when most people think of freestyle music, they associate the complex genre of hard electro beats, loud bass drunks, orchestra hits & latin percussions w/ latinx communities. but like most music genres, Black artists paved the way. here are 15 songs that latin-freestyle possible.

afrika bambaataa & the soul sonic force’s 1982 hit “planet rock” sonically changed the sound of music. in 1983 c-bank, a studio project created by producer john robie, released “one more shot” feat. jenny burton. it helped launch the electro music genre.

“play at your risk” by planet patrol is one of the most brilliant electro songs. released in 1983 and produced by the same team that delivered “planet rock”, “play at your risk” masterfully walked the line between doo-wop and electro.

“let the music play” introduced the electro sound that later birthed the freestyle genre to the masses. released in 1983, the song peaked inside the top 10 on both the pop & r&b charts making shannon the mother of freestyle music.

in 1983 world renowned vocalist lisa fischer (yes, that lisa fischer!) made her solo debut with the barbosa & ligget produced “on the upside” under the stage name “xena.” the song was a minor club hit in the US and UK.

after dominating r&b/funk music in the late 1970’s, chaka khan rebranded herself as a one of electro music’s leading vocalists w/ the her 1984 album “i feel for you.” one of the album’s most slammin’ tracks was the john robie produced “my love is alive..”

“rock the box” was the late great sylvester’s foray into the 808 drum machine universe. released in october 1984, “rock the box” proved that sylvester could pack the dance floors in the post-disco era

loleatta holloway’s 1980 club hit “love sensation” is one of the most sampled songs in history featured prominently on marky mark’s 1991 #1 hit “good vibrations.” in 1984 she reached #5 on the dance chart w/ the arthur baker produced “crash goes love.”

featured on the 1984 motion picture “breakin’” soundtrack (a movie about a white woman trying to appropriate the breakdancing movement), “99 1/2” was an electro cover of the alton mcclain & destiny’s 1979 disco tune.

before milli vanilli pulled off one of pop music’s biggest scams in 1990, nolan thomas pulled similar stunt in 1984. elan lanier, a black studio singer recorded vocals for “yo, little brother.” however, a non-black performer appeared in the video.

years before cathy dennis made “touch me (all night long)” an international hit, fonda rae’s original version was a club hit in 1984. it was also featured in the 1985 “nightmare of elm street” sequel “freddy’s revenge,” -a horror film w/ the gayest subtext

trinere’s 1984 hit “i know you love me” was produced by tony butler, the mastermind behind 2 of freestyle music’s most enduring hits “when i music”(83) & “lookout weekend” (84) by debbie deb. “IKYLM” was re-released in ‘86 & reached #69 on the r&b chart.

released in 1985 when nayobe was just 15 years old, “please don’t go” blended pop, dance, electro and latin music sensibilities. the song set the format for the latin-freestyle genre and every song that have since followed

by the time singer/songwriter joyce sims hit the club scene in 1986, electro began to morph into a more house & latin-freestyle sound. joyce’s debut single, the matronix produced “all & all”, was the perfect blend of the aforementioned sounds.

the freestyle/house duo hanson & davis consisted of two former studio session singers. their sole hit was the pulsating “hungry for your love.” the song garnered heavy rotation at r&b radio and peaked at #16 on the dance chart in 1986.

“my heart gets all the breaks” is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest freestyle songs of all time. released in 1987, the song peaked inside the top 20 on the dance chart and #48 on the r&b chart.

by the mid 80’s, latinx artists like lisa lisa, the cover girls & safire merged the electro sound w/ latin music sensibilities & created the latin hip-hop sound that would later be known as freestyle music. today we honor the songs that paved the way. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7BBz84K3mpNjVrBR2U7s5d?si=2R75Tdw_R4C9SVKwiFs65A