“That’s what I’m about, making everybody have a good time: let your hair down, have fun, let’s party, shake your ass, do whatever you do. It doesn’t matter how you look, your creed, your color, let’s do it.” – Big Freedia
Stereotyping can be based on background, class, race, or gender. In The Conversation Article “Voice Control,” Trevor Cox, a professor of Acoustic Engineering, describes how machine learning echoes today’s culture and human stereotypes. When translating the Turkish phrases “o bir doktor” and “o bir hemşire” into English, the Google service returns “he is a doctor” and “she is a nurse.” However, “o” is a gender-neutral, third person pronoun in the Turkish language. The computer is influenced by humans, demonstrating the relevance of formulating stereotyping by using rules of thumb; in this case, assuming gender roles in careers (Cox). Using rules of thumb is particularly influential when it comes to labeling voice with a gender. Stereotyping how a male or a female “should” sound influences gender pronoun labels, ultimately leading to bias and altering the way a person is perceived. Big Freedia, a bounce artist from New Orleans, is regularly categorized by her sexuality based on her voice and music. In a HuffPost Live interview focused on Big Freedia’s dislike of categorization by gender identity, Big Freedia expresses how people are always trying to place others in categories, while she tries to be herself and shed light beyond predispositions made about her (Wong). Today, she uses bounce music as an outlet to express herself. Voice is an important part of her identity that she takes pride in keeping true to herself. The ability for her expression to operate through voice and choreography in music videos, such as “Explode,” is accomplished uniquely. Her music has entered into the limelight through Beyonce and Drake sampling her voice. Sampling voice and placing it in a separate context causes her motives and distinct bounce style to be expressed differently. Her message must operate solely through her voice because she is not physically represented. Big Freedia defines what it means to defy the societal norms and stereotypes of voice, while conversely demonstrates the power of using voice to influence others to be themselves, no matter their background, race, or gender.
Before analyzing Big Freedia’s message operation in her music, it is important to understand who she is, what bounce music is, and why she is so passionate about her work. Her life story, simply stated, is a gay choirboy turned bounce rapper. Her title “Queen of Bounce” stems from how she has popularized the genre. When bounce first evolved two decades ago, Big Freedia led the way to represent the new genre for New Orleans, her hometown. Bounce creates an upbeat twist on hip-hop with notable features including rapid-fire beats and booty-shaking. The lyrics remain simple to leave room for the bass, boom, knock, and for listeners to be able to be free and express themselves through dance. Bounce relies on both voice and physical expression captured visually through Big Freedia’s performances and music videos. Upon watching a music video by Big Freedia, the culture she represents can be better understood and the power of dance in expression is evident. Big Freedia’s album “Just Be Free” dropped in 2014. The theme of this album aligns with her message and encourages listeners to be true to who they are. This freedom is a commodity because not every place in the world fosters an environment to be a free individual and express yourself. There are many outlets and means of expression, but for Big Freedia it is through music and dance. She wants others to be inspired to express themselves through the outlet she has created. Viewers feel compelled to dance from her performances. The impact of Big Freedia’s individual work on listeners allows her to be more well-known on a national scale.
“Explode” is the first single on Big Freedia’s “Just Be Free” album. She coined this her first single because she wanted her audience to know she was “coming out with a bang” (Newman). Big Freedia’s message operates through this song in a unique yet powerful way. The song begins with a serious and focused tone in both her voice and the background music. In a narrative-like manner she explains,
“My music, it makes me feel good about what I do and the culture that I represent.
People get confused on if I am he or she.
I am more than just Big Freedia.
I am more than just Queen Diva.
I am more than just Freddie Ross.
I am me.
I am the ambassador, representing for New Orleans and for bounce music” (Big Freedia).
This summarizes why she is a bounce artist. The impact she strives to make for New Orleans represents her, not the titles or labels given to her. The identity of a person is in their actions and ambitions as opposed to their labels. After directly establishing her message, the mood shifts to become upbeat and overwhelming, as listeners experience the heart of bounce. To operate her message through the remainder of “Explode,” Big Freedia shouts phrases such as, “release your anger,” “release your mind,” and “release your wiggle.” Lines are articulated enthusiastically and heightened by the high-energy dancefloor-aimed beat. Similar to her other music videos, the “Explode” music video focuses on a group of people shaking their booty while Big Freedia remains the focal point. Dance is Big Freedia’s release and she strives to enable viewers to partake in dance by utilizing her work. In “Explode,” Big Freedia is able to operate her message clearly utilizing her lyrics and visual representation.
Through sampling, Big Freedia’s voice appears in hit songs “Formation” by Beyonce and “Nice for What” by Drake. Both of these tracks have ranked in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Big Freedia national exposure. However, in these features her lyrics are narrowed by the respective artist’s preferences and she is not seen in either music video. These powerful forms of operating her message in “Explode” are non-existent when she is sampled. This brings into question if Big Freedia’s message operates when solely the sound of her voice, a part of her identity that is often stereotyped and affects how she is perceived, is present. To answer this question, it is valuable to hear her vocal role in both Beyonce and Drake’s work.
Beyonce’s “Formation” is a Black Power anthem she contributed to Black History Month in 2016. The song’s rich focus on African-American culture allows Big Freedia to be a positive addition given her roots. In the track, Big Freedia appears on the interlude where she adds, “I did not come to play with you hoes, haha. I came to slay, bitch. I like cornbreads and collard greens, bitch. Oh, yes, you besta believe it.” In an interview at the New Orleans Public Library, Big Freedia discusses her experience with receiving the call from Beyonce to be incorporated in the soon-to-be hit song (NOLA.com). Beyonce allotted Big Freedia nine seconds within the track to be sampled and told her to record talking “like she came to slay.” She began recording various adlibs, but her phrase about cornbread and collard greens was a favorite for Beyonce. These foods are popular southern dishes which connects to representing the New Orleans culture. Along with this tie, her confident personality portrays her ability to slay, or impress others. The sound of her voice is not only unique because it is different from Beyonce’s, but also because Beyonce has not previously sampled a bounce artist. This immediately enhances Beyonce’s work and draws attention to Big Freedia; allowing her to establish herself as an artist. Despite the sample not being as direct and upfront about Big Freedia’s goals, listeners are still able to notice her presence, grasp her roots, and gain a sense of who she is based on her fearless presence.
Big Freedia’s feature in Drake’s “Nice for What” varies from “Formation.” Drake’s work speaks about female empowerment, a movement Big Freedia can connect to through her goal of empowering others to express themselves. Big Freedia’s line says, “I wanna know who mothafuckin’ representin’ in here tonight. Hold on, hold on” (Drake). When asked about her feature on this track, she said she did not care what she said as long as she was on it. This demonstrates the presence of voice can be more powerful than the word spoken. Even though her vocal presence is brief, her voice resonates with the audience. By having this presence, no matter the scale, she sees herself making strides to progress bounce music’s culture. It is meaningful for an artist like Drake to recognize the talent in bounce music and want to share it through his work. Despite her presence being much different in her samples as opposed to her own singles, Big Freedia still operates her message, just through less direct expression.
Today, it is pressing for queer voices to be given a platform to speak their truth and express themselves; the same goes for showing the faces of these individuals. The platform is necessary for defying stereotypes and portraying their message. As Big Freedia pursues her ambitions, she desires visual representation, which enhances the message already operating through her voice. In an article from The Fader, Big Freedia discusses her exclusion from Drake’s “Nice for What” music video. She remarks that she wants proper recognition and proper credit, which can come from features in music videos. It is not fair for her inclusion, a key contributor in making these songs hits, to be backhanded with exclusion from the video. On both Drake and Beyonce’s tours to New Orleans, they bring Big Freedia on stage to perform together. Big Freedia comes in direct contact with her audience in this setting generating further exposure to empower viewers and represent New Orleans. This is a positive but can be more influential on a national-scale if she is exposed to a broader range population. Big Freedia’s work inspires others to know who they are and release it. Her story reveals the passion that defines who she is. It is her passion and ability to operate her message through music which defines who she is as an individual, not stereotypes or labels. Human stereotypes on gender pronouns, as seen by their influence on machine learning, should not be the basis of characterizing a person. Today, it is important to see who someone is by what they care about and the impact they want to make, not by assumptions that are made about them. Everyone should pursue the mark they want to make and express who they are because it has the capacity to characterize their identity. For Big Freedia, this is using her voice to represent New Orleans, while making stereotypes null.
Works Cited:
Beyoncé. “Beyoncé – Formation.” YouTube, 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZJPJV__bQ. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Big Freedia. “Big Freedia “Explode” (Official Video).” YouTube, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa5IV_3fVfk. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Cox, Trevor. “Voice control: Why AI Must Resist Our Bad Habit of Stereotyping Human Speech.” The Conversation, The Conversation US, Inc, 2018, theconversation.com/voice-control-why-ai-must-resist-our-bad-habit-of-stereotyping-human-speech-96310. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Drake. “Drake – Nice for What.” YouTube, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9BwWKXjVaI. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Gore, Sydney. “It’s Time to Put Some Respect on Big Freedia’s Name.” HIGHSNOBIETY, Titel Media GMBH, 2018, www.highsnobiety.com/p/big-freedia-bounce-music-legacy/. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Newman, Jason. “Queen of Bounce Big Freedia ‘Explodes’ on New Song – Premiere.” RollingStone, Rolling Stone LLC, 2014, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queen-of-bounce-big-freedia-explodes-on-new-song-premiere-101382/. Accessed 22 March 2019.
NOLA.com, “Big Freedia: Getting the ‘Formation’ call from Beyonce.” Youtube, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYHAuc3nhDU. Accessed 22 March 2019.
Wong, Curtis. “Why Big Freedia Doesn’t Want You To Put Her In A Category When It Comes To Gender Identity.” HuffPost, Verizon Media, 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/30/big-freedia-gender-identity-_n_5544730.html. Accessed 22 March 2019.
