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Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia ( FREE-də), is an American rapper and performer known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which had been largely underground since developing in the early 1990s. Freedia is a gay man who also embraces his "feminine side"; he believes gender is on a spectrum and is ambivalent about his pronouns, stating, "I'm gender nonconforming, fluid, nonbinary. If I had known the 'queen' in Queen Diva would cause so much confusion, I might have called myself the king!" He has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé, who sampled his voice for her song, "Formation" and on her 2022 number-one hit "Break My Soul", Lizzo, Kesha, New Kids on the Block, Jordin Sparks, Naughty by Nature, Boyz II Men, and with Drake on his 2018 number-one hit "Nice for What". In 2011, he was named Best Emerging Artist and Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist in January's "Best of the Beat Awards", and was nominated for the 2011 22nd GLAAD Media Awards. In 2013, he got his own reality show on the Fuse Channel, which chronicles his life on tour and at home. On July 7, 2015, he released his autobiography God Save the Queen Diva!. At the end of 2016, Freedia was featured in a local New Orleans television ad for Juan LaFonta Law Office, in which he is shown rapping with bounce music and dancers. In 2018, he released the EP Third Ward Bounce. Freedia was scheduled to go on tour with Kesha in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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