Big Freedia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Big Freedia
Big Freedia in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Freddie Ross Jr.
Born	(1978-01-28) January 28, 1978 (age 47) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Bounce EDM alternative hip hop Electro Dance
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Money Rules A Champion Sound Beat Exchange Asylum Queen Diva East West

Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), known as Big Freedia (pronounced FREE-də), is an American rapper and performer. He is famous for his work in New Orleans hip hop music, especially a style called bounce music. Big Freedia is known for helping to make bounce music popular. This type of music had been mostly underground since it started in the early 1990s.

In 2011, he won awards like "Best Emerging Artist" and "Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist." In 2013, he got his own reality TV show called Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce on the Fuse Channel. This show followed his life on tour and at home. He also released his autobiography, God Save the Queen Diva!, in 2015. In 2018, he released an album called Third Ward Bounce. Big Freedia was supposed to tour with Kesha in 2020, but it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, he released his second studio album, Central City.

Big Freedia has worked with many famous artists. He has collaborated with Beyoncé, who used his voice in her songs "Formation" and "Break My Soul". He has also worked with Kesha, Lizzo, Drake (on his hit song "Nice for What"), New Kids on the Block, and Boyz II Men. Big Freedia is comfortable with people using either "he" or "she" pronouns for him. He has said, "I do not mind if you call me 'he' or 'she.' Both are right!"

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Freddie Ross was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. When he was a child, he learned to play the piano. He also sang in the choir at his neighborhood Baptist church. Music was always a big part of his life. Freddie's mother introduced him to artists like Patti LaBelle. He was also inspired by singers like Sylvester, Michael Jackson, and the group Salt-N-Pepa.

Ross went to Walter L. Cohen High School. There, he continued to sing in the choir and even became the choir director. This experience helped him realize he could write and produce music. Big Freedia has shared that he used to be very shy about performing on stage. He had to push himself to perform until he felt comfortable.

In 1998, a young performer named Katey Red performed bounce music at a club near where Ross grew up. Ross, who lived close by, started performing as a backup dancer and singer in Katey Red's shows. In 1999, Katey Red released an album called Melpomene Block Party. Soon after, Ross started using his stage name, "Freedia," after a friend called him that. He explained, "I wanted a catchy name that rhymed. My mother had a club called Diva, and I worked there. So I called myself the queen of diva—and came up with Big Freedia Queen Diva."

Building a Music Career

Starting Out in New Orleans

Big Freedia began his professional music career in 1999. He released his first song, "An Ha, Oh Yeah." He then started performing often in clubs and other places in New Orleans. Other popular local songs he released included "Rock Around the Clock" and "Gin 'N My System." He released his first album, Queen Diva, in 2003.

Some people used to describe Big Freedia as an artist in a specific type of bounce music. However, he has said that "there's no such thing as separating it... It's all bounce music."

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Big Freedia and other bounce artists had to leave the city. Big Freedia lived in Texas for several months. While there, he started performing bounce shows for local people, helping to share the music with new audiences. He moved back to New Orleans as soon as he could. He said that the first club to reopen in New Orleans called him right away to start a regular night. They called it "FEMA Fridays." It was the only club open, and many people had money from aid checks. He described the joy in that club as something special.

After the storm, he performed many shows each week at parties, clubs, and other places as the city recovered. People noticed how hard he worked.

Reaching a Wider Audience

Big Freedia started to become known across the country after performing at the Voodoo Experience music festival in 2009. In 2010, he released the album Big Freedia Hitz Vol. 1. This album was a collection of songs he had performed from 1999 to 2010.

In 2010, he was scheduled to perform at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. After this, he signed with a booking agency and planned a summer tour. He also appeared as a guest on the 2010 album Ya-ka-may by the funk band Galactic. He joined the band for some shows, and the album became popular on the US Billboard Chart.

In May 2010, Big Freedia began touring with DJ Rusty Lazer and a group of "bootydancers." He performed at events and was featured in newspapers and magazines like the Village Voice and The New York Times. He continued to tour across the United States. In Fall 2010, he appeared on national television for the first time on Last Call with Carson Daly. The New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper called him an "overnight sensation."

In 2011, Big Freedia won awards for "Best Emerging Artist" and "Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist." His album Big Freedia Hitz Vol. 1 was also nominated for an award. He appeared on the HBO show Treme, which was about New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2012. His performance at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2012 was highly praised by Rolling Stone magazine.

Big Freedia toured with the band The Postal Service in 2013, opening for them at many concerts.

The Queen of Bounce on TV

In 2013, the music TV channel Fuse started airing the first season of Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce. This reality show showed Big Freedia's growing fame and his life in New Orleans. The show continued for six seasons and was later renamed Big Freedia Bounces Back.

In July 2015, the book Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva! was released. It was written by Big Freedia along with Nicole Balin.

On February 6, 2016, Beyoncé released a surprise song called "Formation" with a music video filmed in New Orleans. The song included speech sampled from Big Freedia. Beyoncé also used Big Freedia's voice to start her 2016 "Formation" World Tour. For her show in New Orleans, Beyoncé brought Big Freedia on stage to introduce the show live.

Some people have criticized artists like Beyoncé and Drake for using Big Freedia's voice but not showing him in their music videos. However, Big Freedia explained in an interview that he was out of the country doing a show and could not be in the "Formation" video. Big Freedia has performed on stage with Beyoncé at least once during her tour. In 2021, he sang "Goin' Looney" for the Space Jam: A New Legacy movie soundtrack.

Recent Projects

In August 2016, Big Freedia was featured on a song called "Marie Antoinette" by the artist Boyfriend. In December 2016, Big Freedia released A Very Big Freedia Christmazz, an album he also worked on with Boyfriend.

In September 2017, Big Freedia released the song "Dive" with rapper Mannie Fresh, who is also from New Orleans. The song "Make It Jingle" is part of the game Just Dance 2018 and was also on the Office Christmas Party movie soundtrack.

In April 2018, Drake's number-one hit song "Nice for What" featured Big Freedia's voice in the beginning.

After signing a major record deal with Asylum Records, Big Freedia released the song "Rent" from his album Third Ward Bounce. This album featured artists like Lizzo.

On October 24, 2019, Big Freedia was featured on Kesha's song "Raising Hell." They promoted the song together at the 2019 American Music Awards and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

In 2020, Big Freedia released a documentary film called Freedia Got a Gun. The film is about his childhood in New Orleans and the problem of gun violence. It was made after his brother was murdered in 2018. The film explores Big Freedia's experiences with gun violence and tries to understand why it happens.

In April 2020, Big Freedia worked with New Kids on the Block, Jordin Sparks, Naughty by Nature, and Boyz II Men on a song called "House Party." They wrote this song while people were staying home during COVID-19. The music video for "House Party" was filmed using cell phones.

On February 10, 2021, a new version of Rebecca Black's song "Friday" was released, featuring Big Freedia.

Big Freedia appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in June 2021. He also appeared as a guest judge on Nailed It! in September 2021.

In April 2022, Big Freedia became an Artist Ambassador for US Independent Venue Week. In June 2022, Freedia was featured on Beyoncé's song "Break My Soul".

Discography

• Just Be Free (2014)
• Central City (2023)

Filmography

Awards and Nominations