If I can’t shake my ass like Big Freedia and many of his fans in the audience, then doggone it, I’m gonna shake it online. Our favorite queer sissy-bounce artist has teamed up with Vice to present Booty Battle, the game where you have to defeat your opponent’s booty shakes to unlock a free download. And of course, master booty shaking domination. I caught some of that action when Big Freedia played The Loft in 2010.
OK, but enough of that. I gotta go werq it now and unlock that download.
Spinner posted this new video by rapper Big Freedia. He told the site, “I recorded the song in response to all the people getting mad at my success. You watch that video, feel that beat and see those dancers coming hard, and I’m like ‘Na Who Mad’?” I love seeing the fringe rapper grow his profile and the video is hella fun, even with the ladies dry humping the street. Yaka yaka yaka.
The song is from the his upcoming mixtape, God Save the Queen Diva. You can download this track for free though by clicking here.
Read more Queer Music News after the jump.
The word is out that our favorite former sometimes-Dallasite George Michael is working on an album collaborating with a specific group of musicians. NME reported that “The singer, who is due to tour the UK in the winter with a 41 piece symphonic orchestra, had previously revealed that his next studio album would be made with a collective of gay artists, in an effort to ‘correct the damage’ his recent behavior had caused in ‘letting young gay kids down.’”
Now I’m a fan of Michael, but you know, I was let down too by his behavior and I KNOW his music. Our 19 year-old intern didn’t know much about Michael post-Faith. Come on, George. Us older fans want some of your attention, too.
ANYWAY, with his new vow to work with “either gay or gay friendly artists – possibly unknown ones,” I wondered who would be a good match. Minus bigger queer stars, I went from mid-range down:
That’s just what I think. Who would you pick?
Homo-hopper Big Freedia clearly knows how to burn the cardio as he teaches this aerobics class how to bounce the pounds away in his new video for “Excuse.” The queer rapper released this vid recently and also teamed up with Scion A/V to release a free five-song EP download on Soundcloud. Score!
He’s back on tour according to his website. These tour dates don’t include Dallas, yet, but how can we ever forget his show at The Loft here in December last year? Or his appearance at NX35 this spring? Here’s hoping he brings some of that “Azz Everywhere” back.
Scion A/V Presents: Big Freedia – Excuse from Scion A/V on Vimeo.
So you might think Lady Gaga’s mini-gig Sunday night at Round-Up and S4 was the gayest show of the weekend, but sissy bounce superstar Big Freedia likely gives her a run for her money, albeit with bearded hipsters instead of club-going gays. The Denton conferette is North Texas’ answer to SXSW and they outdid themselves this year with a packed lineup including the likes of higher profile names like Mavis Staples, !!! and, yes, Big Freedia. And a few locals as well.
After the jump are three vids posted of Big Freedia’s performance, which isn’t much different than the vid I took of his show back in December.
The NX35 Music Conferette gets underway for a four-day music conference in little ol’ Denton. Little D’s answer to SXSW, NX35 gets way impressive with some pretty familiar names on the roster. The fest begins with legendary soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples and continues with outrageous sissy bouncer Big Freedia, pictured, on Saturday.
Visit here for Sunday’s schedule.
DEETS: NX35 event grounds, 110 W. Hickory St., Denton. Through March 13. 35Conferette.com
Friday 03.04A true international male
Nikolai Alekseev has become the face of Russia’s LGBT community. He comes to Dallas to discuss the plight and triumphs of gays worldwide and how today’s community can work toward equality everywhere. Gay Liberation Network’s Andy Thayer from Chicago joins Alekseev talking about his experiences in Russia.
DEETS: Interfaith Peace Chapel, 5910 Cedar Springs Road. 7 p.m. InterfaithPeaceChapel.org.
Let’s try this again, shall we?
Caven celebrates Mardi Gras across its clubs with Carnivale VI. With Ricky Sinz at TMC: The Mining Company and aerial artist Amber Monson at Sue’s, the night is highlighted by the return of Cazwell at Station 4. We’re not expecting the same Super Bowl party debacle that canceled his last show here. We are expecting a major crowd, if it’s anything like his last S4 gig.
DEETS: Station 4, 3911 Cedar Springs Road. $15–$20. PartyatTheBlock.com
Denton deals a pair of queens
The NX35 Music Conferette gets underway for a four-day music conference in little ol’ Denton. Little D’s answer to SXSW, NX35 gets way impressive with some pretty familiar names on the roster. The fest begins with legendary soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples and ends with outrageous sissy bouncer Big Freedia on Saturday.
DEETS: NX35 event grounds, 110 W. Hickory St., Denton. 35Conferette.com
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 4, 2011.
I would have mentioned Burlesque, but the Golden Globes beat GLAAD to the punch. Anyhow, those are just two of the nominees GLAAD has announced for this year’s media awards. Unfortunately the Dallas Voice missed out on all the journalism nominations, but you know, the Atlanta Journal Constitution does a great job on LGBT issues?! Congrats are in order. GLAAD’s fetish of pissing on the gay press continues, but really, who are we compared to nominee People Magazine in regards to covering the gay stuff? And hey, what about Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives?
But seriously, I am pretty stoked about the music nominations. The nominees for outstanding music artist (LGBT music artists who released an original album in 2010) are:
_________________________________________________________________________________
| Antony and the Johnsons Swanlights (Secretly Canadian) |
Big Freedia Big Freedia Hitz Vol. 1 (Big Freedia Records) |
Chely Wright Lifted Off the Ground (Vanguard Records) |
Kele Okereke The Boxer (Glassnote Records) |
Scissor Sisters Night Work (Downtown Record |
I’ll go out on a limb and predict Chely Wright as the clear winner, but wouldn’t mind a Big Freedia upset. Nothing against Wright, but Freedia’s was definitely the most exciting of this bunch and took us to places many haven’t been to much before.
GLAAD also announced its Spanish-language nominees.
Walking into The Loft at a little after 11 p.m., I was stunned how empty the place was. With the DJ at full throttle onstage playing some nice high-energy hip-hop, I had high hopes that Big Freedia had more of a following outside New Orleans. The crowd dug the DJ and bounced to the tunes and it was pretty much just a night at a dance club. Before Freedia was about to go on, the place began to fill up. Although I’m not sure all were totally Freedia fans, it was definitely a hip-hop crowd.
The gay contingent was hard to decipher. I loved how JW Richard of the new Groove Loves Melody music blog described some of the hard-to-read peeps as “undercover candy.” So true. But otherwise, a mixture of gay and straight, white, black, Latino, old and young — although definitely more young.
With just a handful of songs, Freedia threw down one pretty sweet party. Despite the fans being outnumbered by non-fans (because fans knew the words and responses), his music is infectious and the crowd didn’t care about his frankness of being the Queen Diva of Bounce (they applauded, actually) among other things. Freedia had energy to spare and worked his dancehall calls to no end. But really, I learned a Freedia show is about that ass shaking and when the boys were besting the girls up there, it was a sight to behold. Some of the straight peeps had the “what the hell?” look, while everyone just went with the party flow and whooped and hollered.
It’s funny, because there wasn’t anything overly spectacular about the show. Freedia showed up, rapped, dance and that was it. But it was him and his music’s pumped up vibe that just flung its energy across the small venue and everyone caught it. I would dare to say that he probably won a few new fans that night who, like me, had no idea what to expect.
Here’s a glimpse of the show.
RICH LOPEZ | Staff Writer lopez@dallasvoice.com
BIG FREEDIA
with Rusty Lazer. The Loft,
1135 S. Lamar St.. Dec. 4. at
7:30 p.m. $12–$14.
GilleysDallas.com.
……………
Sissy bounce. The two words either say it all — or say it all wrong.
But Big Freedia says it’s just a party to him. Relying on heavy samples and jagged dance beats, the sound is having a resurgence just as its home, New Orleans, is, too. And for Freedia, right now is the time for the world to get onboard. The gay performer plans to show Dallas on Saturday just how New Orleans gets down.
“At the end of the day it’s all bounce music,” he says. “That category just separates us from other rappers, but I’m totally fine with it.”
“Bounce music” has its roots in Southern rap and is characterized by party beats, sexualized chants and call-outs. Add a queer slant to it and it becomes “sissy bounce.” Outside its Deep South roots, sissy bounce takes on a more underground flavor.
And people are taking notice. Articles have been appearing more in recent years featuring Freedia and his gay bounce contemporaries, Katey Red and Sissy Nobby. But the music and musicians may have gotten their most rewarding exposure when Jonathan Dee’s impressive piece in the New York Times, “New Orleans’ gender-bending rap,” came out this summer. When the Times takes notice, people follow.
“It’s not a new thing going on, just right now,” Freedia says. “The music has been around for 20 years, but it’s new for a lot of people all around. There’s a boom and I’m just excited to be one of those artists.”
Out musicians across genres are having a noticeable emergence in music. Beyond mainstream Ricky Martins and Melissa Etheridges, indie rock, neo-folk and pop are genres bursting with their share of LGBT musicians contributing to the musical fabric; gay rappers Drew Mason and Yo! Majesty take on hip-hop to tell their stories in a genre that’s notoriously homophobic. But sissy bounce takes the gay perspective to different levels. The brash aggressiveness of it could be a declarative statement of Pride, but could it also perpetuate stereotypes?
“Bounce music is up-tempo with a heavy bass. It’s party music that’s all about ass-shaking and pussy-popping,” Freedia says.
Note that last part — sissy bounce is highly charged with lyrics on defiant sex and partying. Sometimes this is an image gay men can’t escape. As the profile of sissy bounce grows, it’s easy to ask if mainstream coverage will focus on the actual brilliance of the music as a whole or merely pinpoint lyrics that will be used as a tool against LGBT communities.
Sissy bounce might suffer from “parade syndrome,” where all mainstream media shows are scantily clad dancers and high-heeled drag queens rather than paint a complete picture. and rebuilding both his career and his home, Freedia is on the verge of bigger things and any publicity is good exposure. Besides, he’s got a positive message underneath all that rapping about “Azz Everywhere” and “Gin in my System.”
“My mission is to put bounce music all over the world and teach my culture about growing up with struggles. I firmly stand and believe on encouraging peers and my younger generation. If you believe in anything and move forward, good things can happen. That’s my message — especially in the gay world.”
Non-gay listeners can take heed as well. Freedia’s music has resulted in mixed crowds at his shows. This excites him as a gay performer to break boundaries.
“It don’t matter who it is. [Audiences are] loving what I’m singing and feeling it,” he says. “When I perform, my intention is all about bringing it and making people have a good time. Some people don’t know exactly how to accept it at first, but by the end, it’s a real party.”
Which sounds like a reasonable approach to the music itself for the uninitiated.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition December 3, 2010.
