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More old-school hip-hop, electro, and ragga than big-beat techno (though they're often pigeonholed that way), the Freestylers were formed by the trio of Matt Cantor, Aston Harvey, and Andrew Galea. All three were British b-boys back in the day, and were heavily involved in Britain's dance scene by the late '80s, both as DJs and producers, with Cantor recording as Cut'n'Paste, 2 Fat Buddhas, and Freska All Stars, among others, and Harvey as Blapps! Posse (author of the 1990 breakbeat classic "Don't Hold Back"). Harvey had also worked with Rebel MC and Definition of Sound, but after meeting Galea, the pair began recording together as Sol Brothers and soon brought Cantor into the fold as well. Taking the name Freestylers from their first sample (Freestyle's "Don't Stop the Rock"), the trio released their first single, "Drop the Boom (AK-48)" and formed their own Scratch City Records to release it. The track was a prime slice of vocoderized electro, and became an underground club classic ...