Freestyler (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Freestyler


Artist = Bomfunk MC's
from Album = In Stereo
Released = 1999
Format = CD Single, 12"
Recorded = 1999
Genre = Nu skool breaks, Drum and bass
Length =
Label = Sony/Epidrome
Writer = Raymond Ebanks, Jaakko Salovaara
Producer =
Certification = Silver (BPI)
Chart position = * #1 (Australia, New Zealand)
* #2 (United Kingdom)
* #3(Turkey)
Reviews =
Last single = B-Boys & Flygirls
(1999)
This single = Freestyler
(1999)
Next single = Other Emcees
(1999)

"Freestyler" is a single by the Bomfunk MC's released in 1999. It topped the charts in many European countries, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, where it was the 23rd biggest-selling single of the year 2000.

The song is notable for slipping an expletive past the censors. The line "So who the f**k is Alice, is she from Buckingham Palace?" (a reference to Smokie's song "Living Next Door to Alice") was aired unedited on MTV.

Further references in the lyrics are made to the song Karma Chameleon by Culture Club, singer Celine Dion and porn film Debbie Does Dallas.

Music video

The music video was mainly filmed at the Hakaniemi metro station [Dr. Giacomo Bottà – University of Helsinki, [http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers3/Botta.pdf Popular Culture and Urban Creativity in Helsinki and Berlin] , 2006-08.] , an underground station on the Helsinki Metro line, in Finland and with platforms 21 metres below sea level. It shows an unnamed youth catching a train while listening to Freestyler on his MiniDisc player. He soon discovers that the remote control for his player has the ability to control the flow of time for one or a group of individuals. Realising this ability, he spends the duration of the video pausing, rewinding and fast-forwarding dancers and people in the station until coming across the members of Bomfunk MC's, where his remote malfunctions, sending the whole video into a rapid rewind and back to the beginning. The music video may be inspired by and seems to use similar themes as System F's 1999 " [http://youtube.com/watch?v=hFD3CvGtUYM Out of the blue] " music video.

The video is shown in pseudo black-and-white with a filter allowing shades of orange (the colour scheme of the Helsinki Metro) to show through. The dancers and breakdancers in the video wear garments of orange leading to additional highlighting.

Throughout the music video, a large amount of Sony-provided product placement is visible. In particular, headphones, a portable MiniDisc player and a some what out-of-place Playstation (original) controller. All these consumer items were considered "current", or even futuristic, in the 1999-2000 timeframe when the video was produced.

The principal "home boy" featured in the video is Marlo Snellman, a Finnish model/musician who later released his own single entitled "Dust". The actor was only fifteen at the time of shooting and got the part through his mother, Finnish modelling magnate . [Website, [http://www.torbenhoyer.dk/marlo.html Marlo Snellman] .] Marlo Snellman appears briefly in another Bomfunk MC music video, "B-Boys & Flygirls".

Near the start, the video features a continuity error, Metro car 178 is seen pulling into the station, and a second later the number has changed to 136.

In popular culture

*The song was also featured in the video game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2.
*Featured in a film by Bam Margera
*A similar song, with the same chorus lyrics and similar melody, called Sidstyler was played by Machinae Supremacy

ee also

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXnT5NnHYEQ Complete "Freestyler" video] , on YouTube, including introduction music, filming credits at the end and a running length of 5:44 minutes.

References