Big Freedia

Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Freedia, is an American rapper and performer known for his work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music.

Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which had been largely underground since developing in the early 1990s.

In 1998, a young drag queen by the name of Katey Red performed bounce music at a club near the Melpomene Projects where Ross grew up.

Ross, who had grown up four blocks away from Katey Red, began performing as a backup dancer and singer in Red's shows.

In 1999, Katey Red released Melpomene Block Party on the city's leading bounce label, Take Fo' Records.

Freedia adopted his stage name after a friend dubbed him "Freedia" (pronounced "Freeda").

According to Ross, "I wanted a catchy name that rhymed, and my mother had a club called Diva that I worked for. I called myself the queen of diva—so I coined it: Big Freedia Queen Diva."

In 1999, Freedia began his professional career with the release of his first single, "An Ha, Oh Yeah", and began performing frequently in clubs and other venues in New Orleans.

Other local hits included "Rock Around the Clock" and "Gin 'N My System", which was later quoted by local rapper Lil Wayne on a mixtape.

The album was a collection of previously performed singles from 1999 to 2010.

He released his first studio album, Queen Diva, in 2003.

Freedia was often described in his early career as an artist within the "sissy bounce" subgenre, though he had stated "there's no such thing as separating it into straight bounce and sissy bounce. It's all bounce music."

About his popularity with women at live shows, music journalist Alison Fensterstock wrote, "When Freedia or Sissy Nobby's singing superaggressive, sexual lyrics about bad boyfriends or whatever, there's something about being able to be the 'I' in the sentence... it's tough to sing along about bitches and hoes when you're a girl. When you identify with Freedia, you're the agent of all this aggressive sexuality instead of its object."

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, and Freedia, along with other bounce artists such as Katey Red and Freedia's protege Sissy Nobby, were forced to vacate the city.

Freedia settled for several months in Texas, where he began performing bounce shows for the locals, helping spread awareness of the genre like other displaced bounce artists.

He moved back to New Orleans at the first opportunity.

According to Freedia, "The first club that reopened in New Orleans was Caesar's, and they called me immediately and said let's do a regular night with you here. So we started FEMA Fridays. It was the only club open in the city, and a lot of people had a lot of money from Katrina, the checks and stuff, so the joy inside that club—I don't think that'll ever come back."

He played six to ten shows a week at block parties, nightclubs, strip clubs, and other venues while the city recuperated.

According to Fensterstock, "Freedia was one of the first artists to come back after the storm and start working, and she worked really, really hard. If you lived here, it became impossible not to know who he was."

Freedia began to gain national exposure after a 2009 fest-closing gig with Katey Red and Sissy Nobby at the Bingo Parlour Tent and the 2009 Voodoo Experience.

On January 18, 2010, he self-released the album Big Freedia Hitz Vol. 1 on Big Freedia Records.

In March 2010, he was booked for a showcase of New Orleans bounce music at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, but cancelled after an injury.

He signed to the Windish Agency afterwards, and booked a summer tour.

Along with Katey Red, Cheeky Blakk, and Sissy Nobby, he was a guest on the May 2010 album Ya-ka-may by funk band Galactic.

He joined the band for several gigs, and the album peaked at #161 on the US Billboard Chart.

In May 2010, Freedia began touring with DJ Rusty Lazer and a team of "bootydancers", along with pop band Matt and Kim.

In 2011, he was named Best Emerging Artist and Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist in January's "Best of the Beat Awards", and was nominated for the 2011 22nd GLAAD Media Awards.

In 2013, he got his own reality show on the Fuse Channel, which chronicles his life on tour and at home.

On July 7, 2015, he released his autobiography God Save the Queen Diva!.

At the end of 2016, Freedia was featured in a local New Orleans television ad for Juan LaFonta Law Office, in which he is shown rapping with bounce music and dancers.

In 2018, he released the EP Third Ward Bounce. Freedia was scheduled to go on tour with Kesha in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, he returned to release his second studio album Central City on June 23.

He has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé (who sampled his voice for her song, "Formation" and on her 2022 number-one hit "Break My Soul"), Kesha, Lizzo, Slayyyter, New Kids on the Block, Jordin Sparks, Naughty by Nature, Boyz II Men, Jake Shears, and with Drake on his 2018 number-one hit "Nice for What".

Freedia is a gay man who also embraces his "feminine side"; he believes gender is on a spectrum and is ambivalent about his pronouns, stating, "I'm gender nonconforming, fluid, nonbinary. If I had known the 'queen' in Queen Diva would cause so much confusion, I might have called myself the king!"

Freddie Ross was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

As a child, he took piano lessons and sang in the choir of the neighborhood Baptist church, "Pressing Onward M.B.C.", and has said that music was always a part of his life.

Freddie's mother exposed him to artists such as Patti LaBelle, and he was also influenced by disco singer Sylvester, Michael Jackson, and Salt-N-Pepa.

Ross attended Walter L. Cohen High School, where he continued to perform in choir and also became the choir director.

This experience made him realize he could write and produce.

According to Freedia, he initially suffered from stage-fright, and had to coax himself onto stage until he became comfortable performing.