JeromeG1234
New member
I've been reading all of the posts on here lately about why freestyle is no longer popular, why it hasn't made a comeback, what would be needed for it to do so, and so on. I wanted to share my opinion, which is that, like any other genre of music, freestyle is only one big hit away from a return to popularity. I know that I'm not the first person on here to suggest this. The trick is how to go about achieving that one big hit.
IMHO, the ONLY way that would happen is if a MAJOR artist released a straight-up freestyle song as the FIRST single from a highly anticipated album, something that radio would HAVE to play based on consumer demand. When the rumour first started spreading that the next Jennifer Lopez single was going to incoporate/sample "I Wonder If I Take You Home," I was VERY excited, because that's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Of course, that didn't turn out to be true, but if someone of that stature in the music industry were to go the freestyle route, I think it would completely reinvigorate the genre.
The two keys are that it needs to be a MAJOR artist on a MAJOR label. A major artist is needed so that people will be waiting to hear what he/she does next, and a major label is needed to give the record some credibility and some promotional push. It would also have to be a killer song, which is why a major label would be helpful in terms of getting some decent songwriters and producers on board; another idea would be to do a cover of a beloved classic that would generate interest in and of itself (think "Change On Me," "Take Me In Your Arms," "Bad Of The Heart," "I Wonder If I Take You Home," "Show Me," something like that).
I do NOT think that the quality of recent freestyle releases has been the issue per se, because there have been some great records released over the last few years. For example, IMHO the best freestyle song of the last five years or so was "In Just One Night" by Sharyn Maceren; I think most of us can agree that this was at least a good record. Excellent songwriting, immaculate production, tremendous vocal ability. So, what was the problem? It was a single by an essentially unknown artist on a microscopically tiny independent label (Planet Hype). If this song had been released around 1996 or '97 on Tommy Boy, I think it could've been a huge hit. Freestyle was still doing well, and Glenn G. had some clout as a producer and some major label connections; this is why the Jocelyn Enriquez "Jocelyn" album was a success and "Do You Miss Me" was ubiquitious on pop radio across the country, not to mention the fact that both the song and the album were fantastic. But this is a different time, and I think it would be extremely difficult if not impossible for any independent label to score a hit with a freestyle record today. It's great that our favorite artists continue to record for the fans, and it's great that there are new artists making new music for the same core group of fans, but in terms of major commercial success, I don't think that it's going to come about via that route. We're all getting older and we are no longer the target demographic of the radio and video programs; something is needed that would appeal to a new generation of music buyers and expose them to the genre.
Okay, I'm rambling, but the last thing I want to say that it wasn't so long ago that freestyle was all over the place. As late as 1999, there were still songs doing well by Rockell, Lil Suzy, and others. This was only five years ago. I think that it's too early to put the last nail in the coffin. Okay, that's my $0.02! Jerome.
IMHO, the ONLY way that would happen is if a MAJOR artist released a straight-up freestyle song as the FIRST single from a highly anticipated album, something that radio would HAVE to play based on consumer demand. When the rumour first started spreading that the next Jennifer Lopez single was going to incoporate/sample "I Wonder If I Take You Home," I was VERY excited, because that's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Of course, that didn't turn out to be true, but if someone of that stature in the music industry were to go the freestyle route, I think it would completely reinvigorate the genre.
The two keys are that it needs to be a MAJOR artist on a MAJOR label. A major artist is needed so that people will be waiting to hear what he/she does next, and a major label is needed to give the record some credibility and some promotional push. It would also have to be a killer song, which is why a major label would be helpful in terms of getting some decent songwriters and producers on board; another idea would be to do a cover of a beloved classic that would generate interest in and of itself (think "Change On Me," "Take Me In Your Arms," "Bad Of The Heart," "I Wonder If I Take You Home," "Show Me," something like that).
I do NOT think that the quality of recent freestyle releases has been the issue per se, because there have been some great records released over the last few years. For example, IMHO the best freestyle song of the last five years or so was "In Just One Night" by Sharyn Maceren; I think most of us can agree that this was at least a good record. Excellent songwriting, immaculate production, tremendous vocal ability. So, what was the problem? It was a single by an essentially unknown artist on a microscopically tiny independent label (Planet Hype). If this song had been released around 1996 or '97 on Tommy Boy, I think it could've been a huge hit. Freestyle was still doing well, and Glenn G. had some clout as a producer and some major label connections; this is why the Jocelyn Enriquez "Jocelyn" album was a success and "Do You Miss Me" was ubiquitious on pop radio across the country, not to mention the fact that both the song and the album were fantastic. But this is a different time, and I think it would be extremely difficult if not impossible for any independent label to score a hit with a freestyle record today. It's great that our favorite artists continue to record for the fans, and it's great that there are new artists making new music for the same core group of fans, but in terms of major commercial success, I don't think that it's going to come about via that route. We're all getting older and we are no longer the target demographic of the radio and video programs; something is needed that would appeal to a new generation of music buyers and expose them to the genre.
Okay, I'm rambling, but the last thing I want to say that it wasn't so long ago that freestyle was all over the place. As late as 1999, there were still songs doing well by Rockell, Lil Suzy, and others. This was only five years ago. I think that it's too early to put the last nail in the coffin. Okay, that's my $0.02! Jerome.