Freedia identifies as a gay man and is ambivalent about pronouns, using all of them interchangeably. Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which had been largely underground since developing in the early 1990s. (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia ( / ˈ f r iː d ə/ FREE-də), is an American rapper known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music.