Freestyler

"Freestyler"
Single by Bomfunk MC's
from the album In Stereo
Released
  • October 1999 (Finland)
  • 14 February 2000 (worldwide)
Format
Recorded 1999
Genre
Length 5:06
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) JS16
Bomfunk MC's singles chronology
"B-Boys & Flygirls"
(1999)		 "Freestyler"
(1999)		 "Other Emcee's"
(2000)

"B-Boys & Flygirls"
(1999)		 "Freestyler"
(1999)		 "Other Emcee's"
(2000)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Freestyler" on YouTube

"Freestyler" is a song by Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's. It was released in October 1999 in Finland as the third single from their debut studio album In Stereo (1999). It was released in February 2000 internationally and was a worldwide success, topping the charts in Sweden, Germany, Greece, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. It also peaked at number two in Denmark, Iceland and the United Kingdom and number three in Ireland.

Composition

"Freestyler" is primarily a breakbeat song, with strong influences of UK dance culture and electronic dance music, as well as some influences from hip hop.[1] It is written in the key of E minor with a tempo of 163.84 beats per minute.

Music video

The music video was mainly filmed at the Hakaniemi metro station,[2] an underground station on the Helsinki Metro line in Finland and with platforms 21 metres below sea level. The principal “home boy” featured in the video is Marlo Snellman, a Finnish model and musician, who later released his own single entitled "Dust" and today is working as producer for his own projects such as "Hipsters"[3] and "Okta".[4] The actor was 15 years old at the time of shooting and got the part through his mother, Finnish modelling magnate Laila Snellman.[5] Marlo Snellman appears briefly in another Bomfunk MC's music video, "B-Boys & Flygirls".

The video begins with Marlo catching a train while listening to “Freestyler” on his MiniDisc (Sony MZ-R55) player. A character sits across him in the train, who is played by Raymond Ebanks (B.O. Dubb), the lead singer of the Bomfunk MC's, and who imbues Marlo with the power to control the flow of time for one or a group of individuals. Realising this ability, Marlo spends the duration of the video pausing, rewinding and fast-forwarding dancers and people on his journey until coming across the Bomfunk MC's, upon whom the remote control does not work; the whole video is then sent into a rapid rewind back to the beginning. The music video is a play on themes of empowerment, with the power of the music being transferred to and in the end taken from Marlo by Ebanks. There is a continuity error in the video with the number on the train carriage changing throughout the sequence.

The music video was later parodied by the hip hop group Raptori for their song "Hiphopmusiikkia".[6] In 2011, the beginning scene was also remade in the music video of DJ RZY's "Tervetuloo Helsinkiin".[7]

Track listing

CD maxi – Europe (2000)
  1. "Freestyler" (radio edit) – 2:52
  2. "Freestyler" (Alternative Radio Edit) – 4:07
  3. "Freestyler" (Happy Mickey Mouse Mix) – 4:48
  4. "Freestyler" (Missing Link Remix) – 5:40

Charts and certifications

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ashare, Matt (April 2001). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network (91): 67. ISSN 1074-6978. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  2. ↑ Dr. Giacomo Bottà – University of Helsinki, Popular Culture and Urban Creativity in Helsinki and Berlin, 2006–08.
  3. ↑ Marlo Snellman's band Hipster on Myspace, .
  4. ↑ Marlo Snellman as Okta on Myspace, .
  5. ↑ Website, Marlo Snellman Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine..
  6. ↑ "Raptori – Hiphopmusiikkia". Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "DJ RZY feat. VA - Tervetuloo Helsinkiin". Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  8. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  12. ↑ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 03/04/2000". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 112 (10): 65. 4 March 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. ↑ "Bomfunk MCs: Freestyler" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Bomfunk MCs Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (Vikuna 4.5. - 11.5.2000 18. Vika)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  18. ↑ Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Top Digital Download.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bomfunk MCs" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. ↑ "Charts.nz – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Top 40 Singles.
  23. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". VG-lista.
  24. ↑ "Romanian Top 100 - Topul anului 2000". 17 April 2005. Archived from the original on 17 April 2005.
  25. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  26. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" Canciones Top 50.
  27. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Singles Top 100.
  28. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Swiss Singles Chart.
  29. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  30. ↑ "End of Year Charts 2000". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  31. ↑ "ARIA Chart Sales - ARIA End of Decade Singles/Top 100" (PDF). ARIA.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
  32. ↑ "Die ultimative Chart Show | Hits des neuen Jahrtausends | Download". RTL.de. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  33. ↑ "British single certifications – Freestyler – Bomfunk MC's". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Bomfunk MC's in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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