While it’s been around for decades, the New Orleans-spawned genre of bounce music is bigger than ever, thanks to Big Freedia: the self-appointed Queen Diva’s appearances on Beyonce’s singles “Formation” and “Break My Soul” have given her, her music and her community a visibility previously unimaginable outside their shared New Orleans hometown. But A-list collaborations — which also include Drake, Lizzo and Kesha — are simply a reflection of her increasing profile, not the reason for it; since releasing her first album in 2003, she’s not only worked steadily as a recording and touring musician, but starred in two TV shows (“Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce” and “Big Freedia Means Business,” both on Fuse), produced a documentary about gun violence (“Freedia Got a Gun”) and made dozens of appearances as a spokesperson and advocate for LGBTQ+ issues.
“Central City” — out today — is Freedia’s first full-length album in nine years, and it evidences the breadth of her success. In addition to assembling a murderer’s row of guest stars including Lil Wayne, Ciara, Faith Evans and Kamaiyah, the tracks incorporate a variety of sounds and subgenres from outside that bounce music foundation. Ahead of the record’s June 23 release, Big Freedia spoke to PvNew about its eclectic inspirations, the opportunities those high-profile partnerships have generated for her, and the ongoing responsibilities she maintains in her career to make “a bigger bounce” both musically and culturally.
When Beyonce did “Break My Soul” and sampled your record, it gave you a new degree of visibility, even after appearing on “Formation.” How if at all have you tried to capitalize on that?
I try to capitalize on anything that’s happening great in my life. And most definitely, we’re pushing the envelope. We put it out there every way that we can so that we can capitalize, most definitely. And the most important thing is that we keep on raising the price.
This album feels a bit tougher than some of your past work. How much did you develop it as a response of empowerment or defiance to the attacks on the LGBTQ community in the last few years, and how much was that purely you expressing yourself without an agenda?
I definitely wanted to come with a harder body of work and let them know about what’s going on in the world with the LGBTQ rights, and also to let them know that I’ve got skills and that I can do what I need to do when it comes time to rap. So it was both — to put empowerment out there, and let people know that I can change when I need to change and I can get tougher when I need to get tough. Don’t take the nails and the hair lightly.
Given the important visibility you have in music and on your television show, how eager are you to embrace a role as a spokesperson for that community?
It is definitely one of my roles, to speak up for my community and to use my platform for great things. I’m happy to be a voice out there to keep on fighting for social justice and equality for my community. A lot of people feel like they don’t have voices, or a platform to speak on. So I definitely want to make sure that I use mine in every way that I can, and keep on pushing the boundaries, and knocking down doors and breaking barriers for people like myself. I come from a place in the hood of New Orleans where there was no one really fighting for our cause back then, so for me to be able to get out there and fight for the younger generation and young queens like me, I’m happy to do it.
You’ve spoken very specifically about certain elements of your identity, such as not being as specific or focused on pronouns. How tough or easy it is for you to adjust to different generational attitudes that people have now about defining oneself?
It’s still important for me to respect that area of gender identity because I represent that community, but for me it doesn’t matter. I can answer to anything because I know who I am. So I think it’s just all about respecting people’s wishes what they want to be called. But when I was growing up, it wasn’t all of that. Back then, you were either gay, or homosexual, or they’d call you a punk or sissy or a fag. And right now, I just want to embrace our community and respect everybody’s identity as I should, but keep on fighting for everybody to do whatever they want to do. I’m going to keep on fighting for that cause.
The record feels like a lot more eclectic musically than some of the stuff you’ve done in the past. How did you approach the conception of “Central City?”
It’s been nine years since I put out an album, so it was time to do something that will expand the sound of what I’m doing and expand the sound of bounce music. But I also took it back to the old school, of New Orleans hip-hop from the Cash Money era. I also kind of wanted to make some futuristic sounds, stuff that I hadn’t done in the past. So it just was going in with an open mind to think of some hot, cool stuff to come up with. I got some great beats and great producers to work with, so I think that also helped guide the record to a different place musically. And then I just went from Big Freddie back in the day to Big Freedia now, and just put that body of work together.
Your music feels like such an organic extension of your live performances. How difficult was it on this album to balance the storytelling of “Life Lessons” and the more stage-friendly music of “Booty Like A Drummer?”
I just go in and I just start making music. I had done over 40 songs, and it was really hard to pick the album selection, but I wanted to be able to give a variety. I wanted to tell some stories. I wanted to be able to do some club bangers. I wanted an R&B bounce feel. I wanted to do something poppy. So I just went in and started to create all of these different sounds, and these were the songs that made it to the album. But I just went in and had fun, and it’s whatever the beat led me to do. A lot times, we just put on the beat and started coming up with the concepts and feelings, and I just started letting all of it flow out.
Is that where something like the “Pepto Interlude” comes from? I’ll admit, I was not expecting to hear the word “diarrhea” on your album.
I was just like, “Let me do something so people can take a little bathroom break.” And that was something that I also wanted to be like, “This going to be a different concept. It’s going to be something kind of funny and hilarious — but I want people to know that the album is the shit.”
How much is this record sort of either a stopgap or a prelude for more touring?
Currently, I’m on tour, so it is fitting right in perfectly. All of the TV shows, the interviews, the touring, everything is happening all together. I also plan to continue to tour in the future. So it’s just the beginning, with “Central City” just dropping. I’m excited to see where this body of work will go, given that my EP that I had put out before Covid came to a standstill because of Corona hitting. I was on my promo tour to get the record hype, I was in New York on Wendy Williams’ show, and it started to shut the world down and I had to leave and get back home. So now, to be able to be out there and really promoting it and putting it out there for the world to see and hear, I’m excited to see what it’s going to do.
Do you feel like this album is reflective of an energy that you felt was contained during the pandemic?
During Covid, I started to definitely go to the studio and make lots of songs, did a lot of cooking, did a lot of stuff in my backyard to survive. So it definitely slips over to also just wanting to have a new body of work, but also I had downtime once things started back opening up. So I took every chance I got to keep on creating.
How do you feel like you’ve changed over your career? And what connects you to that person who was there at the beginning?
I think that change is important, because if you stay the same, how can you expect yourself to elevate and go to a new height? I’m still the same when it comes to certain things, but musically, I want to continue to grow and expand the brand and expand the sounds, and I want to create a bigger bounce. And that’s where this album is going to, a bigger bounce. And even moving past “Central City,” I will keep on trying to make a bigger bounce, where it will be timeless music that can fit in with any music, any style, any generation, and so forth.
