Historical

The music first developed in the early 1980's primarily in major cities like theNew York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey area of the Eastern United States of America.  It was a fusion of  70's disco and 80's breakdancing music, influenced also by sampling found in Hip-Hop.  The genre can be further subdivided  into Old School and New School.  Old school was generally made before 1991. 

 

The Music

FreeStyle music in general is heavily influenced by Latin music, especially with respect to rhythms and brass/horn and keyboard parts.  The latin "clave" rhythm can be felt in many songs. The tempo of FreeStyle music is almost always between 110 and 130 BPM (Beats Per Minute), typically around 118 BPM. The keyboard parts are often elegant and clever, with many short melodies and countermelodies.  Again a strong influence of latin

Music.Many people list "Let the music play" (1983) by Shannon as the first freestyle track. The electro funk sound was changed and refined adding Latin American rhythms and a totally syncopated drum sound. That was definitely a reason why the style came to be very popular among Latinas as well as Italian Americans. Hence, the names "Latin Hip Hop" or "Latin Freestyle". Now, the more neutral term "Freestyle" is generally preferred