In Groups: Legends Of Style, LisCyn Freestyle or Latin Freestyle, also called Latin Hip Hop in its early years, is a form of electronic music that is heavily influenced by Latin American culture. Performers such as Safire, Information Society, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, TKA, George Lamond, and Expose are notable performers of this genre. Freestyle originated in New York in the early 80's. It continues to be produced today and enjoys some degree of popularity, especially in urban Latino and Italian American communities. Another popular modern dance music genre, Florida breaks, evolved from this sound. The music first developed primarily in New York City and Miami in the mid-1980s. It eventually spread to many other cities with Hispanic populations. Initially, it was a fusion of the vocal styles found in 1970s disco music with the syncopated, synthetic instrumentation of 1980s electro, as favored by fans of breakdancing. It was also influenced by sampling, as found in hip hop music. In the 1990s, the electro and hip hop influences were supplanted by house music. Why Freestyle is actually called freestyle is subject to speculation. Some feel the term freestyle may refer to the difference between the mixing techniques used by DJs spinning this form of music (at least in its pre-house incarnations) and those who were spinning disco, the only other widely played dance music that incorporated sung vocals. Disco, with its relatively predictable beat structure, could be mixed with smooth, slow, and consistent techniques, but freestyle's syncopated beat structures demanded that DJs get creative, incorporating aspects of both disco and hip-hop techniques; they often had to (or had more freedom to) mix more quickly and more responsively to the individual pieces of music. Others believe it refers to the vocal technique: singing melodic pop vocals over the kind of beats that were previously used only with rap and semi-chanted electro-funk vocal styles was a form of freestyling —getting creative by mixing up the styles— somewhat akin to the use of the term in reference to competitive freestyle rap. Another explanation is that the dancing associated with this music allows for a great degree of freedom of expression than the other music that was prevalent at the time. Each individual dancer is free to create his or her own style. In Miami, the freestyle name evolved after confusion between Tony Butler's track Freestyle Express by Freestyle and Debbie Deb's When I Hear Music, a slightly older but more popular track that was produced by Butler. The sound became synonymous with Butler's production, and the name of the group he was in, Freestyle, became the genre's name. It is a genre with rather clear features: a dance tempo with stress on beats 2 & 4; syncopation on a bassline, lead synth, or percussion, with optional stabs (provided as synthesized brass or orchestral samples); 16th beat high-hat; a chord progression which lasts 8, 16, or 32 beats and is usually in a minor key; relatively complex, upbeat melodies with singing, verses, and a chorus, with themes about love or dancing. 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 (such as in the defining Clave Rocks by Amoretto). The tempo of Freestyle music is almost always between 110 and 130 beats per minute (BPM), typically around 118 BPM. The keyboard parts are often elegant and clever, with many short melodies and countermelodies, again a strong influence from Latin music. It also features complicated drum machine patterns that a human drummer would have extreme difficulty playing. Many people list Let the Music Play by Shannon as the first Freestyle track. Indeed, Let the Music Play became freestyle's biggest record, still getting heavy airplay through radio and other venues. The song was produced by Chris Barbosa, a Latino from New York City. Barbosa changed and refined the electro funk sound, adding Latin American rhythms and a totally syncopated drum sound. This new, exciting sound rejuvenated the funk, soul and hip hop club scenes in New York City. While most of the neighborhood clubs were closing their doors for good, some Manhattan clubs were suddenly thriving. Places like the Roxy, the Funhouse, Broadway 96, Gothams West, and Roseland that played this were packed. Records like "Play At Your Own Risk" by Planet Patrol, "One More Shot" by C Bank, "Al-Naafiyish (The Soul)" by Hashim, and "I.O.U." by Freeez became huge hits. More established European artists like Kraftwerk ("Numbers") and New Order ("Confusion," "State of the Nation") both inspired the original Freestyle sound and then responded to it by incorporating certain Freestyle elements into their own productions.