Big Freedia Explains the Secret to a Perfect Twerk
Anyone who hasn’t been in an isolation chamber for the past two years knows that twerking is a butts-up dance move that, when done properly, displays the full majesty of what the human ass is capable of. It’s been unavoidable in the mainstream electronic music since Diplo popularized it with his bounce-influenced “Express Yourself” (and that song’s corresponding Twitter fad) and Miley attempted it in her infamous VMA performance. Since then, Borgore has assembled a groupie army of twerkers, and Basement Jaxx invented the “Twerkbot.”
Big Freedia is arguably the person at the nexus of this cultural sensation. The New Orleans-bred, openly gay artist is the most notable artist to merge from the New Orleans bounce music scene, where twerking originated. Her performances are massively energetic displays of bounce and twerking at their finest, and their rawest. Freedia’s fourth studio album, Just Be Free, was released in June. Currently on tour, Freedia is also filming the third season of her television show (Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce, which airs on the Fuse network) and writing a memoir. The book is due out next spring. We spoke with her about her career.
Do you see yourself in the current landscape of electronic music?
Most definitely. I’m a part of expanding this bounce music to a whole ‘nother audience. I’m doing a lot with crossing my music over into the electronic world with EDM remixes and making awesome relationships with people in the process of helping the bounce culture to keep going. Diplo was one of the people—that’s how the “Express Yourself” video happened, that whole collaboration. He asked for me, and I was out of town, and I put in a connection with someone else who was able to fill that spot.
So you were supposed to do the part that [late rapper] Nicky da B did?
Yes. Definitely.
What was that like for you, seeing what a massive phenomenon that song became?
I’m happy that it happened. A lot of people were upset in my camp that he came during a time I was on the road. The person that connected it kind of knew what they were doing to put that other person in the position. It pissed me off at one point, but I’m totally over that, and I’m happy that the song got through. I’m happy that he opened up more doors for bounce music, and of course, for myself.
Did you ever see bounce and twerking getting as big as it now is, so mainstream?
Nope.
You’re kind of largely responsible for that.
Yes ma’am, I am so responsible for that.
How does that feel? It must be kind of wild.
It’s awesome. I’m a very hard worker, so I stay humble. It still hasn’t reached where I want it to reach, so I still have a lot of work to do in my process. I’m steady working to make it go even further.
Where do you want it to go?
Basically, I want to really take over—not just nationally, but inernationally—and I want it to be integrated into videos you see on TV and radio you hear all the time and to see us performing at award shows and so forth. It still hasn’t grown all the way to where it needs to be, and collaborating with a lot more artists, and all of that.
Do you think it was misappropriated by Miley Cyrus in her 2013 VMA performance?
I’m so over the Miley thing. I really am. She took something that was hot and put her name on it and tried to brand it, but of course it always comes back, and it comes back to me. So once again I just want to thank her for opening that door for bounce music and its culture. A lot of my people here were very pissed off and very upset. Like, “We’ve been doing this shit for a long time and you’ve been taking it around the world, and now she want to put her name on it.” Everybody can have their own opinion, and everyone is entitled to how they feel; for the most part it helped me out in another way, too.
How so?
Just like I said, getting that attention back drawn to me. She put it out there, but it always draws back to me.
What’s the key to a perfect twerk?
Practice for one, is the key to a perfect twerk. It takes time. I’ve been shakin’ for a very long time. It perfects itself every time, so definitely lots of practice and energy and feeling it within your soul when you’re doing it and believing in it, knowing that you own it when you do it. And, you know, hands on your knees, ass in the air, back upright, and let’s move it.
And how exactly does one release their wiggle, as you command on your single “Explode”? Is that the same thing as twerking?
No. Releasing your wiggle is just getting into your own zone and feeling the beat, and releasing it whichever way you want to release it. You might be on your hands with your legs in the air. You might be on your feet with your back bent over. Whichever way you want to release your wiggle, you can release it, but everybody gets into their own zone and releases their wiggle in certain, different ways.
Why do you think bounce music resonates so much in the LGBT community, so much so that the term “sissy bounce” was spawned out of it?
I guess because of the people representing it. They wanted to categorize us, so that’s how that term sissy bounce in an article here in New Orleans made all of that come about. But just being that it’s an energetic music; it’s an empowering music, and people in the LGBT community, we’re all about empowerment and new and fresh stuff, and then they support their own. When Big Freedia, this gay male, and Katey Redd this transexual and Sissy Nobby all the other gay rappers here—it was just a very powerful thing to see these other males dominating this culture and this style of music. We have full support behind our community.
Any upcoming collaborations we should know about?
Me and Diplo finally did take care of our collaboration, so you should be hearing a new one soon from me and him. There are some others in the works. I just want to surprise y’all, as I’m always doing.
Do you think it’s empowering to twerk?
It is, because you have to not be afraid to do it, first of all, and not care what people say when you do it. So it’s definitely a thing of empowerment that you have to be confident in your moves, confident in the lash you may get behind it—because not everyone agrees with twerking, and some people think it’s vulgar and that it’s degrading women and sexualizing them and all of that. Like I said, it’s a dance move definitely of empowerment. But you’ve gotta be good at it.
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