If you know what twerk means, or what it looks like, you can thank Big Freedia, aka Freddie Jones, aka The Queen Diva, for that bit of information. The ambassador of New Orleans bounce has been all about shaking that ass since the ‘90s.
Unfortunately, if you haven’t seen Freedia and her crew perform, you’re probably seeing a watered-down version (like that of Ms. Miley, who Freedia has recently given lessons to in order to correct that). Luckily, the queen of bounce is making the rounds thanks to her new album Just Be Free. And she’s pretty generous with advice, too. In fact, she's set to publish a memoir, tentatively titled Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva, out in 2015. Recently, Opening Ceremony chatted with Freedia before her Brooklyn Bowl show to set the twerk record straight.
JESSICA CHOU: You recently set the world record for most people twerking at once. What was that experience like?
BIG FREEDIA: It was a lot of fun. Actually I broke the record twice. I broke it here in New York, and then in New Orleans, which brought the record home. Lots of love and lots of energy—people were just so excited to be there. We had about 400-something participants, but there were close to 1,000 people out there spectating. People were really into it, and the city was definitely pumped about it.
Twerking has only gone mainstream recently, but you’ve been doing this since 1999.
Actually before that. Me and Katey Red started in ‘98 or whatever, but there were tons of artists before us. DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, Ms. Tee, Cheeky Blakk, MC Spud, and so forth. They’re all legendary artists and created the sound.
Is it weird to see twerking jump the shark?
It definitely feels weird sometimes. You know, people representin’, doing what you do, and they’re not involved per se, or didn’t grow up with it, or don’t know how far we’ve been. So sometimes it does bother us, but for the most part, I keep pushing to keep shakin’ ass. Now it’s like, as long as everybody does it, they get an A for effort from me. It shows that people are trying to get it.
To set the record straight, what is the right way to twerk?
You have to know how. Hands on your knees, back upright, and you’ll be able to pop that butt up and down. And it’s just like, practice makes perfect. You can see the motion better if you do it in the mirror, so I suggest everybody practice in the mirror. Practice kinda to the side. You gotta see yourself. Because you want to do it right, especially if you see it done.
In your last FUSE TV show, your creative director said that twerking is going to be over soon.
Those months passed already. It’s not true. I mean, it’ll be over at some point... I just don’t know what point that will be and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Really? You don’t think it’s going to blow over?
I mean ass is a celebration of life, you know, and I don’t know how you can pass on that so quickly. Just people and their bodies are celebrations of life.
Yeah, and people were all over that Kim Kardashian PAPER cover.
Miss thang, Kim Kardashian just crushed the Internet with that picture. I loved it.
Listen to Big Freedia's new track, "Explode"
Unfortunately, if you haven’t seen Freedia and her crew perform, you’re probably seeing a watered-down version (like that of Ms. Miley, who Freedia has recently given lessons to in order to correct that). Luckily, the queen of bounce is making the rounds thanks to her new album Just Be Free. And she’s pretty generous with advice, too. In fact, she's set to publish a memoir, tentatively titled Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva, out in 2015. Recently, Opening Ceremony chatted with Freedia before her Brooklyn Bowl show to set the twerk record straight.
JESSICA CHOU: You recently set the world record for most people twerking at once. What was that experience like?
BIG FREEDIA: It was a lot of fun. Actually I broke the record twice. I broke it here in New York, and then in New Orleans, which brought the record home. Lots of love and lots of energy—people were just so excited to be there. We had about 400-something participants, but there were close to 1,000 people out there spectating. People were really into it, and the city was definitely pumped about it.
Twerking has only gone mainstream recently, but you’ve been doing this since 1999.
Actually before that. Me and Katey Red started in ‘98 or whatever, but there were tons of artists before us. DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, Ms. Tee, Cheeky Blakk, MC Spud, and so forth. They’re all legendary artists and created the sound.
Is it weird to see twerking jump the shark?
It definitely feels weird sometimes. You know, people representin’, doing what you do, and they’re not involved per se, or didn’t grow up with it, or don’t know how far we’ve been. So sometimes it does bother us, but for the most part, I keep pushing to keep shakin’ ass. Now it’s like, as long as everybody does it, they get an A for effort from me. It shows that people are trying to get it.
To set the record straight, what is the right way to twerk?
You have to know how. Hands on your knees, back upright, and you’ll be able to pop that butt up and down. And it’s just like, practice makes perfect. You can see the motion better if you do it in the mirror, so I suggest everybody practice in the mirror. Practice kinda to the side. You gotta see yourself. Because you want to do it right, especially if you see it done.
In your last FUSE TV show, your creative director said that twerking is going to be over soon.
Those months passed already. It’s not true. I mean, it’ll be over at some point... I just don’t know what point that will be and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Really? You don’t think it’s going to blow over?
I mean ass is a celebration of life, you know, and I don’t know how you can pass on that so quickly. Just people and their bodies are celebrations of life.
Yeah, and people were all over that Kim Kardashian PAPER cover.
Miss thang, Kim Kardashian just crushed the Internet with that picture. I loved it.
Listen to Big Freedia's new track, "Explode"