The Freestylers are a British electronic
music group, generally fitting into the breakbeat genre.
The Freestylers formed in 1996 when DJs
and dance music producers Matt Cantor, Aston Harvey and (initially)
Andrew Galea joined forces. All three of them had been involved
in the British dance music scene since the 1980s. Cantor had
recorded both as Cut n' Paste and Strike with Andy Gardner
(Plump DJs). Aston Harvey recorded as Blapps! Posse best known
for the 1990 breakbeat dance hit "Don't Hold Back"
before working with Definition of Sound, Rebel MC and DJ Rap
(as DJ Rap and Aston). Harvey joined with Galea under the
name Sol Brothers before Cantor was recruited to form the
Freestylers. The group took their name from their first sample
"Don't Stop The Rock" by Freestyle Express. This
single appeared in the Cadbury's advert in 2009.
The trio's first single "Drop The Bomb (AK-48)"
on their own Scratch City Records in 1996 became a dancefloor
hit in the UK and Miami. The band released the Freestyle EP
in 1996 on Freskanova (Freskanova's parent label, Fresh, had
released Cantor, Galea and Harvey's previous work). Galea
left the Freestylers shortly after the release of the Freestyle
EP, and Cantor and Harvey formed an 11-piece band (initially
an idea of their record label, Freskanova). This consisted
of the two producers (Cantor and Harvey), a scratch DJ Jason
Tunbridge (Mad Doctor X), a guitarist (Tony Ayiotou), drummer
(Clive Jenner), bass guitarist (Joe Henson), two MCs (MC Navigator
and Tenor Fly) and three breakdancers (Coza, Marat, Tim).
The band released their first album, We Rock Hard, in 1998.
The single "B-Boy Stance" became a hit in the UK
in 1998 featuring the contributions of rapper Tenor Fly. In
1999, the Freestylers enjoyed success in the U.S. with track
"Don't Stop" reached the top 40 of the Billboard
dance charts and the video for "Here We Go" becoming
hit on a MTV . We Rock Hard sold well in the US, selling over
150,000 and reaching the top 30 of the Billboard Heatseeker
chart.
Following the success of B-Boy Stance, the band were asked
to remix tracks by Audioweb, Afrika Bambaataa and the Jungle
Brothers as well as a big beat compilation album FSUK 2 and
a Radio 1 Essential Mix featuring Beenie Man, Public Enemy,
Whodini and The Fall.
The Freestylers released a mix album, Electro Science, in
2000. Their second album, Pressure Point, was released in
2001 with the track "Get Down Massive" featuring
Navigator reaching top 20 on the Billboard dance charts in
2002.
During 2002 and 2003 the group began releasing singles under
the artist name Raw As F**k, which then became the title of
their third album. Released in 2004, it featured the single
"Push Up", which reached the top 30 in the UK and
top 3 in Australia. Another single, which was previously released
before "Push Up", called "Get A Life",
was re-released and reached the top 20 in Australia.
The band used the alternative name Raw As F**k during 2002
and 2003, primarily for their vinyl releases. The band continued
to use the alias in 2004, only this time for their album title
rather than their group name.
