Twerking With Big Freedia, Queen Of Bounce

Long before Miley Cyrus made twerking a household word, it was one of many provocative dance moves born out of the New Orleans club culture and subgenre of hip-hop known as bounce.

Big Freedia (pronounced "free-duh") -- the stage name of New Orleans native Freddie Ross -- is one of bounce's biggest stars and since the late 1990s, has helped bring a wave of openly queer bounce performers to wider audiences.

In an interview with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, the "Queen of Bounce" talks about her new reality show on the Fuse network, and about the art of booty shaking.

"It's all about the ass," says Big Freedia.

Big Freedia :: Azz Everywhere from Nathan Lee Bush on Vimeo.

Interview Highlights

Big Freedia, on trying to bring bounce to Connecticut:  

It was my first show and my only show in my whole career that the crowd was not prepared to accept me. They were pitching things; they were not happy. It was these young rich white boys and they were really upset that I was in the middle of Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa… a queen from New Orleans.

On Miley Cyrus' infamous twerking on MTV's VMAs:

She was -- what we call it is exercising, in New Orleans. It’s one of the dance moves. She didn’t properly twerk. [Proper twerking is] hands on your knees, back upright, and your butt going up and down, giving that basketball-type motion.