Freestyler

"Freestyler" is a song by Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's. It was released in Finland in October 1999 as the third single from their debut studio album In Stereo, and released internationally in February 2000. "Freestyler" peaked at number four on the Finnish Singles Chart. Outside Finland, the single topped the charts in more than ten countries, including Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Denmark, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"Freestyler"
Single by Bomfunk MC's
from the album In Stereo
Released
  • October 1999 (Finland)
  • 14 February 2000 (worldwide)
RecordedMid-1999
Genre
Length5:06
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)JS16
Bomfunk MC's singles chronology
"B-Boys & Flygirls"
(1999)		 "Freestyler"
(1999)		 "Other Emcee's"
(2000)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music videos
"Freestyler" (1999) on YouTube
"Freestyler" (2019) on YouTube

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.

Critical reception

Daily Record described "Freestyler" as a "cracking old-skool track".[2]

Music video

The music video for the song was mainly filmed at the Hakaniemi metro station,[3] 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 went on to work as producer for his own projects such as "Hipsters"[4] and "Okta".[5] The actor was 15 years old at the time of shooting and got the part through his mother, Finnish modelling magnate Laila Snellman.[6] Marlo Snellman appears briefly in another Bomfunk MC's music video, "B-Boys & Flygirls" in minute 2:15.[7]

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 backward rewind, because Marlo aims his MiniDisc on himself and uses it to rewind time back for himself. 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".[8] In 2011, the beginning scene was remade in the music video of DJ RZY's "Tervetuloo Helsinkiin".[9] 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.[10]

2019 music video
Belgrade passenger carriage 416-096 featured in the 2019 video

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 (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 had been sponsored by communications provider Telenet (Belgium) to promote a new mobile phone service.[11][12]

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

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[56] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[57] Platinum 50,000*
Belgium (BEA)[58] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[59] Gold 4,000^
France (SNEP)[60] Gold 250,000*
Germany (BVMI)[61] 3× Gold 750,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[62] Platinum 75,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63] Platinum 10,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[64] Platinum  
Sweden (GLF)[65] 3× Platinum 90,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] Gold 400,000^
Summaries
Europe — 1,500,000[68]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also
  • List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s

References
  1. Ashare, Matt (April 2001). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network (91): 67. ISSN 1074-6978. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  2. "Chart Slot". Daily Record. 11 August 2000. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  3. Dr. Giacomo Bottà – University of Helsinki, Popular Culture and Urban Creativity in Helsinki and Berlin, 2006–08.
  4. Marlo Snellman's band Hipster on Myspace, .
  5. Marlo Snellman as Okta on Myspace, .
  6. Website, Marlo Snellman Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine.
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  11. 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.
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