Big Freedia at Nashville Pride, 6/29/2025
Internationally loved rapper Big Freedia, a larger-than-life ambassador of New Orleans bounce, is making her return to Music City after a powerhouse appearance at Nashville Pride in June. She’ll be performing today, Sept. 11, at Exit/In during the Crescent City Crossroads: A New Orleans Invocation showcase for AmericanaFest. Besides her own work, the bounce queen has lent her distinctive voice and signature phrases to many high-profile projects, including Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Lemonade track “Formation.”
Freedia does it all with grace and determination, including her new LP Pressing Onward, which she released in August and previewed for Nashville Pride attendees with an assist from LGBTQ-affirming choir Nashville in Harmony (who will be back onstage with her today). Featuring big names like Billy Porter and Dawn Richards, the gospel-themed bounce LP combines two of Freedia’s biggest passions — her music and her faith. A lifelong Baptist, Freedia discusses how her church family accepted her for who she is with open arms. The Scene caught up with her briefly by phone while she was on the road to Nashville for the show. Our interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Did your being a Christian ever clash with you also being a member of the LGBTQ community?
I've been a child of God since I was a kid, and so God is in the midst of all, all the time. So, since I was a kid, my church was very open, and they accepted me for who I was, and put their loving arms around me. They taught me all about God. God was faith, and God has been in my life since I was a very young kid. I live by faith. Well, I didn't know exactly what I was meant to do, but my mom and my family accepted me for who I was, and so living my truth was very much a thing for me at an early age.
How does Pressing Onward bridge the gap that can emerge between faith and being true to oneself?
There's something that people need to believe in. And I mean, whatever that higher power is, it's up to them to figure that out and kind of find their own way with spirit and God.
You are not only an artist but an entrepreneur as well — case in point, the recent launch of Wobble, your THC energy drink. Do you have any advice for young people interested in starting their own businesses?
My advice is you always have to have a plan. So whatever you're doing, especially with a business, you need a plan. You need resources, and you need to figure out concepts and all of the things that can make business successful. But most importantly, you have to work super hard, no matter what kind of business it is — be dedicated in order to be successful. Believe in your crafts, go hard, be creative, find your own way and live your truth.
