Freestyle

Freestyle on vinyl: electro with a Latin heart

In short: Freestyle – also called Latin freestyle – developed in New York and Miami from the early eighties: electro beats and synthesizers meet Latin rhythms and heartfelt vocals, often by singers with Latin American roots. Shannon’s “Let The Music Play” (1983) is regarded as one starting point. The Vinyl Room currently has 16 freestyle records.

What is freestyle?

The classics: Shannon is represented with “Let The Music Play”, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with “Straight To The Sky”, TKA with “Come Get My Love” in mixes by the Latin Rascals and Linear with “Sending All My Love”.

Alongside them come Jeannette with “Don’t Ever Go Away”, D’Zyre and Plavka. Under this style tag we also have Spagna’s “Call Me” and CloZee’s “Revolution”.

What to look for

Freestyle tracks often come as 12-inch singles with different mixes; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

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FAQ

What is freestyle? Electronic dance music with electro beats, Latin rhythms and heartfelt vocals.

Where does freestyle come from? From New York and Miami, from the early eighties.

What is regarded as an early freestyle hit? Shannon’s “Let The Music Play” from 1983.

Which freestyle records do you have? Here, for example, Shannon’s “Let The Music Play” and Linear’s “Sending All My Love”.