals sund the same? Where does progressive fit here? Freestyle is freestyle and can manifest. It can be 2 in a Rhythm to Rare Arts to NBK--freestyle is Latin Hip Hop. That's the joy of Freestyle music. Others will disagree, others will agree, but you have to realize that InSoc was influenced by the "Planet Rock" beats which they used somewhat especially in the 80s as well as other genres.
 
italo1 said:
not to nit pick on you j boy but the infosoc think track came out around september of 1990 and did not use the planet rock beat.
Click to expand...


That was a typo on my part. August 1990 is more accurate; the single was making noise before September 1990. And "Think" does not use a "Planet Rock" beat? Do you know your Freestyle or not? Tell me, what's that beat then, the hip hop they use behind their lyrics? Its like in the vein of TKA or Lisa Lisa which still use "Planet Rock". Electro-Funk and Miami Bass have been used greatly in Freestyle.
 
"2 in a Rhythm"

I meant Two in a Room or 2 without Hats, also known as "La Casa".
 
Debates continue when people fail to recognize the truth.

For instance...

Many people don't know that rock n roll was black slang for sexual intercourse or that Elvis said the real king of rock was Fats Domino. Many don't know that rock sprang forth from jump up blues among bits and pieces of rhythm and blues, jazz, Gospel, country, etc.

Country is a direct descendant of bluegrass, etc. which all came from the slave songs (where blues etc. progressed in the first place).

Also, many in the hip hop world fail to see the significance of people such as Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown and the other political and social factors that come along with it. "Rapper's Delight" is not the first hip hop song such as disco was here before 1974. Do people know that "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men is actually bass music as is Khia's "My Neck, My Back" or Busta Rhyme's "Dnagerous" or Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back?" and that bass music partly manifested to today's crunk rap? In the electronic world, the same. Many don't even know who Kraftwerk is or that the first real electronic music came forth from classical musical or that ragtime was the first real american popular dance genre or how it moved from its spiritual home in America to the depths of Europe? What's EBM? Who's Throbbing Gristle, Gary Numan, Cabaret Voltaire, etc.?

Do people here know their own dance music? What's Techno? Techno is not "white European dance music" or a blanket term for all dance music. Techno is Jeff Mills, Joey Beltram, Cybotron, Slam, The Orb, Orbital, etc. There's also a difference between Trance, techno, house, etc. just as there is between electro and freestyle (however, there are hybrids as well)

The Beatles were first Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers who released singles such as "My Bonnie."

I've even had to attack people who claim freestyle music is "dead" or "all the same" as well as other stereotypes geared towards blacks and Latinos. Freestyle also had its time in the U.K. as did electro. We all can see Freestyle is burgeoning in Canada, Brazil, Germany etc. We all can see Freestyle really influenced Latinos and it became a part of their voice and culture.

I've done countless psychological surveys of the standard sample of 1,000-1,500 people throughout the world over different genres of music, and a majority still can't see the truth.

Right now, I'm creating an underground stir in Austin. I've spoken to countless people about the truth of music, and surprisingly many keep quiet or ask questions.
 
So, hopefully, two books will emerge:

one, The Other Hip Hop
(what do we make of SNAP! Real McCoy, DJ Fast Eddie, Tricky, Dieselboy, Mantronix, Man Parrish, JJ Fad, Lisa Lisa and The Cult Jam, etc.)

the other, Rock & Country: African American genres masked from truth

(focuses on all facets of African American music (genres and sub-genres), from Africa all the way to minstrelsy to Go-Go to new jill swing to today's new genres)

or somewhere down the lines of that.
 
Gornicevo said:
The members of Info Soc don't agree, nor do their fans. A past member of this forum once went to Info Soc's website and asked the fans if they considered Info Soc to be freestyle. They gave a resounding NO!
Click to expand...

You can't make stereotypical comments such as this, Gornicevo. Obviously, you ahve people here who think they're freestyle and people who think they're not. I'm a fan of InSoc, and I consider them freestyle among other things.
 
yaaaawn wow just give me some good music..something to make me smile nod my head in my car..dance... sing.. something that makes me press rewind ...i dont really care .. this has been a debate thats been done to death!!!! SOOO WHAT freestyle not freestyle??... its a great song (running) and was played on every station with a freestyle format when it was in its prime so many fans acossiate it with freestyle i personally dont believe it to be freestyle but so what..am i to stand on a mountain wave my fist and yell "you guys are all wrong..you bastards..listen to me..i know all"!!!!!!!!!!... all this genre this and that.. again done to death just as all the songs ever made and remade with the "planet rock beat" thats been done to death too.. breaking news this just in..freestyle is dead!!! .. im a big fan but im also a realist..not in denial..jesus christ will return before freestyle does.....but i still play it loud and proud like all freestyle fans do..now if youll excuse me i have to go save the world.. at the end of the day its just music..turn the volume up
 
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