Future LGBTQ History Month: Big Freedia's Unapologetic Reign

Fuse is celebrating Pride Month by looking at a variety of rising forces who are creating Future LGBTQ History before our eyes. New Orleans' own Big Freedia started out performing at local bounce music shows in the late '90s, right as the sound started to creep beyond the Louisiana bayous. Today the openly gay rapper with the best weaves this side of the Mississippi is the face and voice of bounce around the world, and star of Fuse's most successful series to date, Big Freedia Bounces Back (formerly Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce).

Freedia's debut on the bounce scene was part of a movement of LGBTQ performers gaining notoriety. Katey Red, a transgender performer and huge inspiration to Freedia, released her first album in 1999 and is credited as birthing the "sissy bounce" sound. It's because of artists like Katey, Freedia and Sissy Nobby that it's common today to see a mix of LGBTQ and straight performers on bounce show lineups.