Park name a music style, but up for interpretation

Freestyle music, also called Latin freestyle, was developed in New York City by Latinos who were influenced by traditional Spanish-language music but grew up speaking English, explained Latif Mercado, the owner of La' Entertainment, a managing and booking agency.

"If you break open a hip-hop track, you'll definitely hear the bass, you'll hear the drums, and you'll hear some chords," said Mercado, 42, who grew up in New York City but whose agency is based in Monroe, N.C. "When you go into freestyle, you're going to hear all of the Latin percussion in there." 

Although the genre's popularity has waned since its heyday, Mercado said his agency is still booking shows across the country. Last year, he and others organized the 2008 Freestyle Music Awards in Miami, the first ceremony of its kind.

"If they have any idea that the term they are using actually identifies a genre of music, they can actually have an incredible theme park," said Mercado, noting he was unsure where the freestyle name came from. "I have the ability of pulling fans from all over the world to want to be at the park."

John Stine, the director of sales and marketing for the park, said the park's new owners, FPI MB Entertainment, was aware that the genre existed, but it did not have any impact on the renaming of the park.

The word freestyle can have several connotations - such as freestyle rap or freestyle snowboarding - so it is up to the park's visitors to interpret the name as they see fit, Stine said.

He said there are no plans to incorporate the genre into the park, which officials have said would include country, reggae, beach music, pop, R&B, alternative, Christian and disco music. That doesn't mean, though, that it may not be incorporated in the future.

The park has said it wants to make the attraction more family oriented. Mercado said freestyle music would definitely aid them in that goal.

"It's very family friendly," he said of the music. "I could just dig my hand in a pile of CDs and hand it to them and say, 'You could play this without even listening to it. It won't offend anybody.'"

The Hard Rock Park name was dropped after the park's new owners and Hard Rock International, which owns the name's rights, could not come to an agreement. The park's previous owners leased the name for $2.5 million annually.

The $400 million park opened in April 2008 after years in development, but the original owners filed for bankruptcy in September after a lackluster first season. The park's new owners are planning a Memorial Day opening.

FPI MBE is also building a park under the Freestyle brand in Moscow, and company officials say there are plans for more parks to be opened under the nameplate.