Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler (Video Original Version)

What this video is

Released in Finland on 30 October 1999 and internationally in February 2000, 'Freestyler' arrived at a precise cultural inflection point: the convergence of European breakbeat-electronic music, b-boy subculture, and the consumer electronics boom embodied by Sony's MiniDisc format. Shot entirely within the Helsinki Metro system, the video transplants American hip-hop visual grammar into a distinctly Nordic urban…

Why it matters

A defining artefact of European breakbeat-electronic hip-hop crossover. 'Freestyler' demonstrated that non-Anglophone acts could achieve pan-European and global chart dominance via MTV with a high-concept music video. Its pseudo-monochrome orange colour palette and time-manipulation narrative…

The director

Finnish advertising and music video director based in Helsinki. Directed five music videos for Bomfunk MC's, with Freestyler (1999) being the second in the series. Active in both the commercial advertising and music video sectors. Credited by Yle as an…