Freestyle

Freestyle, also called Latin freestyle, is a form of electronic dance music that flourished among Latino audiences in New York and Miami in the 1980s. It pairs synthesizer-driven electro and hi-NRG rhythms with yearning pop melodies and romantic lyrics, sung most often by young women over syncopated drum-machine beats, orchestral stabs and prominent keyboard riffs. Developed by Latino producers working in the wake of electro, the style dominated American dance radio in the second half of the 1980s, launched a generation of Puerto Rican and Dominican-American singers, and remains a fixture of oldies and throwback formats in its home cities.