Big Freedia

The journey after Katrina, it opened a lot of doors for a lot of people. Coming from a rooftop to going to Hollywood and around the world, internationally teaching people about bounce music, definitely God is good and amazing about what he can do with your life.

I'm human, just like everyone else.

First and foremost, I'm human. I'm a person.

I'm a performer, so when I get to any space, I make it my own for that moment and have fun.

For a long time a lot of people thought New Orleans wasn't a safe place and that it was very ratchet.

Twerking - and it's a lot more than twerking - comes from a long history of music and dance in New Orleans. Twerkin' happen around the world for a long time now, so I'm very excited that it's coming into the public eye, as long as it's respected.

When I go shopping, I try to specify certain things for certain events, but most of the time, I have so much stuff to pull from at home in the closet.

Everybody knows that at a Freedia show, you're definitely going to have some crowd participation, and they're anticipating and waiting for that moment.

It has to do a lot more than just twerking. It's feel good music; it makes people have a good time. It doesn't matter what type of situation they're in, we bounce all around New Orleans. Weddings, birthday parties, funerals. The whole nine yards, and it's a happy music, it turns people from a frown to a happy smile.

My mother was my rock and my inspiration.

I've been dying to do something with Ms. Patti LaBelle because she is so iconic. I grew up listening to her with my mom in the house. She is such a big inspiration to me.

I mean you have to work hard to earn respect and make people respect you. When I come to the presence of any room or any place, people give me the most high respects and I'm gracious and appreciative of that.