FREESTYLE: GREATEST BEATS - THE COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL.4
In late 1987 and early 1988, major labels jumped on the Freestyle bandwagon. Virtually any Freestyle record that received airplay on Power 96 in Miami, or on Hot 103 in New York was picked up by a major label. Sa-Fire signed to Mercury. India to Reprise, Sweet Sensation and Corina to Atco, Cover Girls to Capitol, and TKA's next album, although on Tommy Boy, was distributed through Warner Bros. Meanwhile in South Florida, the "Miami sound" was also garnering attention from major labels. Company B, Stevie B, Linear, Will to Power, and Exposé's later hits defined this form. Many labels confused New York Freestyle and Miami Freestyle, thinking they had the same audience. They thought their promotional strategy would work for both genres, which resulted in skipping the all too important step of cultivating a record at the street and club level before going to radio. This often led to poor results for the New York-based Freestyle. New York Freestyle, even in its most polished forms, retained a raw edge and underground sound, using minor chords that made the tracks darker and more moody. The lyrics also tended to be about unrequited love or other more somber themes, dealing with the reality of what inner city teens were experiencing emotionally. Miami records on the other hand, tended to be more optimistic, using major chords similar to those used in early disco giving them a more upbeat sound. This is probably why the Miami records fared better at mainstream Pop radio than New York Freestyle. Some Miami artists like Stevie B, after doing their first shows in the New York market, saw the difference and began using the Miami sound combined with New York Freestyle, often with successful results. Also in early 1988, Louie Vega moved to yet another new club. The old Studio 54, the most famous club of the Disco era, reopened as the new main club for Freestyle. Roman Ricardo, meanwhile, continued to D.J. at 1018 while Baby J was the D.J. at Roseland. All three clubs remained packed. Other D.J.'s in New York who were instrumental in breaking Freestyle at this time were Juan Kato at L'Amour East, Scott Blackwell at 4-D, and Gungie Rivera at La Mirage and Chez Sensual. These D.J.'s were important because whatever Freestyle records became big for them, were usually the next Freestyle records that would make it to Pop radio across the country. However, this was not always the case. Two records stand out as songs that were huge hits in clubs, and favorites of true Freestyle fans, but were somehow overlooked by radio. These were "Don't Take Your Love Away" by Lydia Lee Love and 'You'll Never Find Another Love" by & More. It is still a mystery as to why these two records somehow got lost in the shuffle when they were released, and they were nearly impossible to find in their original full length versions until now. Another overlooked record was "The Name of the Game" by Dan Hartman. Dan Hartman, of course, was the artist who recorded the disco classics "Relight My Fire" and "Instant Replay," and the pop smash "I Can Dream About You." The remix of "The Name of the Game" was never released comercailly until now. The dub version, mixed by Chris Lord Alge, appears here because it is the definitive Freestyle club version. Also never released comercially, but available in this volume, is the vocal version of the Latin Rascals' remake of "Mandolay." The track began as a bonus beat to a remix that the Latin Rascals did of the original version by La Flavour. The bonus beat was such a big hit in Freestyle clubs that they would perform over it during track appearances in New York and Miami. The response at these shows prompted them to record the track, put vocals on it, and send it out on tapes to D.J.'s. "Mirage" by Jellybean featuring India was Jellybean's return to his roots as a D.J. at the Funhouse. After two Pop offerings from his 'Just Visiting the Planet' album, Jellybean wanted to tap into the fans he had made with "The Mexican." "Mirage" is a totally re-recorded song with India on vocals, and was the B-side to the 12" of "Just a Mirage." This volume also contains the return of four of Freestyle's favorite artists. Sa-Fire followed two previous hit singles with "Boy I've Been Told," her first outing for Mercury Records and her first big Pop hit. Sweet Sensation released "Never Let You Go," their biggest club hit. Judy Torres returned to her trademark sound after the disappointing response to her previous single - the Pop radio-minded 'Love Story." The comeback, "Love You Will You Love Me" was exactly what the fans wanted and put her back into the spotlight. TKA made it six in a row with "Don't Be Afraid" the final single from the "Scars of Love" album. The track had been played in clubs for months as an album cut, and Tommy Boy had intended to only release it promotionally to clubs. However due to the club response, a few radio stations picked it up and Tommy Boy eventually released it on 12' commercially. In the spring of 1988 Cynthia, from East Harlem in New York City, released her first hit single, "Change On Me." It would be the first of many hit singles she would release that would make her one of the biggest selling solo female singers in Freestyle and one of Freestyle's most popular female performing artists.
