00:00Welcome, everybody, to another special Afropunk edition of What Shapes Us Conversations with me, Salema Masekela, and our guest today, the one, the only, the pride of Nolens, Big Freedia.
00:13This the one and only Big Freedia, the Queen Diva, your best-a-believer. You heard me? You heard?
00:19It's me right in the flesh.
00:22The size of your personality and really, like, your legacy, like, it speaks volumes.
00:33You know, even middle school, I was popular. Everybody wanted to be around me, know who I was. My energy was great.
00:39My, you know, I always wanted to be involved in everything from, you know, from drama to student council to, you know, being presidents of clubs and stuff.
00:51I just wanted to always be involved. And so people knew who I was.
00:56I watched the trailer today for your documentary on Peacock, Freedia's Got a Gun.
01:03I just loved how raw and intimate it was with the community, the time that you're taking with the subjects and with these kids to really tell a story that most people in this country aren't aware of how normal gun culture is and gun violence is amongst youth and especially in a city like yours.
01:26It was tough to do. I'm not going to lie. It was very tough to do, being that I had lost my brother and, you know, I've lost many other people before him and people in the community that I grew up with and knew.
01:39You know, we have accepted here in New Orleans that this is the norm and this is not the norm to see, you know, a lot of Black lives, you know, being shot down each and every day.
01:51We put on T-shirts, we get a second line band, we go to a repass and we celebrate their life and then we move on.
02:00But a lot of families have to deal with the hurt and the hardship after, you know, the phone calls stop and the funeral is over that people just don't understand what we have to deal with.
02:12And I just want to put this on our national radar to get attention from from every walk of life, from every community to show them what we're going through here in New Orleans and what a lot of other Black communities face.
02:26But I'm grateful that God gave me the strength to make this and to try to make a difference for my community.
02:32When I think about, like, the most sort of influential, sort of contagious music throughout history is always seems to be music that is born of places or of people who have gone through really meaningful struggle.
02:51That's where we, for some reason, get the most buoyant, happiest music is from struggle.
02:57New Orleans has been through many, many struggles and New Orleans is a strong city who who fights back and we endure a lot, especially a lot of violence here.
03:08And I think that a lot of us bounce artists, we create happy times to try to make up for some of those hard times that we go through.
03:17You know, people always say, well, what's your definition of bounce music and the culture of New Orleans?
03:22Well, bounce music is an uptempo beat, heavy bass, call and response type beat where you turn on a bounce song and the whole room changes.
03:30You know, you got lots of people dancing, lots of twerkers.
03:33It's a fun time. And I love the energy.
03:36You know, it just became a little infectious thing all around the world.
03:40And as you can see, we got all kind of people twerking now.
03:43What does it mean to be able to be a part of at least of of of this this virtual Afropunk in 2020?
03:52Afropunk has been always supporting me and I got a chance to go to Africa in South Africa.
03:59Yes. I was there.
04:00It was just the best time. Oh, my God.
04:03The reception and just people knowing my songs and dancing and twerking.
04:09It was wild. I was like, this is not happening in Africa.
04:12I was like, somebody pinch me and wake me up from this dream.
04:16My family is from South Africa.
04:18My father was a musician, a trumpet player, a singer from South Africa who had to leave South Africa during apartheid and then went back when it was over.
04:28And every time that I've that I've gone back and I go back nowadays, almost every year, I'm always blown away by not just how much of of of black culture from America makes its way to South Africa.
04:44But then, like you said, South Africa puts puts a little bit of extra on it, which I'm so I'm sure you saw just in the style of dancing and the style of twerking.
04:53And you were like, oh, you must have been like, this is a different dialect.
04:57That's just like every, you know, every culture puts their own little spin on it.
05:01You know, we may all do the same dance.
05:03We may all be, you know, even probably doing the same motion.
05:07But everybody has its own twist on it.
05:09You know what I'm saying?
05:10Just the way that they move, the way that they present it, the way that they feel it.
05:15And I definitely felt that in South Africa is something that's so special about your your music.
05:22It's it is the type of sound and energy and frequency that, like, you don't need to speak the language to feel that energy.
05:32And people are they they can't help but be consumed with it and move in the way that they know how.
05:39Yes, sir.
05:39What is the what is the future of of of music look like from you to the world is the rap Christmas album where I did something total different and work with a lot of different producers and made some really great music first Christmas single drops next month.
05:59But I have all kind of music ready.
06:02I have been recording through the whole quarantine.
06:05So my next EP is also ready and tons of, you know, just singles and stuff that I've been, you know, tucking away and putting in the can so that I can continue to just make great music for the world and bring people happy times.
06:20The grind don't stop.
06:212021.
06:22We'll we'll see what happens.
06:24You will you will have regrouped and be refreshed.
06:28Yes, most definitely.
06:29And I'm coming back with Vengeance to Rona.
06:33We have to talk about the manner in which, though, you have seized and found creative opportunity because the Rona Rona song absolutely slaps.
06:45I sent it out to a bunch of friends and people just hit me back like I want to be singing this all day.
06:50Listen, I actually shot Rona way in March and we had to change the beat to Rona maybe like three times.
07:00A lot of people like it is a fun video, you know, and it's making great, great headlines.
07:06After all we've been through, it was the first time that I got to just like laugh and and be in the energy of like, oh, we're we're having a little bit of fun with what we're going through.
07:17You know, we're going to make it through, though, one day at a time.
07:21That's all I tell everybody.
07:22One day at a time.
07:24You know, Rona has put a lot of people in different situations.
07:27And, you know, it also gave some people time to really reevaluate their life and rest and take some time off to their cells.
07:37You know, this is some tough times right now that we're living in.
07:40But through prayer and through the grace of God, I'm making it.
07:44Just spending time on your Instagram, I was blown away by this garden cooking sessions that you're doing.
07:52This is amazing.
07:54I can tell that you're doing it because you want to be there.
07:57You know, when when COVID started, I wanted to do something that I could connect with my fans just because, you know, things were so crazy and people were freaking out, you know, losing their mind.
08:10So I started doing it at my house and doing what you're cooking Wednesday and gospel brunch on Sunday.
08:16And the response was just so amazing.
08:18And all the people that were tuning in, they were having fun.
08:21You know, I was teaching as well, you know, different little meals to cook and throw down with.
08:27I just been having a great time, you know, as an opportunity for me to keep learning as well as I grow, you know, learning more about the culinary world.
08:37And, you know, all of the food things that I want to do.
08:41You know, I'm at home pondering every week when I'm a cook this week.
08:45Oh, my God, I got to figure out this.
08:46I want to do something different that's never been done.
08:49Well, thank you for getting in the lifeboat and continuing to give us life with your music and with your passion.
08:56And most importantly, with with choosing to be and represent your your whole and entire self.
09:03I mean, you you inspire so many different types of people to to wake up every day and be like, I'm going to be me.
09:10I'm going to be the entirety of who I am.
09:12It's only one way that you should live.
09:14And that's be you.
09:15Indeed.
09:16Well, again, it is an honor.
09:20This has been a great conversation.
09:22Good luck.
09:23Be safe.
09:23I appreciate it.
09:24Keep killing them.
09:25I still got a lot of work to do.
09:27All right.
09:28Be well.
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