If you go
* What: Big Freedia* Where: The Signal, 1810 Chestnut St.* When: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5* Admission: $17 and $34* For more information: 423-498-4700
Big Freedia, known as the Queen of Bounce, brings the New Orleans version of hip-hop, called bounce music, to The Signal Thursday night, Sept. 5.
Big Freedia, aka Freddie Ross, is a New Orleans rapper who has been credited with helping to popularize bounce music since it began in the early 1990s. Bounce is known for its call-and-response style and lightning-speed, booty-shaking dancing.
If you didn't catch Freedia last September in the Levitt Amp series, you'll want to stop in The Signal to see what it's all about.
A product of the hip-hop generation, Freedia heard "Where Dey At" by MC T Tucker (what many believe to be the first bounce track) and was transfixed. After starting as a back-up dancer for Katey Red, the original "Sissy Bounce" rapper, Freedia knew bounce was his calling and eventually broke out on his own.
After appearing in two episodes of the HBO series "Treme" as Freedia, he released a debut EP in 2010. From 2013-2017, Freedia starred in "Big Freedia Bounces Back" on the Fuse Network. The TV show received the GLAAD Media Award in 2014 and was nominated again in 2015.
Freedia wrote a memoir, "Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva," in 2015. In 2016, Freedia was featured on Beyonce's single "Formation."
- Compiled by staff writer Susan Pierce
Five Bounce Moves You Should Know
* The Twerk* The Shake* The Wiggle* The Bend Ova* Hands on the Ground