Big Freedia is revealing what went down when she met up with “very humble” and “sweet” Beyoncé following the making of her new single “Break My Soul.”
via Page Six:
Freedia exclusively tells Page Six that she was “grateful,” “humbled” and “excited” when the Grammy winner’s team reached out to hers about using her vocals from her 2014 song, “Explode” — but was “blown away” when she heard the final product two weeks ago at Beyoncé’s recording studio in Los Angeles.
“I mean, the speakers were like jumping at me. The bass was coming out of the speakers so heavy. I was in there just like shaking and like excited and overwhelmed,” she recalls.
The New Orleans native says she was “getting ready to leave the studio” when one of Beyoncé’s liaisons approached her and said, “Do you want to talk to the queen? She’s here.”
“I was like, ‘Holy crap. You know I wanna talk to her!’” Freedia tells us, explaining she “went over to her” and that the two “hugged” and “had a conversation.”
“She thanked me for being on her track. And I’m like, ‘No, thank you for having me as a guest on the track!’” she shares, adding that the former Destiny’s Child singer, 40, is “very humble,” “so sweet” and “laidback.”
“She only turns into [her stage persona] ‘Sasha Fierce’ when she hits stage.”
But the surprises didn’t stop there. Freedia says she had no heads up that “Break My Soul” would be dropping on June 20 as the debut single on Beyoncé’s forthcoming seventh solo studio album, “Renaissance.”
“I didn’t know that it was coming out. I didn’t know that I was the first single. I found out the same day y’all did,” she explains, saying she learned the news when Beyoncé “announced the name of the song” on her social media platforms a few hours before releasing it.
Though the track — a catchy dance anthem — is drastically different from what the BeyHive is used to, Freedia feels they created “the hottest song of the summer.”
“I mean, this is something that we all need. This is the summer anthem. It is something that will bring us all back together on the dance floor,” she says. “It’s powerful. It’s inspiration. It’s motivation. It’s gonna have people… in clubs dancing. It’s gonna have people in workout rooms dancing. In the gym. I mean, everywhere.”
Beyoncé feels similarly with regard to “Renaissance” as a whole, writing in part to her Instagram followers Thursday, “I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are.”
In addition to chasing her musical dreams, Freedia’s also been prioritizing her academic ones.
She decided to go back to school alongside seven other stars — including NeNe Leakes, Ray J, Lamar Odom, Stacey Dash, Slim Thug, India Love and Dreamdoll — for BET+’s original series, “College Hill: Celebrity Edition.”
Freedia tells us she roomed with the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum for the rewarding experience; however, her cameo on Season 12 — the first without Leakes — did not come up in conversation.
We’re ready for the rest of Bey’s album! July 29th can’t come soon enough.
