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Freestyle is alive!

Joe Zangie has a huge fan vase in Philly/New Jersey.... No need to take shots at him... Another guy who didnt get his fair shot( he is making a comeback however). I have interviewed him at 91.5 WDBK several times and once on Z889 ... Couldn't meet a nicer more humble individual.
 
I know Joe personally and he is a good guy; I definitely agree about humble Instigator :) .

I've played his current music on my show MANY times, as Tazmania Records sends them to me. I do know in the Philly area he is huge....one of the few freestyle artists that represents that region.

Is he a good singer? Yes. Is he one of the freestyle greats? I hate to say but.....no. Not knocking HIS talent whatsoever. I've enjoyed the many concerts where he has done duets with Rockell and his latest material really showcases his talent. But others in the freestyle genre stand out more.

If you put him on a scale, I say he is within the top 20 percent. Which is good because you have artists that had a "nerve" to produce a track, lol :)

I always wish him well and am honored to be one of his friends :)
 
Would you consider Joe Zangie to still be freestyle? Seems as if he's gone all dance / EDM. I don't even see/hear freestyle remixes of his dance hits on his singles.



And as far as freestyle being alive, I just stumbled across news of a brand new freestyle compilation that's on the verge of being released. The most shocking thing about it is that THE ENTIRE COMPILATION SEEMS TO CONSIST OF PEOPLE - WHO CAN SING! ... But before I get too excited, I need to keep in mind that I've been fooled by snippet samples many times before. Sometimes music sounds better when cut up as quick back to back snippets, especially if the best part of the song is what's featured in the snippet sample. I hate when snippets sound good but once the entire track is heard it turns out be a piece of  :-X shut your mouth! :-X
 
Back in the mid 80's to the early 90's freestyle (aka: Latin Hip-Hop) was huge. At the time there were also many Top 40/Urban stations playing it (Hot 103/97 New York, Power 96 Miami, Q-102 Philadelphia, Boss 97 Atlantic City). Most of those acts were able to cross over into the pop side (Stevie B, Expose, Lisa Lisa).
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Stations that played freestyle/dance CHR at that time were classified as "Churban" I worked a WAIL FM in the Florida Keys at the time. We played alot of freestyle. It was a great time to be in radio.

We played, Dino, Expose, Coro, Sa-Fire, Nice N'Wild, Shannon, and did a Saturday night dance show with many South Florida artists.
 
Wildstyle Kdm said:
And as far as freestyle being alive, I just stumbled across news of a brand new freestyle compilation that's on the verge of being released. The most shocking thing about it is that THE ENTIRE COMPILATION SEEMS TO CONSIST OF PEOPLE - WHO CAN SING! ... But before I get too excited, I need to keep in mind that I've been fooled by snippet samples many times before. Sometimes music sounds better when cut up as quick back to back snippets, especially if the best part of the song is what's featured in the snippet sample. I hate when snippets sound good but once the entire track is heard it turns out be a piece of :-X shut your mouth! :-X
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The freestyle compilation promotor just released a part 2 of snippet samples.
EVERY SONG ON PART TWO PRETTY MUCH SUCKS WHEN IT COMES TO VOCALS (AND EVEN SOME OVERALL PRODUCTIONS).

I feel like issuing the part two of snippet samples will only hurt their sales. Interesting how all the good songs came in one youtube album snippet sampler then the second one has all the bad songs.... it's almost like they knew!
 
You can add a freestyle specialty show on a college station. 90.7 WTCC from Springfield, MA. They're currently playing freestyle. I called the DJ on air, and she says her regular show is Thursdays 6-8.

It was awesome discovering a freestyle show in a place I never would have expected it, Springfield, Massachusetts! Hearing it on a New York station didn't surprise me, since lots of people in the city grew up with freestyle. Didn't think there would be much of an audience for that kind of music out here in Springfield.
 
There are freestyle shows on various stations throughout the country. WTCC also has another freestyle show that has been on for 20 years. They had a total of 3 freestyle radio shows as of last year. There is another freestyle show out of Hartford. This past week Timmy T debuted a freestyle show on Groove 99.1 Bakersfield.
 
nkd said:
You can add a freestyle specialty show on a college station. 90.7 WTCC from Springfield, MA. They're currently playing freestyle. I called the DJ on air, and she says her regular show is Thursdays 6-8.

It was awesome discovering a freestyle show in a place I never would have expected it, Springfield, Massachusetts! Hearing it on a New York station didn't surprise me, since lots of people in the city grew up with freestyle. Didn't think there would be much of an audience for that kind of music out here in Springfield.
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Springfield/Holyoke, MA has a STRONG Latino base there, which is why a show like that could work. WTCC covers a pretty decent range for a Class A, going into Connecticut just north of Hartford. One guy imparticular (CPR Jose Ortiz) has ran a show there for quite a long time. And it is NEW freestyle, not the same stuff from 1988.
 
This thread should be renamed to Freestyle is dead. All the examples here are specialty shows, which only appeal to old timers stuck in their hey day
 
Wildstylex said:
^ You just regurgitated what I said a few days before...
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I realize that, but I had to explain WHY an area like Springfield, MA could get away with that. I didn't know there were areas of dominant Latino influences in Massachusetts (it's not like that in Boston really). So when I drove through there en route to Vermont and stopped at a mall there (Ingelside), I was pleasantly surprised to see that! New Bedford is another area of Latino influence as well.

Nick didn't feel there was much of an audience in Springfield so that was why I had elaborated.
 
Gusto said:
This thread should be renamed to Freestyle is dead. All the examples here are specialty shows, which only appeal to old timers stuck in their hey day
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I'm going to be BLUNT here. Do you know what's actually killing freestyle per se? The DRAMA of people that really should have NO business being around the music.

If you go on these freestyle boards on FB, you see the "usual suspects" starting crap about stupid things, drama escalates, etc. And this isn't even just fans but certain artists as well.

As much as I've tried to tell these people that the rest of the music industry thinks of freestyle as a "laughing stock" because of the negativity, it still happens. That's why I've personally walked away from it. I've banned and blocked people that I've considered "troublemakers" on FB and honestly, I have NO regrets. It's actually been a relief. As long as those troublemakers remain, nothing can be done for the music and it will always be a "joke" in that sense.

I feel especially bad for the artists because they have to DEAL with those individuals that are "fans". And now I'm seeing further backlash because people felt that I was right to walk away, and they are doing the same. Certain folks don't want to go to those events like they used to. People are really noticing the problems going on with elements within the music...and it's not the music in itself but those certain individuals that can't and/or refuse to escape those dramatics.

In that sense, I wish the artists would speak out and say something. God knows, as an activist, I've tried and failed in that sense. Nothing further can be done for freestyle. Enjoy the classics, that's all I can say.
 
There are negative comments about any kind of genre on multiple boards everywhere, and other formats survive. That don't amount to squat. The people who post on those boards have no effect on the music. The music will either succeed on its own merit, or it won't. What we say does not matter, and yes, even on this page. So to blame it on something so irrelevant is not very realistic. Seriously, we are talking about a low grade class of dance music that barely charted in its prime 25 years ago. How would anyone expect it to be accepted in 2013?
 
Thanks for the explanation, Tony. I wish there wasn't so much drama within the freestyle genre. I just enjoy the music. I was just intrigued that I heard freestyle on the radio in Springfield, MA. It doesn't strike me as a freestyle-friendly city like NYC or Miami.

Unfortunately WTCC 90.7 doesn't make it to Hartford because WNPR 90.5 has IBOC.
 
Gusto said:
There are negative comments about any kind of genre on multiple boards everywhere, and other formats survive. That don't amount to squat. The people who post on those boards have no effect on the music. The music will either succeed on its own merit, or it won't. What we say does not matter, and yes, even on this page. So to blame it on something so irrelevant is not very realistic. Seriously, we are talking about a low grade class of dance music that barely charted in its prime 25 years ago. How would anyone expect it to be accepted in 2013?
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As oppose to what high grade of electronic cheese you listen to? All dance music is considered sub par trough by the music industry. You don't have to like freestyle but it has it's audience that it attracts and has at least maintained it's longevity in the concert scene. And at the end of the day,you don't have to worry about kids dropping like flies and overdosing as is the case in so many edm events.
 
Indeed, all of the genres are in question of being taken seriously, I get that. However, I don't notice anyone blaming 'peoples opinions publicly on boards' as the reason to why one genre doesn't have the spotlight over another. They all get bashed, and some rise to the top, others don't. If you want my honest opinion, I like some freestyle. But one must admit it was poorly produced given the technology available. Many was not even recorded in real studios. Some of the singers skipped their lessons as well. Just seems novelty in 2013. That seems like the real reason it peaked in the late 80s and remains that way 25 years later. Sorry if that upsets ya.
 
Gusto said:
Indeed, all of the genres are in question of being taken seriously, I get that. However, I don't notice anyone blaming 'peoples opinions publicly on boards' as the reason to why one genre doesn't have the spotlight over another. They all get bashed, and some rise to the top, others don't. If you want my honest opinion, I like some freestyle. But one must admit it was poorly produced given the technology available. Many was not even recorded in real studios. Some of the singers skipped their lessons as well. Just seems novelty in 2013. That seems like the real reason it peaked in the late 80s and remains that way 25 years later. Sorry if that upsets ya.
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I totally get that and I have no reason to be upset. I'm just pointing out how all dance music is viewed as. So I don't get all the divisiveness between the sub genres. Freestyle has a loyal fan base but it's mostly a nostalgic group of people that go to these concerts. They do well in NY,FL,Chicago,Southern California, Las Vegas,Phoenix,Texas and Brazil just to name a few places. And I understand the need to be in with the latest and newest. A dance song that's out for more than three months is considered old news. So freestyle has long passed it's time in the clubs....

Btw that was Tony Santiago who expressed his opinion regarding 'peoples opinions publicly on boards' as the reason as to why Freestyle isn't any more mainstream.
 
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Wildstylex said:
Btw that was Tony Santiago who expressed his opinion regarding 'peoples opinions publicly on boards' as the reason as to why Freestyle isn't any more mainstream..
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I know, it just seemed you were agreeing with him, which is fine too. I just feel it has run its course many moons ago, that is all. I know i'm a snob, and most won't see eye to eye with me. I am cool with that too!
 
Gusto said:
I know, it just seemed you were agreeing with him, which is fine too. I just feel it has run its course many moons ago, that is all. I know i'm a snob, and most won't see eye to eye with me. I am cool with that too!
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I disagree with Tony's take on freestyle forums being the cause of the genre being extremely underground. I see his posts on FB and for the most part I think it antagonizes those people to the extent that it's counterproductive. Just my take on it.

And for those who might care......Todd Terry presents Freestyle Forever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m4B4n13M8M
 
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