The keyboard sounds (as well as some of the note progressions) are suspiciously similar to Freestyle's "Don't Stop the Rock" (you can listen to it on YouTube here)--a favorite from my childhood, when I lived in a Miami suburb, and rap was just hitting the air waves.

That Debbie Deb song is one of my favorites from childhood also.

Woah. This has been a crazy trip down memory lane for me. I was up to an ungodly hour last night looking up music I haven't heard in 20+ years. I ♥ the Internet! I didn't know there was a category for the music. I didn't even know what electro or freestyle was--we called it all rap at the time, hip hop included. But then, we were military brats with no direct contact with Miami culture outside of the radio waves.

It's also interesting to note that the Beastie Boys songs they played on air then/there had much raunchier lyrics than what ended up on the albums. My brother has remarked to me that no one else seems to know their "Bend it over here, Babydoll/and let all ten inches slide up the back" lyric, for example. I wish I still had the tapes we recorded off the radio in those days. It would make for some interesting listening, I'm sure.

Anyway, without further ado, here are a bunch of the songs I was able to find last night that I used to hear on the radio back then. I'll start with the one I was happiest to find, then do the rest in alphabetical order. Some still sound awesome to me; others I know all the words to, but don't get the same kick of excitement from. The videos are often from another planet--I'd never seen any of them before.


Noel - Silent Morning. If you like this as much as I do, I'd also recommend checking out Information Society. I don't think they'd count as freestyle, but they have some great songs like Mirrorshades.


Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock (using a sample from Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express)

Corina - Temptation

The Cover Girls - Show Me

Debbie Deb - Lookout Weekend (I couldn't find a real video, so you'll have to bear with the amateur one.)

Exposé - Point of No Return

Linear - Sending All My Love

Seduction - Two to Make It Right

Shannon - Let the Music Play

Stevie B - Spring Love


I'm definitely hooked on Trinere's "They're Playing Our Song" now. I also managed to find a cool Pretty Tony song: Jam the Box.

Also, since you're familiar with "Push It", you may be amused by L'Trimm's Grab It. I can't find an mp3 of this--apparently, it was a local hit, but didn't get the exposure that their Cars With the Boom did.