Freestyler
"Freestyler" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
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Single by Bomfunk MC's | ||||
from the album In Stereo | ||||
Released | 30 October 1999 | |||
Genre | Breakbeat | |||
Length | 5:06 | |||
Label | Epidrome | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | JS16 | |||
Bomfunk MC's singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
Music videos | ||||
"Freestyler" (1999) on YouTube | ||||
"Freestyler" (2019) on YouTube |
"Freestyler" is a song by Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's. It was released in Finland on 30 October 1999 as the third single from their debut studio album, In Stereo (1999), and was released internationally in February 2000. "Freestyler" peaked at number four on the Finnish Singles Chart and topped the charts in more than 10 countries, including Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Sweden. The song also peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Composition
[edit]"Freestyler" is primarily a breakbeat song, with strong influences of UK dance culture and electronic dance music, as well as some influences from drum and bass and hip hop.[1] It is written in the key of E minor and composed in a tempo of 164 beats per minute.
Critical reception
[edit]Daily Record described "Freestyler" as a "cracking old-skool track".[2] CMJ New Music Monthly described the track as "a housed-up hip-hoppity mélange of sampled slide-guitar, rubbery synth bass and Caribbean-inflected dance instructions; a dancefloor natural."[3]
Music video
[edit]The music video for the song was mainly filmed at the Hakaniemi metro station,[4] an underground station on the Helsinki Metro line in Finland 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 titled "Dust" and went on to work as producer for his own projects such as "Hipsters"[5] and "Okta".[6] The actor was 15 years old at the time of shooting and got the part through his mother, Finnish modelling magnate Laila Snellman.[7] Marlo has a restaurant in Paris named Recoin.
The video begins with a young man dancing extravagantly during the instrumental intro of the song. Marlo's character is waiting for a train while listening to "Freestyler" on his MiniDisc (Sony Walkman MZ-R55) player. When he enters the train, he walks down the aisle past Ismo Lappalainen. He finds a seat across from Raymond Ebanks (B.O. Dubb), the lead singer of the Bomfunk MC's; seated behind Ebanks is Dan Ahti Tolppanen, alias Uniikki. Ebanks imbues Marlo's Sony MiniDisc remote controller with the ability to pause, rewind, or fast-forward individuals. When Marlo realises that he has this ability, he spends the duration of the video manipulating passersby, dancers, escalators, and even the train, with Raymond appearing in the background wherever he goes, watching Marlo. As Marlo comes across the Bomfunk MC's, he tries to manipulate them to no effect. When Raymond approaches Marlo, Marlo accidentally rewinds himself, and the whole video rewinds 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.
During the video, Marlo comes across the main character from the music video of "Uprocking Beats," another song from In Stereo, and freezes him. Marlo also appears briefly in the music video of "B-Boys & Flygirls", reversing and forwarding the car the main characters are driving.[8]
The music video was parodied by Funky Bong in Assembler (k)—an entry for the Assembly 2000 wild demo competition; it placed fifth in the contest.[9] The music video was later parodied by the hip hop group Raptori for their song "Hiphopmusiikkia".[10] In 2011, the beginning scene was remade in the music video of DJ RZY's "Tervetuloo Helsinkiin".[11] In 2019, the beginning scene was also tributed in a hardcore techno fashion in the music video "Luonnon Nostatus" by Teknoaidi & Iconobreaker featuring Samu Kuusisto.[12]
2019 music video
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/BG-Voz.jpg/220px-BG-Voz.jpg)
For the twentieth anniversary in 2019, a new music video was produced featuring the original band members, with updates to reflect developments in technology and culture. The central figure is now a girl (played by Milica Bajčetić) with a mobile phone, with various Belgian YouTuber cameo appearances.
The 2019 music video was filmed at Vukov Spomenik railway station, an underground station on the BG Voz commuter railway network serving Belgrade, Serbia. The new video was sponsored by communications provider Telenet (Belgium) to promote a new mobile phone service.[13]
Track listings
[edit]
Finnish 12-inch single and Australian maxi-CD single[14][15]
European CD single[16]
European maxi-CD single[17]
UK CD1[18]
UK CD2[19]
|
UK cassette single[20]
Australian CD single[21]
US maxi-CD single[22]
US 12-inch single[23]
|
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications and sales
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[71] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[72] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[73] | 2× Platinum | 100,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[74] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[75] | Gold | 250,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[76] | 3× Gold | 750,000^ |
Italy | — | 100,000[77] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[78] | Platinum | 75,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[79] | Platinum | 10,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[80] | Platinum | |
Sweden (GLF)[81] | 3× Platinum | 90,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[82] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[83] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
Summaries | ||
Europe | — | 1,500,000[84] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Finland | 30 October 1999 |
|
Epidrome | [85] |
Sweden | 1999 | CD | [48] | |
Europe | 14 February 2000 | |||
United Kingdom | 24 July 2000 |
|
Dance Pool | [86] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Finnish Metal band remakes Bomfunk MC's Freestyler music video". Ink Tank. 12 November 2016.
- ^ "Chart Slot". Daily Record. 11 August 2000. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ Ashare, Matt (April 2001). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (91). CMJ Network: 67. ISSN 1074-6978. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ Dr. Giacomo Bottà – University of Helsinki, Popular Culture and Urban Creativity in Helsinki and Berlin, 2006–08.
- ^ Marlo Snellman's band Hipster on Myspace, [1].
- ^ Marlo Snellman as Okta on Myspace, [2].
- ^ Website, Marlo Snellman Archived 14 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Dachev, Ognyan (16 September 2007). "Bomfunk MC's - B-Boys & Fly Girls". Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Assembler (k) by Funky Bong". YouTube. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Raptori – Hiphopmusiikkia". YouTube. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "DJ RZY feat. VA - Tervetuloo Helsinkiin". YouTube. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ "Teknoaidi & Iconobreaker - Luonnon Nostatus (feat. Samu Kuusisto) (Musiikkivideo)". YouTube. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ Moreaux, Karen (18 February 2019). "Legendarische Freestyler van Bomfunk MC's in een modern jasje" [Legendary Freestyler from Bomfunk MC's in a modern look] (Press release) (in Dutch). Mechelen. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021.
- ^ Freestyler (Finnish 12-inch single vinyl disc). Bomfunk MC's. Epidrome. 1999. 669099 6.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Epic Records, Sony Dance. 2000. 669099 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (European CD single liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Epidrome. 1999. EPD 669099 1.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Epidrome. 1999. EPD 668256 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (UK CD1 liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Dance Pool. 2000. DPS2CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (UK CD2 liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Dance Pool. 2000. DPS2CDX.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (UK cassette single sleeve). Bomfunk MC's. Dance Pool. 2000. DPS2MC.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (Australian CD single liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Epic Records, Sony Dance. 2000. 669099 3.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Bomfunk MC's. Epic Records. 1999. 49K 79520.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Freestyler (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Bomfunk MC's. Epic Records. 1999. 49 79520.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 03/04/2000". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media. 4 March 2000. p. 65. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 33. 12 August 2000. p. 9. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Bomfunk MC's: Freestyler" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in French). Les classement single.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 35. 26 August 2000. p. 9. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 29. 15 July 2000. p. 9. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (Vikuna 4.5. – 11.5.2000 18. Vika)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 May 2000. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Freestyler". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 27 July 2000". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 24 May 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Top Digital Download.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". VG-lista.
- ^ "Major Market Airplay – Week 23/2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 23. 3 June 2000. p. 25. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 34. 19 August 2000. p. 25. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Romanian Top 100 – Topul anului 2000" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. 17 April 2005. Archived from the original on 17 April 2005.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler" Canciones Top 50.
- ^ a b "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. 13 January 2001. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2000". ARIA. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2000" (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2000" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Rapports annuels 2000" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Års Hitlister 2000: IFPI Danmark: Singles Top 50" (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. Archived from the original on 16 November 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via Musik.org.
- ^ "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2000" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 January 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 of 2000". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2000". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2000" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 2000". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Årslista Singlar, 2000" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000" (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "ARIA Chart Sales – ARIA End of Decade Singles/Top 100" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ "Gratis: 'Hits des neuen Jahrtausend'-Liste" [Free: 'Hits of the New Millennium' List] (in German). RTL. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ "Decennium Charts – Singles 2000–2009" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Austrian single certifications – Bomfunk MC's – Freestyler" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2000". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Danish single certifications – Bomfunk MC's – Freestyler". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "French single certifications – Bomfunk MC?s – Freestyler" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bomfunk MC's; 'Freestyler')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "LE CIFRE DI VENDITA 2006" (PDF) (in Italian). Musica e dischi. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2014.
nel 2001 in vetta alla tabella c'era "Vamos a bailar" di Paola e Chiara con 150.000 copie ven- dute e, a seguire "I'm outta love" di Ana- stacia e "Freestyler" dei Bomfunk Mc's con 100.000 copie ciascuno.
- ^ "Dutch single certifications – Bomfunk MC'S – Freestyler" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 March 2019. Enter Freestyler in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2000 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Bomfunk MCs – Freestyler". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Freestyler')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "British single certifications – Bomfunk Mc's – Freestyler". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "News" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 34. 19 August 2000. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "Bomfunk MC's breakbeat hit 'Freestyler' turns 21 years old". weraveyou.com. We Rave You, ltd. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "In-Store Next Week (24/7/00)". Music Week. 22 July 2000. p. 34.
External links
[edit]- 1999 songs
- 1999 singles
- 2000 singles
- Bomfunk MC's songs
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Number-one singles in Austria
- Number-one singles in Germany
- Number-one singles in Greece
- Number-one singles in Italy
- Number-one singles in the Netherlands
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Norway
- Number-one singles in Romania
- Number-one singles in Sweden
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- Songs written by JS16
- Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
- Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles