Music has the unique ability to influence, motivate, and build bridges between various cultures around the world. This influence becomes even more evident when analyzing lyrics, allowing a more meaningful relationship between content and listener. To compare with the many new styles of music that are evolving and gaining traction, bounce music has generated interest due to its up-tempo and enjoyable reputation. Bounce is known for its energetic style of hip hop music; which allows one to experience freedom from their everyday stresses in life. Without a doubt, the music contains a very attractive rhythm and beat that has retained its listeners. However, this genre of music is commonly misinterpreted as being simply hypersexual (which it is), when the genre really contains a deeper meaning that is motivating and inspiring for all ages. This particular meaning is present in the work of Big Freedia, a successful singer songwriter, she was raised in New Orleans, the birth place of bounce music. Freedia represents the LGBTQ community with her music, incorporating a New Orleans upbeat style to it. With her success, has come questions of social inferiority due to her identity. Luckily, Freedia does not care about her “haters.” Freedia politicizes positivity by embracing a genre that requires confidence in a society that attempts to strip her of her confidence. Big Freedia is changing the meaning behind bounce by incorporating her messages of uniqueness and self-acceptance in her music.
The culture of bounce music is known for its attractive rhythm and sound, but there is one individual that stands alone as the frontrunner in the bounce style, and that is Big Freedia. Bounce music has evolved over time; however, one thing has maintained the same: the hypersexual dancing that is associated with its rhythm and beat. The voices within the genre incorporate the shouting of specific words such as “break” and “go,” the inclusion of instrumental elements, repetitive lyrics, and references to neighborhoods and housing projects within the New Orleans area. This genre of music has grown out of New Orleans and spread throughout the United States due to the “Queen of Bounce” (Younger). Its growth in popularity is due to Freedia, as “Big Freedia is one of the most recognizable ambassadors of New Orleans’s contagious bounce sound—a colorfully energetic variant of hip-hop, built around call-and-response and a few essential samples” (Younger). Big Freedia’s outgoing and self-confident personality has allowed her stardom, thus enabling her to take chances and establish meaning to her sound.
Big Freedia’s music embodies all of the bounce stereotypes, but she represents a platform that re-established bounce culture. In Freedia’s single Explode, her repeated use of the verses, “oh let’s go” and “release your wiggle”, allows the listener to see bounce’s typical style of repetition (Explode). This repetition highlights bounce’s style and the simplistic chorus associated with the genre. The tempo present within Big Freedia’s song causes the listeners to release all the stresses within their lives and enjoy the present through dance, specifically twerking. Andrea DenHoed with the New Yorker describes Big Freedia as “a New Orleans-based musician who has helped popularize bounce music, a fast-driving form of hip-hop often associated with highly sexualized dance moves, including the derriere-quaking twerk” (The New Yorker). This method of dance is strongly associated within all of bounce, commonly causing misinterpretations of the genre. Her representation of this form of dancing is intriguing, due to her being viewed as super sexual, something that would typically not associated with someone like Big Freedia. Her originality exemplifies her voice in the music industry. A voice that represents the modern-day push for self-acceptance and the acceptance of others. Consider Big Freedia’s explanation of her purpose as a bounce musician; “to be a very influential artist who makes people happy through their music and through twerking. To make people be themselves and be free and be happy with their lives” (My Voice Is All I Need To Break Barriers). Freedia’s music varies from the norm of bounce, as it expresses the many cultures linked with Big Freedia and her focus on ingenuity and satisfaction, as she is advocating for the LGBTQ, black, bounce music, and New Orleans communities. Her platforms are understood through and by her music, exemplifying her personal goal to break down all social barriers.
Freedia’s voice revolves around the ideas of improving society, through her advocation for seeking social equality. She exposes the social injustices present within the United States and the difficulty of overcoming social barriers by saying that “people are still scared of working with a gay artist, but I’m pushing through regardless” (Doggett). While she could be deterred by the stereotypes and negativity, she is unphased by the obstacles she has. Her platform is emphasized with her music, where she resists succumbing to the social and gendered norms. Freedia has a unique voice, carrying truth and meaning, and the platform she has further established influences the lives of all communities, races, and sexes. Listeners uncommon with Freedia and the meaning behind her music can not understand her goals. However, Freedia’s music contains lyrics and meaning that explain the platform and communities she represents. An example of her advocation for self-acceptance is in her hit single Explode: Freedia says that “my music makes me feel good about what I do and the culture that I represent. People get confused if I am, he or she. I am more than just Big Freedia. I am more than just Queen Dive. I am more than just Freddie Ross. I am me. I am the ambassador for New Orleans and for Bounce Music” (Explode). By saying this, she introduces the significance behind her work: who she is and who she represents. With this transparency, Freedia establishes meaning in her piece. Freedia has grown the brand of bounce music throughout her career through her singles, music videos, and samples; however, the reception of her work has received mixed feelings, consequentially causing her to lack exposure to the media and the public. For those she has reached, Freedia’s powerful and inspirational voice has sparked a cultural movement for equality, thus moving towards the destruction of social walls.
The opportunities to feature with artists such as Beyoncé and Drake should have allowed her a sense of satisfaction, however, the denial to perform in the respected artists music videos fueled Freedia’s goal to redefine the social norms. If unfamiliar with Freedia’s work, “you have almost certainly heard her voice: she’s behind the “I came to slay” announcement in Beyoncé’s iconic “Formation” video and, more recently, the demand to “represent” at the start of Drake’s “Nice for What.” Both of these samples highlight her career as she “riled up over 60 million streamers,” but most of her attention focused on the music video, or the lack thereof (Leight). She was excluded from both Drake and Beyoncé’s videos, causing anger to Freedia and her loyal fans and supporters. Along with the obvious anger from her fans, she “publicly stated her frustration over the omission, saying that his use of her vocals but no visual representation felt like a major snub” (Billboard). This motivated her to reach out and receive a visual representation in Drake’s “In My Feelings” music video. However, Freedia should not have had to reach out to him considering the context of the video (twerking) and the filming of the video being in New Orleans. Her inclusion within Drake’s music video was very significant to her career; she believes it was “definitely a step in the right direction. I think that other artists out there should feel the same way, that no matter what your background is — no matter if you’re a gay artist — that we can be able to be there just as anyone else” (Leight). Freedia encourages the support from all artists within the LGBTQ community as the presence of the LGBTQ group in music is strong and is demanding equal opportunities. Regardless of the lack of visual recognition, these situations define the unfortunate social injustices Freedia faces every day. But this does not stop her or her platform as she will continue to fight for what is right. Freedia is truly the forefront of bounce music, forcing Freedia’s motive to change the game and represent something bigger than twerking.
The meaning behind bounce music has changed, becoming a platform advocating for the improved rights of women and gays, along with the desire to make individuals comfortable and confident within their lives. Through Big Freedia’s music, a listener experiences joy, enthusiasm, and energy, causing attraction to the genre and the artist, no matter her identity. Freedia’s work aims to redefine the gendered norms, through living a positive life that enables others. Freedia is the Queen of bounce, but the platform and community she represents is much greater then that of the New Orleans based genre.
Works Cited:
Daw, Stephen. “Big Freedia Says She Had to Call Drake to Get Featured in His ‘In My Feelings’ Video.” Billboard, 7 Aug. 2018, www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/8468770/big-freedia-drake-in-my-feelings-video-interview.
DenHoed, Andrea, and Andrea DenHoed. “‘Are You Here For the Twerking?”.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/are-you-here-for-the-twerking.
Doggett, Jolie A. “Big Freedia: My Voice Is All I Need To Break Barriers.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 June 2018, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/big-freedia-my-voice-is-all-i-need-to-break-barriers_us_5b167e2ce4b093ac33a1e523.
Drake. YouTube, YouTube, 6 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9BwWKXjVaI.
Freedia, Big. YouTube, YouTube, 13 June 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa5IV_3fVfk.
Fuse. YouTube, YouTube, 10 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcR-DIjE_CU.
jwirt@theadvocate.com, JOHN WIRT. “Big Freedia Hopes to Inspire Others with New Memoir.” The Advocate, 15 July 2015, www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/entertainment_life/music/article_55b5bb5a-7711-5b29-bf18-99bdaf8152a2.html.
Leight, Elias, and Elias Leight. “Fresh Off Drake’s ‘Nice For What,’ Big Freedia Is Back With New EP.” Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/fresh-off-drakes-nice-for-what-big-freedia-is-back-with-new-ep-630676/.
Skelton, Eric. “Big Freedia Had to Contact Drake to Be in the ‘In My Feelings’ Video.” Complex, Complex, 10 Oct. 2018, www.complex.com/music/2018/08/big-freedia-had-to-contact-drake-to-be-in-my-feelings-video.
Spotlight. “Future LGBTQ History Month: Big Freedia.” Fuse, www.fuse.tv/2017/06/future-lgbtq-history-month-big-freedia.
Taylor, Cquad. “Beyoncé Feat Big Freedia – Formation.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYcAosqv23Y.
Younger, Briana, and Briana Younger. “Big Freedia.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2019, www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/night-life/big-freedia-3.
