On April 27, 2019, FKOA and Bobby Dee presented the 15th Annual Freestyle Festival at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.
The organization had an awesome line up of music artists that we love and known to be great talent back in the 80s, 90s and today. Since most of the artist started their fame in the 1980s and 1990s, we as fans still love hearing their music today.
The stage filled musical talent such as Vanilla Ice, Taylor Dayne, Cece Peniston, Lisa Lisa, Jody Watley, Trinere, Sweet Sensation, Rob Base, J.J. Fad, Johnny O, Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Melle Mel, Scorpio, Suzi Carr of Will to Power, Color Me Badd & Slick Rick.
A little back ground on the artist.
Vanilla Ice is a Rapper who rise to fame in the early 1990s to be the first white Rapper to top the singles chart with his hit “Ice Ice Baby.”
Rob Base is a hop hop artist known for one of his hits "It Takes Two."
Taylor Dayne is an American Singer, Songwriter and Actress. She rose to fame in 1987 for her hit song “Tell it to My Heart” which hit number one in several music charts. She then later achieved great hits such as “Love will lead you back”, Prove your love” and I’ll Always Love you”. She has sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide. She earned three Grammy Award nominations.
Cece Peniston is a music artist and former beauty queen. In the 1990 she hit the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music / Club play for her song “Finally” which hit number 5 on the Hot 100 and number 2 in UK Top 75.
Lisa Lisa is an American singer and actress that rose to fame in the 1980s as part of the band Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. The band of very popular for their Freestyle music consisted of Lisa Lisa being the vocalist. Several of their hits made it to the top and still is popular today. “I wonder if I take you Home” and “Can you feel the beat” where only a few that hit the charts.
Jody Watley is an American Singer, Songwriter and Record Producer that made music that crossed many genres including pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul. She won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. “Looking for a New Love” was one of her popular songs.
Trinere is an American Singer / Songwriter who had several dance hits in the 1980s and 1990s. Her songs today are considered classics of the Freestyle genre. To this day, she continues to make music today. “All Night” was a favorite among the many songs she has performed.
Sweet Sensation is a female Freestyle dance trio from the Bronx, New York. The original music artists were Betty LeBron, Margie Fernandez, Mari Fernandez and Sheila Vega. The group formed in 1986 and released their album in the 1990s. Their song “If Wishes Came True” was their biggest hit topping the Billboard Hot 100 list for a week. Another popular song “Hooked on You” made it big in the United States. Today the artist in the group is Betty Dee Lebron, Belle Ritter and Jeanette Colon.
Johnny O both music artist was very successful in singing Dreamboy/Dreamgirl in the 1990s and hit the Billboard Hot 100. Johnny O presented “Fantasy Girl” which is one of the best Freestyle songs around.
Sugar Hill Gang is an American Hip Hop Group that was known for their Billboard hot 100 hit “Rapper’s Delight” back in the 1979. They received the first rap single hit. They are also known for their hits “8th Wonder” and “Apache.”
Grand Master Melle Mel is an American Hip Hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He began performing in the late 1970s. He was the first rapper to call himself MC which means Masters of Ceremonies.
Color Me Badd is an American Contemporary R&B group that formed in Oklahoma City. They were best known for their singles “I Wanna Sex you up”, “I Adore Mi Amor” and “All 4 Love”. The group sold over 12 million records worldwide and had two singles hits. They were nominated for two Grammy Awards and won two Soul Train Music Awards.
Suzi Carr of Will to Power is an American dance pop music artist that is part of a music group Will to Power. They began in the mid-1980s and recorded number of hits including “Baby, I Love Your Way”
Slick Rick is a British- American Rapper who has released four albums in 1988 The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, The Ruler’s Back in 1991, Behind Bars (1994) and The Art of Storytelling in 1999. Many other artists today have sampled and interpolated his songs over 600 times. He has become of the most-sampled hip hop artist ever. He also acted and cameoed in 10 movies and videos.
J.J. Fad is an American female rap group, who became famous for the song "Super Sonic"
Color Me Badd - I want to sex you up.
Johnny O - Highways of Love
J.J. Fad - Super Sonic
Rob Base - Joy & Pain
Shannon - Give Me Tonight
Slick Rick
Grand Master Melle Mel - White Lines
Sugar Hill Gang and Grand Master Melle Mel - Rapper's Delight
Trinere - They're Playing our song
Lisa Lisa - Can You Feel the Beat