A veteran of the New Orleans music scene who took the city's bounce music movement national around 2010, the flamboyant diva known as Big Freedia became the mainstream face of bounce, delivering high-energy, body-positive, and LGBTQ-empowering anthems such as "Booty-Whop" and "Explode" from the 2014 breakthrough Just Be Free, and "Rent" from 2018's 3rd Ward Bounce. In addition to her music, the bounce ambassador also starred in her own reality shows, Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce and Big Freedia Bounces Back.
Born Freddie Ross in 1978, Freedia grew up a fan of Sylvester, Micha...