1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:15,599 --> 00:00:17,976 I think the '90s just resonate with us because 4 00:00:19,228 --> 00:00:20,729 they knew how to have fun. 5 00:00:23,190 --> 00:00:24,983 The world was more, like, pure. 6 00:00:27,903 --> 00:00:30,822 It was something organic and just real and for the people. 7 00:00:31,532 --> 00:00:32,991 It's damn near immortal. 8 00:00:35,118 --> 00:00:36,662 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ 9 00:00:36,745 --> 00:00:38,330 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Swoop, trappin' ♪ 10 00:00:38,413 --> 00:00:40,040 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ 11 00:00:40,123 --> 00:00:41,792 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Ay, go ♪ 12 00:00:41,875 --> 00:00:43,544 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ 13 00:00:43,627 --> 00:00:44,962 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Woo ♪ 14 00:00:45,045 --> 00:00:46,505 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ 15 00:00:46,588 --> 00:00:48,215 - ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ - ♪ Ay ♪ 16 00:00:48,298 --> 00:00:50,050 ♪ Pop it, don't stop it, shake that... ♪ 17 00:00:50,133 --> 00:00:52,219 Hey, man, Freaknik's always a vibe. 18 00:00:52,845 --> 00:00:55,264 And most of us, we were born in the '90s. 19 00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:58,267 I love all of the '90s aesthetics 20 00:00:58,350 --> 00:01:00,310 and so I wanted to give a little sparkle, a little shine, 21 00:01:00,394 --> 00:01:01,770 a little body, you know? 22 00:01:02,521 --> 00:01:05,274 Just the culture of Atlanta and Freaknik 23 00:01:05,357 --> 00:01:08,235 is very important to that. You know, hip-hop, all of that shit. 24 00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:11,822 Real Atlanta shit, real Freaknik shit. Yeah. 25 00:01:11,905 --> 00:01:13,282 We coming from the '90s 26 00:01:13,365 --> 00:01:15,117 so we only bringing home gold trophies, that's it. 27 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,451 ♪ Scrub the ground ♪ 28 00:01:16,535 --> 00:01:17,828 ♪ Been a scrub, scrub ♪ 29 00:01:17,911 --> 00:01:20,831 ♪ But I make her scrub the ground... ♪ 30 00:01:20,914 --> 00:01:23,292 Them kids ain't know nothin' about Freaknik. 31 00:01:25,335 --> 00:01:27,171 ♪ Come on, come on, shake, shake it ♪ 32 00:01:27,254 --> 00:01:28,964 ♪ Come on, shake, shake it ♪ 33 00:01:29,047 --> 00:01:31,008 ♪ Come on, come on, shake, shake it ♪ 34 00:01:31,091 --> 00:01:32,551 ♪ Come on, shake, shake it ♪ 35 00:01:32,634 --> 00:01:34,303 ♪ Come on, come on, shake, shake it ♪ 36 00:01:34,386 --> 00:01:36,138 ♪ Come on, shake, shake it ♪ 37 00:01:36,221 --> 00:01:37,306 ♪ Come on ♪ 38 00:01:38,056 --> 00:01:39,975 This wasn't an adult-sanctioned event. 39 00:01:40,058 --> 00:01:41,643 This is something that was driven by the youth. 40 00:01:41,727 --> 00:01:43,353 People were coming from far 41 00:01:43,437 --> 00:01:46,190 to experience Freaknik, purely by word of mouth. 42 00:01:46,273 --> 00:01:48,025 It wasn't no social media, 43 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:49,193 barely had internet. 44 00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:50,819 If you were a true baller, 45 00:01:50,903 --> 00:01:53,655 you would have the big camcorder and put it on your shoulder. 46 00:01:55,490 --> 00:01:56,950 People was outside they cars, 47 00:01:57,034 --> 00:01:58,202 people was on top of they cars. 48 00:01:58,285 --> 00:01:59,953 There wasn't even a word called twerking. 49 00:02:00,037 --> 00:02:01,330 It was just called booty shaking. 50 00:02:03,165 --> 00:02:05,876 The streets, the people, the girls. 51 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:08,086 The debauchery. 52 00:02:08,170 --> 00:02:10,005 I don't know what heaven looks like, 53 00:02:10,088 --> 00:02:12,174 but this seems like a version of it. 54 00:02:12,257 --> 00:02:13,967 ♪ Let me see you shake it, shake it ♪ 55 00:02:14,051 --> 00:02:15,052 ♪ Shake it, shake it ♪ 56 00:02:15,135 --> 00:02:16,929 ♪ Shorty, swing my way ♪ 57 00:02:17,012 --> 00:02:19,097 Freaknik was much bigger than just a party. 58 00:02:19,181 --> 00:02:20,766 It was fashion, it was culture, 59 00:02:20,849 --> 00:02:22,434 it was food, it was music. 60 00:02:23,268 --> 00:02:26,438 And it was just Black, Black, Black, Black, Black everywhere. 61 00:02:26,522 --> 00:02:29,816 Black love, Black excellence. Black enterprise. 62 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:35,030 Freaknik was the greatest Black gathering in America. 63 00:02:35,113 --> 00:02:38,116 They didn't know to bring order to it 'cause it was kids. 64 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,369 Any revolution ever in the history of the world, 65 00:02:40,452 --> 00:02:43,080 when it's youth, they're not even speaking the same language, 66 00:02:43,163 --> 00:02:44,873 so how can you understand the value? 67 00:02:45,415 --> 00:02:49,086 This is when we began to see this is not gonna last forever. 68 00:02:49,545 --> 00:02:52,381 Freaknik no longer is about college students having a good time. 69 00:02:52,464 --> 00:02:54,633 It's about a breakdown in law and order. 70 00:02:54,716 --> 00:02:55,926 I think that's the mayor's fault. 71 00:02:56,009 --> 00:02:57,719 People wasn't out here looking for no problems. 72 00:02:57,803 --> 00:02:59,346 They was lookin' out here to have fun. 73 00:02:59,429 --> 00:03:01,890 Every time somebody ran, they ran from the police. 74 00:03:02,558 --> 00:03:04,351 Yeah, you just knew it wasn't right. 75 00:03:04,434 --> 00:03:06,979 It turned into something a little dark, a little dangerous. 76 00:03:12,401 --> 00:03:13,986 - ♪ Cap D comin', Cap D comin' ♪ - ♪ Ride, ride ♪ 77 00:03:14,069 --> 00:03:15,737 - ♪ Cap D comin', Cap D comin' ♪ - ♪ Ride, ride, ride, ride ♪ 78 00:03:15,821 --> 00:03:17,239 - ♪ Cap D comin', Cap D comin' ♪ - ♪ Ride, ride ♪ 79 00:03:17,322 --> 00:03:18,740 ♪ Let's go, give it up now ♪ 80 00:03:18,824 --> 00:03:20,242 ♪ Beat that fine move ♪ 81 00:03:20,325 --> 00:03:21,869 ♪ Fuck niggas rock too ♪ 82 00:03:21,952 --> 00:03:23,495 ♪ My niggas no good ♪ 83 00:03:23,579 --> 00:03:25,289 ♪ Ain't nothin' but her so good ♪ 84 00:03:25,372 --> 00:03:26,665 ♪ Trick Daddy in the house ♪ 85 00:03:26,748 --> 00:03:28,250 ♪ Disrespect, watch your mouth ♪ 86 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:29,793 ♪ She eat all D ♪ 87 00:03:29,877 --> 00:03:31,211 - ♪ And dog you to captain D ♪ - ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 88 00:03:31,295 --> 00:03:33,172 ♪ I like my hoes never home, always in the street hoe-ing ♪ 89 00:03:33,255 --> 00:03:34,923 ♪ Three to the store with their ass cheeks showing ♪ 90 00:03:35,007 --> 00:03:37,176 ♪ Lookin' fly with their hair and nails done up been in that coupe ♪ 91 00:03:37,259 --> 00:03:38,760 ♪ Them the ones I like to run up in, unh ♪ 92 00:03:38,844 --> 00:03:40,220 ♪ Like the big booty hoes with cute faces ♪ 93 00:03:40,304 --> 00:03:41,763 ♪ Let a nigga hit it on the first-day basis ♪ 94 00:03:41,847 --> 00:03:43,515 ♪ Niggas fake but ya kick game straight ♪ 95 00:03:43,599 --> 00:03:45,350 ♪ X and O's down with the diamond name plates, unh ♪ 96 00:03:53,567 --> 00:03:56,236 So you gotta understand, Atlanta didn't start with Freaknik. 97 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,238 It didn't start with the proliferation 98 00:03:58,322 --> 00:04:00,282 of reality TV shows. 99 00:04:00,699 --> 00:04:02,534 It didn't start with the music industry. 100 00:04:02,618 --> 00:04:05,787 Atlanta has been the shit for Black people. 101 00:04:06,455 --> 00:04:08,457 It was the shit when Little Richard played here. 102 00:04:08,540 --> 00:04:10,751 It was the shit when James Brown played here. 103 00:04:10,834 --> 00:04:13,462 It was the shit when Muhammad Ali fought here. 104 00:04:13,545 --> 00:04:18,050 But what really makes it the shit is every generation has a Freaknik moment 105 00:04:18,133 --> 00:04:20,552 where they come just to have some fun, 106 00:04:20,636 --> 00:04:22,679 and they fuck around and find freedom. 107 00:04:25,307 --> 00:04:28,060 ♪ I got somethin' else to tell you 'bout the new Motown ♪ 108 00:04:28,143 --> 00:04:30,312 ♪ Where people don't visit, they move out here ♪ 109 00:04:30,395 --> 00:04:32,940 ♪ And ain't no tellin' who you might see up in Lenox Square ♪ 110 00:04:33,023 --> 00:04:35,275 ♪ I don't know about you, but I miss the Freaknik ♪ 111 00:04:35,359 --> 00:04:38,362 ♪ 'Cause that's when my city used to be real sick... ♪ 112 00:04:38,445 --> 00:04:40,781 People were coming from other states, 113 00:04:40,864 --> 00:04:42,574 Black people, 114 00:04:42,658 --> 00:04:44,368 and they saw the freedom. 115 00:04:44,910 --> 00:04:46,453 The police gon' look like you, 116 00:04:46,537 --> 00:04:48,121 the club owners gon' look like you. 117 00:04:48,205 --> 00:04:50,999 This like the mecca for Black people in America. 118 00:04:51,083 --> 00:04:52,376 When you came to Atlanta, 119 00:04:52,459 --> 00:04:54,127 it made you feel like, "I could be an entrepreneur, 120 00:04:54,211 --> 00:04:57,714 I could do anything, because, look, I see people who look like me." 121 00:04:57,798 --> 00:04:59,383 So people started looking at that like, 122 00:04:59,466 --> 00:05:02,010 "Yo, this is where I wanna move to and raise my family." 123 00:05:02,094 --> 00:05:04,054 Growing up in the SWATS, 124 00:05:04,137 --> 00:05:05,764 it was like our own little Wakanda. 125 00:05:05,848 --> 00:05:07,975 All of my friends' parents were successful 126 00:05:08,058 --> 00:05:11,854 and you didn't have that in a lot of, you know, other metropolitan areas, 127 00:05:11,937 --> 00:05:15,274 like this real influx of middle-class America. 128 00:05:17,067 --> 00:05:18,902 When you look through the ranks 129 00:05:18,986 --> 00:05:20,320 of leadership in the city, 130 00:05:20,404 --> 00:05:22,781 there was a longstanding agreement 131 00:05:22,865 --> 00:05:26,618 that Black people would have political power in Atlanta 132 00:05:26,702 --> 00:05:28,704 and white people had economic power, 133 00:05:28,787 --> 00:05:31,707 and we would meet in the city, do business, 134 00:05:31,790 --> 00:05:35,085 and typically retreated to segregated neighborhoods. 135 00:05:35,169 --> 00:05:38,881 And so that was an understanding that allowed the city to flourish 136 00:05:38,964 --> 00:05:40,966 in an uninterrupted way for decades. 137 00:05:42,050 --> 00:05:44,219 'Cause Atlanta, in many ways, for Black people 138 00:05:44,303 --> 00:05:45,554 represents possibility. 139 00:05:45,637 --> 00:05:48,056 Cultural possibility, economic possibility 140 00:05:48,140 --> 00:05:49,433 and educational possibility. 141 00:05:50,934 --> 00:05:53,145 There is a history in this country of the establishment 142 00:05:53,228 --> 00:05:55,814 not wanting Black people to have access to education, 143 00:05:55,898 --> 00:05:58,108 and so we had to build our own. 144 00:06:07,409 --> 00:06:10,329 What Atlanta already has built into it 145 00:06:10,412 --> 00:06:12,915 is that it has multiple historically Black colleges. 146 00:06:12,998 --> 00:06:15,125 So you have the young people who are coming to college 147 00:06:15,209 --> 00:06:17,377 and saying, "Well, hey, I like Atlanta, I'm staying." 148 00:06:17,461 --> 00:06:19,630 And you begin to see this kind of influx of people. 149 00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:38,482 The HBCU all around the country was a vibrant site 150 00:06:38,565 --> 00:06:41,401 of Black life and Black culture for over a century. 151 00:06:41,485 --> 00:06:44,279 The draw for going to an HBCU 152 00:06:44,363 --> 00:06:48,242 and coming to Atlanta specifically was the AUC: 153 00:06:48,325 --> 00:06:51,578 Spelman, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Clark Atlanta. 154 00:06:51,662 --> 00:06:54,831 It's literally like walking inside of the classroom 155 00:06:54,915 --> 00:06:58,418 and your cousins and your sisters and your brothers are there 156 00:06:58,502 --> 00:07:01,004 and you're just looking right back at yourself. 157 00:07:01,088 --> 00:07:03,632 I remember saying, "This is like a utopia here 158 00:07:03,715 --> 00:07:07,469 in the AU Center," because you see Black people 159 00:07:07,553 --> 00:07:11,056 in positions of power and prominence all the time. 160 00:07:11,139 --> 00:07:14,351 It was nothing to have Angela Davis visit the campus 161 00:07:14,434 --> 00:07:16,186 or to have Jesse Jackson, 162 00:07:16,270 --> 00:07:18,939 because that was just the environment we were in. 163 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:21,817 The Atlanta University Center 164 00:07:21,900 --> 00:07:25,195 is the reason Atlanta became the Black mecca. 165 00:07:25,279 --> 00:07:28,073 You just will not find that experience anywhere else. 166 00:07:28,156 --> 00:07:31,243 As a Black woman, as a woman, 167 00:07:31,326 --> 00:07:34,454 it was really the only time that I was part of the majority, 168 00:07:34,538 --> 00:07:36,540 and everything's just for us and about us. 169 00:07:38,876 --> 00:07:41,295 Well, hi, everybody, from Daytona Beach, in Florida, 170 00:07:41,378 --> 00:07:43,714 where right now, it is spring break time 171 00:07:43,797 --> 00:07:47,634 and it is a mecca for the college-age crowd. How many? Well-- 172 00:07:47,718 --> 00:07:49,970 It was a group of Washington D.C. students 173 00:07:50,053 --> 00:07:52,306 attending college here who kicked off what was then 174 00:07:52,389 --> 00:07:54,224 a very different kind of event, 175 00:07:54,308 --> 00:07:56,560 attended by not thousands or even hundreds, 176 00:07:56,643 --> 00:07:58,103 but 50 young people. 177 00:07:58,187 --> 00:08:00,731 Sharon Toomer showed me the group that started 178 00:08:00,814 --> 00:08:03,942 what the city now calls Black College Spring Break. 179 00:08:10,449 --> 00:08:13,493 When was the last time you saw Tony, Monique, Emma? 180 00:08:13,577 --> 00:08:15,871 Probably, phew, 40 years. 181 00:08:15,954 --> 00:08:18,248 Since graduation. 182 00:08:18,332 --> 00:08:19,833 It's been too long. 183 00:08:27,883 --> 00:08:29,676 Oh, my goodness, look who it is. 184 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,803 Oh, my goodness, Amadi! 185 00:08:34,431 --> 00:08:36,016 Oh, my goodness. 186 00:08:36,099 --> 00:08:37,726 Y'all still look the same, 187 00:08:37,809 --> 00:08:39,603 except Emma's hair has turned blue. 188 00:08:42,105 --> 00:08:44,775 We were just bringing a little piece of Chocolate City to Atlanta. 189 00:08:44,858 --> 00:08:46,818 That's exac-- That's a good way to put it. 190 00:08:46,902 --> 00:08:48,278 That's a good way to put it, Tony. 191 00:08:48,362 --> 00:08:50,739 But the thing is, is that the way we started it 192 00:08:50,822 --> 00:08:52,366 - is not how it ended. - Right. 193 00:08:52,449 --> 00:08:54,952 And that's, I think, people don't know that. 194 00:08:55,035 --> 00:08:57,871 I think when people hear the word "Freaknik," 195 00:08:57,955 --> 00:09:00,082 - they think of the '90s. - Right. 196 00:09:00,165 --> 00:09:03,168 - But people did not know about the '80s. - Yeah. 197 00:09:03,252 --> 00:09:05,087 They didn't know how we started it. 198 00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:06,755 They don't know where the name came from. 199 00:09:06,839 --> 00:09:08,423 We had no money. 200 00:09:08,507 --> 00:09:11,677 We were, we, we were getting support from left and right 201 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,095 and we made it happen. 202 00:09:13,178 --> 00:09:14,346 And I'm telling you, 203 00:09:14,429 --> 00:09:16,890 - we had no inclination... - Right. 204 00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:20,394 ...to the depth of-of a legacy we were creating. 205 00:09:37,035 --> 00:09:38,996 Once you got to the AU campus, 206 00:09:39,079 --> 00:09:41,290 just about every state had a club. 207 00:09:41,373 --> 00:09:44,501 That was the opportunity to develop your first comradery. 208 00:09:45,544 --> 00:09:47,129 The state clubs, 209 00:09:47,212 --> 00:09:51,049 I think today it would be what social media is. 210 00:09:51,133 --> 00:09:54,928 The state clubs is what drew people closer together. 211 00:09:55,387 --> 00:09:58,265 There was a Michigan Club, we had a California Club. 212 00:09:58,348 --> 00:10:00,184 There was a tri-state club, a Philly club, 213 00:10:00,267 --> 00:10:02,186 I guess it was for Pennsylvania. 214 00:10:02,269 --> 00:10:05,522 But of all of the state clubs, all the state organizations, 215 00:10:05,606 --> 00:10:10,611 I'd say that the DC Metro Club, we were the ones that had the reputation. 216 00:10:10,694 --> 00:10:13,530 We were the ones that threw the best parties. 217 00:10:16,241 --> 00:10:18,452 We wanted to provide events that would help 218 00:10:18,535 --> 00:10:21,622 to support our students around things like the school breaks, 219 00:10:21,705 --> 00:10:24,833 where we could party and just celebrate being together. 220 00:10:24,917 --> 00:10:28,504 It came time for our spring break activity. 221 00:10:28,587 --> 00:10:30,172 Some people were going home, 222 00:10:30,255 --> 00:10:32,132 some people were going someplace else. 223 00:10:32,216 --> 00:10:35,719 But a lot of us were staying in Atlanta for the spring break. 224 00:10:35,802 --> 00:10:38,555 We're only talking about like a, you know, a week time. 225 00:10:40,307 --> 00:10:42,726 Many people couldn't afford to go home. 226 00:10:42,809 --> 00:10:45,270 I was... [laughs] I was one of them. 227 00:10:45,354 --> 00:10:48,440 So we, you know, we decided, "Well, hey, we're all here. 228 00:10:48,524 --> 00:10:51,652 We need to get together. We need to do something." 229 00:10:52,194 --> 00:10:54,321 So we said, "Let's plan a picnic. 230 00:10:54,404 --> 00:10:56,823 We're gonna have a picnic during spring break." 231 00:10:56,907 --> 00:11:01,995 I said, you know, "We need to have some kind of a theme for the year 232 00:11:02,079 --> 00:11:04,915 so we can plan all of our events around a theme." 233 00:11:04,998 --> 00:11:06,917 And I remember Tony said to me, 234 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:08,669 something to the effect that, 235 00:11:08,752 --> 00:11:11,296 "We should bring back the freak." 236 00:11:11,380 --> 00:11:13,257 And so from that point on, 237 00:11:13,340 --> 00:11:16,218 each event that we had, somehow or another, 238 00:11:16,301 --> 00:11:19,930 had the word "freak" incorporated into the name of the event 239 00:11:20,013 --> 00:11:21,265 when we promoted it. 240 00:11:22,891 --> 00:11:27,104 In 1978, Chic debuted this song, Chic Le Freak. 241 00:11:27,187 --> 00:11:28,230 Of course the song goes... 242 00:11:28,313 --> 00:11:29,815 ♪ Ah, freak out ♪ 243 00:11:30,482 --> 00:11:32,901 And then there's a dance that accompanies it. 244 00:11:32,985 --> 00:11:34,069 ♪ Freak out ♪ 245 00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:38,282 People think that the Freak is freaky, 246 00:11:38,365 --> 00:11:40,701 but when we were doing the Freak, 247 00:11:40,784 --> 00:11:45,414 it wasn't scandalous, but it was fun. 248 00:11:48,709 --> 00:11:51,003 We decided on a date for the spring picnic, 249 00:11:51,086 --> 00:11:53,213 now we've gotta come up with a name 250 00:11:53,297 --> 00:11:56,633 and something that's gonna fit in with our theme. 251 00:11:56,717 --> 00:11:59,595 And so our classmate said, 252 00:11:59,678 --> 00:12:01,388 "Let's call it 'Freaknik.'" 253 00:12:02,389 --> 00:12:06,101 Merging of "picnic," which we shouldn't be using anymore, 254 00:12:06,185 --> 00:12:08,812 now that we now are educated on what picnic meant, 255 00:12:08,896 --> 00:12:10,272 and "freak." 256 00:12:10,355 --> 00:12:11,773 I thought it was really clever. 257 00:12:11,857 --> 00:12:13,066 That's a beautiful thing. 258 00:12:13,150 --> 00:12:15,694 I mean, we just come up with stuff on the fly. 259 00:12:19,948 --> 00:12:21,909 The title is absolutely misleading 260 00:12:21,992 --> 00:12:23,535 'cause you would think it was just somethin' 261 00:12:23,619 --> 00:12:26,330 where everybody's wildin' and people strippin' on the streets 262 00:12:26,413 --> 00:12:28,582 and, you know, having sex everywhere. 263 00:12:28,665 --> 00:12:30,709 But Freaknik was just a-- it was just a party. 264 00:12:30,792 --> 00:12:33,003 It was just a-a southern cookout, right? 265 00:12:33,670 --> 00:12:36,048 We needed to promote it, advertise it. 266 00:12:36,131 --> 00:12:38,509 We had to buy food and we, of course, we would sell the food. 267 00:12:38,592 --> 00:12:41,178 Hot dogs and potato chips and, you know, that kinda stuff. 268 00:12:41,261 --> 00:12:42,262 Sodas and beer. 269 00:12:43,347 --> 00:12:46,266 We selected the spot for the first one. 270 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,521 This just nondescript area of Piedmont Park 271 00:12:50,604 --> 00:12:53,732 on the corner of 10th Avenue and Monroe Drive, 272 00:12:54,316 --> 00:12:56,235 that at that time was really pretty barren 273 00:12:56,318 --> 00:12:58,570 and just a good spot we could meet there. 274 00:13:00,447 --> 00:13:03,283 We did a lot of work to bring that Freaknik 275 00:13:03,367 --> 00:13:05,160 that we had at Piedmont Park. 276 00:13:05,244 --> 00:13:09,456 I can remember... gosh, reaching out for donations, 277 00:13:09,540 --> 00:13:12,000 reaching out for so much help, 278 00:13:12,084 --> 00:13:15,254 and the community was so supportive of us 279 00:13:15,337 --> 00:13:17,506 and it was a success. 280 00:13:21,218 --> 00:13:24,638 We were like, "Wow, did I do that?" 281 00:13:24,721 --> 00:13:26,932 You know? But it-it worked. 282 00:13:27,015 --> 00:13:31,103 What started out as a necessity for us 283 00:13:31,186 --> 00:13:34,022 as a fill-in spring break event 284 00:13:34,106 --> 00:13:36,650 definitely became something that filled a void 285 00:13:36,733 --> 00:13:39,361 for other Black college students in the area. 286 00:13:39,444 --> 00:13:41,029 From that point on, 287 00:13:41,113 --> 00:13:43,407 they began to be our marketing and our promotion, 288 00:13:43,490 --> 00:13:45,450 because everybody was like, "When is the next one? 289 00:13:45,534 --> 00:13:46,869 When is the next one?" 290 00:13:46,952 --> 00:13:48,120 ♪ I feel like bustin' loose ♪ 291 00:13:48,203 --> 00:13:50,247 College students can't go home and after a while, 292 00:13:50,330 --> 00:13:52,624 college students don't wanna go home. 293 00:13:52,708 --> 00:13:54,084 Whoo! 294 00:13:54,168 --> 00:13:56,044 Yeah, Freaknik! 295 00:13:56,128 --> 00:13:58,088 I'll be back, though. I'm looking forward to coming back. 296 00:14:00,340 --> 00:14:02,092 There was a transition period 297 00:14:02,176 --> 00:14:04,511 when it was truly a school event. 298 00:14:05,721 --> 00:14:10,225 But clearly this had morphed into something far greater 299 00:14:10,309 --> 00:14:11,977 than we could have ever imagined. 300 00:14:31,163 --> 00:14:33,081 How did it get to be such a big deal? 301 00:14:33,165 --> 00:14:36,293 I don't know. Maybe because it's a Black environment down here. 302 00:14:36,376 --> 00:14:38,378 You know, you have all the Black colleges down here. 303 00:14:38,462 --> 00:14:40,214 Everyone gets together and enjoy themselves. 304 00:14:40,297 --> 00:14:42,049 But how do-- how does word get around? 305 00:14:42,132 --> 00:14:43,425 - I mean, it wasn't... - I don't know, man. 306 00:14:43,509 --> 00:14:44,968 ...all that big a deal five years ago. 307 00:14:45,052 --> 00:14:46,803 - Word of mouth. - Word of mouth. 308 00:14:46,887 --> 00:14:48,013 - It's word of mouth. - Yeah. 309 00:14:48,096 --> 00:14:50,599 1980s and the early 1990s, 310 00:14:50,682 --> 00:14:53,477 you have a... a movie renaissance, 311 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,270 a Black movie renaissance that's taking place. 312 00:14:55,354 --> 00:14:57,064 I mean, you know, you gotta think about School Daze, 313 00:14:57,147 --> 00:14:58,398 filmed right here in Atlanta, Georgia. 314 00:14:58,482 --> 00:14:59,858 You know, Spike Lee, Morehouse man. 315 00:14:59,942 --> 00:15:01,401 You recognize me? 316 00:15:01,485 --> 00:15:02,945 Yeah, I've seen you online. 317 00:15:03,028 --> 00:15:04,404 Aren't you number one? 318 00:15:04,488 --> 00:15:06,156 Yeah, that's me. Half-Pint. 319 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:07,407 Gammite number one. 320 00:15:07,783 --> 00:15:09,576 - Gamma Phi Gamma. 321 00:15:09,660 --> 00:15:11,078 Pleased to meet you. 322 00:15:11,161 --> 00:15:12,287 Nice to meet you. 323 00:15:12,371 --> 00:15:15,457 The appetite for Black college culture, 324 00:15:15,541 --> 00:15:21,004 at least mainstream, was really ignited with School Daze. 325 00:15:21,505 --> 00:15:24,424 Black filmmakers were really getting their start. 326 00:15:24,508 --> 00:15:26,301 Of course, Spike Lee. 327 00:15:26,385 --> 00:15:28,887 And, you know, for me it was exciting, 328 00:15:28,971 --> 00:15:32,182 so I got energized about what was possible for me. 329 00:15:37,855 --> 00:15:40,232 But I mean I believe that School Daze, 330 00:15:40,315 --> 00:15:41,859 that energy and that feel, 331 00:15:41,942 --> 00:15:43,735 was heavily influenced by Freaknik. 332 00:15:44,403 --> 00:15:46,655 Uh, because initially, I mean, that was, 333 00:15:46,738 --> 00:15:52,703 it was a college fraternity, sorority, community energy. 334 00:15:52,786 --> 00:15:54,538 A Different World is on TV. 335 00:15:54,621 --> 00:15:57,791 You begin to see this kinda movement of Black culture 336 00:15:57,875 --> 00:15:59,668 that's being spewed and assessed critically. 337 00:15:59,751 --> 00:16:01,795 Freaknik is going to be live! 338 00:16:01,879 --> 00:16:06,008 Bobby Brown, Heavy D, two days of nonstop music, food... 339 00:16:06,884 --> 00:16:07,885 Men. 340 00:16:09,219 --> 00:16:12,222 What? Did she just say she's going to Freaknik? My event? 341 00:16:12,306 --> 00:16:15,392 You know, that me and my friends created in school 342 00:16:15,475 --> 00:16:17,519 is now big enough and popular enough 343 00:16:17,603 --> 00:16:20,272 that someone on TV is actually talking about it. 344 00:16:20,355 --> 00:16:21,773 So your parents don't mind? 345 00:16:21,857 --> 00:16:24,151 Well, Mom was cool until I mentioned the word "Freaknik." 346 00:16:24,234 --> 00:16:26,486 Now that was your first mistake. You should have told her 347 00:16:26,570 --> 00:16:28,238 - it was just an outdoor concert. - I did. 348 00:16:28,322 --> 00:16:30,824 A Different World absolutely boosted 349 00:16:30,908 --> 00:16:32,910 Black college attendance 350 00:16:32,993 --> 00:16:38,373 by presenting a positive light of an all-Black experience. 351 00:16:40,417 --> 00:16:43,212 As somebody that went to a traditionally white institution, 352 00:16:43,295 --> 00:16:46,673 it was refreshing for me to see my people in college, 353 00:16:46,757 --> 00:16:49,968 my age celebrating on a stage like this. 354 00:16:50,052 --> 00:16:53,013 HBCUs became the catalyst 355 00:16:53,847 --> 00:16:56,350 for Freaknik to actually take place. 356 00:16:58,101 --> 00:17:00,979 It was organic, and that's why I think 357 00:17:01,063 --> 00:17:04,858 that it grew and took off, uh, and became an event 358 00:17:04,942 --> 00:17:07,236 that attracted hundreds of thousands of people. 359 00:17:12,741 --> 00:17:14,535 So we have Black students coming in 360 00:17:14,618 --> 00:17:17,829 every third weekend in-in April for our gathering 361 00:17:17,913 --> 00:17:19,957 that's for and about us. 362 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,918 Yo, what's up? This is Lez Moné once again coming to you live 363 00:17:23,001 --> 00:17:25,587 from the AU Center with Freaknik. And who we got here? 364 00:17:25,671 --> 00:17:27,840 My name is Wesley Parkman from Morehouse College, 365 00:17:27,923 --> 00:17:29,842 originally from Waterbury, Connecticut. 366 00:17:29,925 --> 00:17:32,678 My brother went to Morehouse in the '80s, 367 00:17:32,761 --> 00:17:34,513 so I had been hearing about Freaknik 368 00:17:34,596 --> 00:17:36,265 as long as I've been hearing about Morehouse. 369 00:17:36,348 --> 00:17:38,392 And when he talked about Freaknik, 370 00:17:38,475 --> 00:17:40,602 he talked about it like it was a fun thing to do. 371 00:17:40,686 --> 00:17:43,063 He didn't talk about it like it was wild or like it was crazy. 372 00:17:43,146 --> 00:17:45,440 He just said, "Yo, spring break, that's where you need to be." 373 00:17:45,524 --> 00:17:48,277 He said that spring break was when you had-- 374 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,237 uh, girls were gonna be out there, 375 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,739 great music was gonna be out there, and if you wanted to pledge, 376 00:17:52,823 --> 00:17:55,117 you better start knowing who those brothers were 377 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:56,577 who were outside in these parks. 378 00:17:56,660 --> 00:17:58,495 'Cause those are the same brothers that was gonna decide 379 00:17:58,579 --> 00:17:59,663 whether you made line or not. 380 00:17:59,746 --> 00:18:02,749 So for me, Freaknik was like an entry point 381 00:18:02,833 --> 00:18:04,501 into the Black cultural experience, 382 00:18:04,585 --> 00:18:06,086 into the Black Greek letter experience. 383 00:18:07,296 --> 00:18:10,465 I-I think initially, when we first started it, 384 00:18:10,549 --> 00:18:15,262 our draw card was the fact that this was a Black picnic. 385 00:18:15,345 --> 00:18:17,764 You know, every-- we all knew about Daytona Beach, 386 00:18:17,848 --> 00:18:19,474 we knew about some of the other things, 387 00:18:19,558 --> 00:18:22,186 but they were not put on by us 388 00:18:22,269 --> 00:18:25,772 or the people who you heard attending look like us. 389 00:18:25,856 --> 00:18:29,818 So here we are in a, uh, historical Black colleges 390 00:18:29,902 --> 00:18:32,487 and we're saying, "We gonna celebrate ourselves, 391 00:18:32,571 --> 00:18:34,156 "we gonna celebrate with ourselves. 392 00:18:34,239 --> 00:18:35,699 "Now you welcome to come, 393 00:18:35,782 --> 00:18:37,743 but we're designing this for us." 394 00:18:39,494 --> 00:18:45,250 When I saw people flying in from DC and New York and LA, 395 00:18:45,334 --> 00:18:48,086 I swear it was at least several thousand people at Washington Park. 396 00:18:48,170 --> 00:18:49,671 I had never seen anything like it. 397 00:18:49,755 --> 00:18:50,964 It was like a movie. 398 00:18:51,048 --> 00:18:53,634 And I was like, "Oh, okay, this is bigger than Atlanta." 399 00:18:57,346 --> 00:18:58,680 ♪ Yeah ♪ 400 00:18:59,556 --> 00:19:01,391 ♪ Original crooks ♪ 401 00:19:01,475 --> 00:19:05,020 I heard about Freaknik when I was young, 402 00:19:05,103 --> 00:19:06,897 and I had cousins that went to Morehouse. 403 00:19:07,981 --> 00:19:10,859 It was like, "I can't wait to get older so I can try to go." 404 00:19:11,944 --> 00:19:14,196 And so what ended up happening is 405 00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:16,240 I shot dice a lot when I was in college. 406 00:19:17,658 --> 00:19:19,993 Rest in peace, Chris Wilson. 407 00:19:20,077 --> 00:19:21,495 His father Porterfield Wilson, 408 00:19:21,578 --> 00:19:23,497 he had a car dealership in Detroit, 409 00:19:23,580 --> 00:19:25,874 and they used to have some big dice games. 410 00:19:25,958 --> 00:19:27,918 So I went to one of the dice games, 411 00:19:28,001 --> 00:19:29,461 and I won a down payment 412 00:19:29,545 --> 00:19:32,256 to a 10th anniversary edition Honda. 413 00:19:32,881 --> 00:19:36,927 The next day, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and I 414 00:19:37,010 --> 00:19:39,096 got on the road and drove it to Freaknik. 415 00:19:43,350 --> 00:19:45,769 Everybody drove to fuckin' Freaknik. 416 00:19:45,853 --> 00:19:46,854 Well, look at the map. 417 00:19:46,937 --> 00:19:48,772 All the cities, heck, you just jump the car. 418 00:19:48,856 --> 00:19:50,732 "Man, we going to Atlanta. I ain't got no flight. 419 00:19:50,816 --> 00:19:54,152 Don't need a flight. Let's get into one car and go. Let's go." 420 00:19:54,236 --> 00:19:55,988 ♪ Ain't nuttin' wrong with puffin' on lai ♪ 421 00:19:56,071 --> 00:19:58,574 ♪ And if you're with me let me hear you say "right" ♪ 422 00:19:58,657 --> 00:20:00,701 - ♪ Right, ri-right ♪ - ♪ Now a-- now-- now a dayz ♪ 423 00:20:00,784 --> 00:20:02,744 - ♪ Niggaz frontin' like they ill ♪ - ♪ Like they ill ♪ 424 00:20:02,828 --> 00:20:04,288 ♪ Now bustin' caps and got a muthafkin'-- ♪ 425 00:20:04,371 --> 00:20:06,623 It was almost like a car show, too. 426 00:20:06,707 --> 00:20:09,585 The Suzuki Samurais was big at that particular point in time. 427 00:20:09,668 --> 00:20:11,795 Had the Suzuki Samurai crew. 428 00:20:11,879 --> 00:20:13,964 Whatever cars was goin', 429 00:20:14,047 --> 00:20:17,301 they came to the city to show off. 430 00:20:17,384 --> 00:20:20,512 So everybody knew the assignment. 431 00:20:20,596 --> 00:20:23,098 Everybody was riding around like, 432 00:20:23,182 --> 00:20:27,060 you know, "I just got these wheels on my car, you need to see this." 433 00:20:42,284 --> 00:20:44,161 Rims were poppin' back then. 434 00:20:44,244 --> 00:20:46,997 You know that whole system, you know, 435 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,416 gettin' your car done inside with the wood grain 436 00:20:49,499 --> 00:20:50,792 and the piping seats, the whole nine, 437 00:20:50,876 --> 00:20:52,669 so it was a big, crazy culture. 438 00:20:52,753 --> 00:20:55,380 So getting rims was a necessity. 439 00:20:55,464 --> 00:20:57,174 It was like getting a new pair of sneakers. 440 00:20:59,092 --> 00:21:00,928 When I got to the Rim Shop was I met Greg 441 00:21:01,011 --> 00:21:04,056 when I first came here in '91 and me and him got cool. 442 00:21:04,139 --> 00:21:07,059 So he was like, "Yo, um, I saw this spot 443 00:21:07,142 --> 00:21:09,478 "in Peachtree and Ralph McGill downtown. 444 00:21:09,561 --> 00:21:11,772 You know, we should put the shop over there." 445 00:21:13,649 --> 00:21:15,108 That was gonna be the whole thing. 446 00:21:15,192 --> 00:21:17,361 Rim shop upstairs, studio downstairs. 447 00:21:18,237 --> 00:21:19,404 Talking about the Freaknik, 448 00:21:19,488 --> 00:21:22,157 the Rim Shop was a place where you came to. 449 00:21:22,241 --> 00:21:23,325 When you landed in Atlanta, 450 00:21:23,408 --> 00:21:24,952 you wanted to see where the Rim Shop was at. 451 00:21:25,035 --> 00:21:27,162 It was a landmark, you know, people wanted to see it. 452 00:21:27,829 --> 00:21:29,915 There's mad flavor out here. We just been chillin'. 453 00:21:29,998 --> 00:21:31,542 We went to Erick Sermon's house last night. 454 00:21:31,625 --> 00:21:33,418 He had a nice little bash goin' on. 455 00:21:33,502 --> 00:21:37,589 The Rim Shop was a rim shop that didn't sell rims. 456 00:21:37,673 --> 00:21:39,049 You know what I mean? 457 00:21:39,132 --> 00:21:42,678 It was really a meeting hole for Black Hollywood, you know? 458 00:21:42,761 --> 00:21:43,971 You would take your car there, 459 00:21:44,054 --> 00:21:46,098 and it'd take you three months to get rims 460 00:21:46,181 --> 00:21:47,808 and you might see your car at a party. 461 00:21:49,935 --> 00:21:52,729 During Freaknik, stars start coming in. 462 00:21:52,813 --> 00:21:55,899 You would see Tupac in the Rim Shop, David Justice. 463 00:21:55,983 --> 00:22:00,195 But in the back of the Rim Shop, you would also see T.I. 464 00:22:00,279 --> 00:22:04,658 You would see, uh, Goodie Mob or OutKast. Usher Raymond. 465 00:22:04,741 --> 00:22:06,743 These are all people before they got famous 466 00:22:06,827 --> 00:22:08,662 was at the Rim Shop, in the back of it. 467 00:22:11,665 --> 00:22:13,292 So I, basically, during Freaknik, 468 00:22:13,375 --> 00:22:16,003 either stayed at the Rim Shop and slept on the floor 469 00:22:16,545 --> 00:22:18,797 or slept at my cousin's apartment on the floor. 470 00:22:18,881 --> 00:22:21,300 We ain't had no hotel rooms. It was all in the parking lot. 471 00:22:22,634 --> 00:22:24,386 So when you talk about parking lot pimpin', 472 00:22:24,469 --> 00:22:25,679 you gotta think about it this way. 473 00:22:25,762 --> 00:22:29,725 There are people who would go in on like a U-Haul, 474 00:22:29,808 --> 00:22:31,476 stay in the U-Haul, 475 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,855 and then if you find a girl or a guy that had a room, 476 00:22:34,938 --> 00:22:37,107 then you hoped to end up in their room. 477 00:22:38,901 --> 00:22:42,237 Black College Spring Break is thumping once again. 478 00:22:42,321 --> 00:22:45,657 Thousands have come by the carloads with cameras. 479 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,369 Cory Lewis and nine of his friends from Dover, Delaware 480 00:22:49,453 --> 00:22:52,539 chipped in to rent an RV for the rolling party. 481 00:22:52,623 --> 00:22:54,917 We had more than this, they just backed out on us. 482 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,711 So you get about 20, you know 10 of 'em gonna leave. 483 00:22:57,794 --> 00:23:01,131 Yeah, we had about 20, so 10 of 'em backed out. 484 00:23:01,465 --> 00:23:03,133 It cost us $125 a piece, 485 00:23:04,009 --> 00:23:07,304 um, and plannin' on spending enough to make us have fun. 486 00:23:10,891 --> 00:23:13,227 You drove how many miles? You drove what, a thousand? 487 00:23:13,310 --> 00:23:15,145 - 583 miles exactly. - Seven hours. 488 00:23:15,229 --> 00:23:16,813 - Is it-- - Eight hours. 489 00:23:16,897 --> 00:23:18,524 Is it worth it driving all this way 490 00:23:18,607 --> 00:23:20,776 just for a couple days and then you gotta turn around and go back? 491 00:23:20,859 --> 00:23:22,819 Look around, look around, look around. 492 00:23:22,903 --> 00:23:23,904 It's worth it. 493 00:23:30,619 --> 00:23:32,704 Okay, right here, my friend, we have Tiffany. 494 00:23:32,788 --> 00:23:33,997 She's from Milwaukee. 495 00:23:34,665 --> 00:23:36,875 Don't she look good? She got the nice haircut. 496 00:23:36,959 --> 00:23:39,711 - She looks gorgeous, baby, look. 497 00:23:39,795 --> 00:23:43,507 Honestly speaking, Freaknik really started 498 00:23:43,590 --> 00:23:46,218 the evolution of Atlanta 499 00:23:46,301 --> 00:23:49,471 being this hub of fashion, of music, 500 00:23:49,555 --> 00:23:53,392 of this culture of beautiful Blackness. 501 00:23:54,059 --> 00:23:58,438 If you look at a Freaknik photo album from the '80s through the '90s, 502 00:23:58,522 --> 00:24:00,607 you will literally get the kind of, like, 503 00:24:00,691 --> 00:24:04,528 chronology of Black fashion and Black hair during that time. 504 00:24:05,195 --> 00:24:06,488 You saw brothers with waves, 505 00:24:06,572 --> 00:24:09,241 high-top fades, baldies like Onyx. 506 00:24:09,324 --> 00:24:10,993 It was all the things you would expect to see, 507 00:24:11,076 --> 00:24:12,286 and sisters, the same thing. 508 00:24:12,369 --> 00:24:13,662 - Hey. - Hi. 509 00:24:13,745 --> 00:24:16,039 We're either pressing our hair, blow drying our hair, 510 00:24:16,123 --> 00:24:17,875 curling irons. 511 00:24:17,958 --> 00:24:19,501 We were really into feathered. 512 00:24:19,585 --> 00:24:20,961 Look at that hairstyle. 513 00:24:22,337 --> 00:24:25,757 At the time, everybody was on the-the finger waves, 514 00:24:25,841 --> 00:24:27,092 the updo. 515 00:24:27,176 --> 00:24:30,304 The bigger the hair, the harder the hair. 516 00:24:30,387 --> 00:24:33,849 I mean, literally everybody carried around a bottle of Pump It Up 517 00:24:33,932 --> 00:24:36,143 to make sure that the hair stayed in place. 518 00:24:36,226 --> 00:24:38,145 And you wasn't ashamed of it at all, either. 519 00:24:39,313 --> 00:24:40,939 We ain't play about our hair then 520 00:24:41,023 --> 00:24:42,441 and we don't play about that shit now, 521 00:24:42,524 --> 00:24:45,611 so it's always been to the forefront of keeping it laid. 522 00:24:46,987 --> 00:24:48,322 And as far as the jewelry, 523 00:24:48,405 --> 00:24:51,450 the bigger, the bolder, herringbone chain. 524 00:24:51,533 --> 00:24:53,785 And if you really wanted to stand out, 525 00:24:53,869 --> 00:24:55,871 not only did you have the chain, you had the set. 526 00:24:55,954 --> 00:24:58,540 The bracelet, the anklet, and the chain. 527 00:24:59,249 --> 00:25:01,793 I worked at Greenbriar Mall at Merry Go Round. 528 00:25:01,877 --> 00:25:03,921 So we had all the drip, 529 00:25:04,004 --> 00:25:06,215 from the Maurice Malone to Jarbo. 530 00:25:06,298 --> 00:25:08,258 Damaged suits, used suits. 531 00:25:08,342 --> 00:25:11,011 Karl Kani, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, 532 00:25:11,094 --> 00:25:12,554 two-button with the collar, 533 00:25:12,638 --> 00:25:14,097 booty shorts with the Air Max. 534 00:25:14,306 --> 00:25:16,225 You was lit, okay? 535 00:25:17,017 --> 00:25:19,811 Js were always 1,000% up. 536 00:25:19,895 --> 00:25:22,689 Cross Colours, it was still coming out of the prep stage. 537 00:25:22,773 --> 00:25:25,609 So you'd be like Tritons and tennis sweaters, 538 00:25:25,692 --> 00:25:27,569 big shorts and Benetton bags. 539 00:25:28,070 --> 00:25:30,781 You know, the dress wasn't as provocative. 540 00:25:30,864 --> 00:25:32,950 Like, I had on some short-shorts, 541 00:25:33,033 --> 00:25:35,911 which for Freaknik I was overdressed. 542 00:25:35,994 --> 00:25:38,664 But, like, for my family, 543 00:25:38,747 --> 00:25:41,124 "Uh-uh, no. Please go put some clothes on." 544 00:25:46,004 --> 00:25:48,173 You know, as young kids we were driving around Atlanta 545 00:25:48,257 --> 00:25:49,550 trying to find out what was happening. 546 00:25:50,300 --> 00:25:51,635 Music was goin'. 547 00:25:51,718 --> 00:25:53,720 It was music coming from every different direction. 548 00:26:01,937 --> 00:26:03,355 - Kent State in the house. 549 00:26:03,438 --> 00:26:05,107 Piedmont Park was a hot spot. 550 00:26:05,190 --> 00:26:06,817 V-103 was the station here. 551 00:26:06,900 --> 00:26:09,236 Atlanta, everybody's station, V-103... 552 00:26:09,945 --> 00:26:13,907 V-103 was like the dominant heritage station in the market 553 00:26:13,991 --> 00:26:16,952 from back in the disco days all the way up through the R&B days. 554 00:26:18,453 --> 00:26:20,622 There was definitely a time where V-103 555 00:26:20,706 --> 00:26:22,082 would not play hip-hop. 556 00:26:22,165 --> 00:26:23,876 They only played R&B music. 557 00:26:23,959 --> 00:26:25,961 It was just like on the weekends. 558 00:26:26,044 --> 00:26:27,963 They had a rap show on the weekends on Friday nights, 559 00:26:28,046 --> 00:26:30,465 I think with, with Darren Fierce called The Fresh Party. 560 00:26:30,549 --> 00:26:32,426 The Fresh Party, Fox 36. 561 00:26:32,509 --> 00:26:34,011 Jerry "Smokin'" B having a great time. 562 00:26:34,094 --> 00:26:35,179 Come on and join us. 563 00:26:35,262 --> 00:26:37,139 And that's when they would play like the Kilos, 564 00:26:37,222 --> 00:26:39,641 and the Raheems, and the Success-n-Effects, 565 00:26:39,725 --> 00:26:42,603 and the Eric B.'s and the, the Big Daddy Kanes, 566 00:26:42,686 --> 00:26:45,606 and LL Cool Js, and all the records that was poppin' back then. 567 00:26:46,315 --> 00:26:48,317 New York Mix, New York records. 568 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:52,821 It was no such thing as a Atlanta artist being played on the, on the radio. 569 00:26:52,905 --> 00:26:55,490 It wasn't even Atlanta DJs on the radio. 570 00:26:55,574 --> 00:26:57,659 And a lot of folks here, we had issues with that. 571 00:26:57,743 --> 00:26:59,870 They wasn't even really fuckin' with us. 572 00:27:01,163 --> 00:27:03,165 But Freaknik helped loosen that up. 573 00:27:05,083 --> 00:27:06,126 ♪ Jump, jump ♪ 574 00:27:06,210 --> 00:27:08,587 ♪ You should know, you should know that, ah, Kris Kross... ♪ 575 00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:10,297 When Kris Kross broke in '92, 576 00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:12,382 that opened the door for So So Def the label. 577 00:27:12,466 --> 00:27:17,429 So by '93, So So Def now had Da Brat and Xscape. 578 00:27:22,976 --> 00:27:26,480 So this is all kinda during the same time as Freaknik is rising 579 00:27:26,563 --> 00:27:28,524 along with the radio stations coming in now 580 00:27:28,607 --> 00:27:32,110 where the city is having just more of a voice totally. 581 00:27:32,194 --> 00:27:34,613 Records being produced, a station to play it, 582 00:27:34,696 --> 00:27:38,784 DJs in the club supported by the radio that's promoting the clubs. 583 00:27:38,867 --> 00:27:40,744 Prior to, you didn't have that. 584 00:27:41,578 --> 00:27:44,081 Like, the structure around Atlanta was building 585 00:27:44,164 --> 00:27:45,624 is what it felt like. 586 00:27:51,839 --> 00:27:54,758 Coming to Atlanta, it wasn't no music scene, 587 00:27:54,842 --> 00:27:57,761 it was a underground cult going on 588 00:27:57,845 --> 00:28:00,681 of guys doing bass music, and then, you know, 589 00:28:00,764 --> 00:28:04,434 JD then came and start-- JD started doing music. 590 00:28:09,356 --> 00:28:13,151 J ermaine started getting popular earlier than all of us. 591 00:28:13,235 --> 00:28:15,612 He'd been on the road with, like, the Fresh Fest. 592 00:28:15,696 --> 00:28:18,365 He was kinda like the most professional artist in Atlanta. 593 00:28:20,075 --> 00:28:23,161 He's always, and still to this day, about uplifting 594 00:28:23,245 --> 00:28:24,496 the Atlanta culture 595 00:28:24,580 --> 00:28:26,164 and preserving the Atlanta culture 596 00:28:26,623 --> 00:28:29,543 and showcasing Atlanta to the world. 597 00:28:30,669 --> 00:28:32,254 As Freaknik is getting bigger, 598 00:28:32,337 --> 00:28:35,132 you saw people like Jermaine Dupri use it as an opportunity 599 00:28:35,215 --> 00:28:39,136 to kind of introduce more of the world to Southern hip-hop. 600 00:28:40,846 --> 00:28:43,599 Jermaine Dupri's like the Dr. Dre of Atlanta, 601 00:28:43,682 --> 00:28:45,809 like the Diddy of Atlanta, for real. 602 00:28:45,893 --> 00:28:49,438 Jermaine Dupri's one of the most powerful human beings I've ever met. 603 00:28:49,521 --> 00:28:52,357 And it's not because he exerts power over other people, 604 00:28:52,441 --> 00:28:54,818 he empowers other people. 605 00:28:54,902 --> 00:28:58,197 What he did for two 12-year-old kids in Kris Kross, 606 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,240 what he did for Da Brat, 607 00:29:00,324 --> 00:29:03,035 and what that did for female MCs being taken seriously, 608 00:29:03,118 --> 00:29:05,245 what he did for Xscape and Jagged Edge. 609 00:29:05,329 --> 00:29:07,831 You know, I think that Jermaine's story 610 00:29:07,915 --> 00:29:10,834 is linked to this city, it's linked to music, 611 00:29:10,918 --> 00:29:12,836 but I think it's very much linked to, you know, 612 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:14,505 you went to Freaknik, you seeing that sign. 613 00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:22,221 So, yeah, this-this block right here 614 00:29:22,304 --> 00:29:25,015 was very, very instrumental in Freaknik, 615 00:29:25,098 --> 00:29:30,729 um, because this is the block before you actually get to Piedmont Park. 616 00:29:31,855 --> 00:29:34,149 So all of this was poppin'. 617 00:29:41,823 --> 00:29:45,577 Every bit of this was, like, just wall-to-wall people. 618 00:29:51,041 --> 00:29:53,669 This whole area was full. Not like a pocket. 619 00:29:53,752 --> 00:29:56,755 Like, every piece of ground out here 620 00:29:57,214 --> 00:29:59,174 was covered with Negroes. 621 00:30:03,762 --> 00:30:06,265 We had some of the biggest artists of that time 622 00:30:06,348 --> 00:30:08,141 all performing right here in Piedmont Park. 623 00:30:08,225 --> 00:30:09,601 Craig Mack, Biggie. 624 00:30:09,685 --> 00:30:13,814 This is where the gumbo of Freaknik was happening, right here. 625 00:30:13,897 --> 00:30:14,898 It was huge. 626 00:30:14,982 --> 00:30:17,067 - Atlanta! 627 00:30:19,319 --> 00:30:21,613 ♪ Everybody move your body ♪ 628 00:30:21,697 --> 00:30:24,324 ♪ Whitney Houston boostin' from Bobby ♪ 629 00:30:24,408 --> 00:30:26,952 ♪ As I bust the cherry of Monica and Terri ♪ 630 00:30:27,035 --> 00:30:29,621 ♪ Back shots to Chaka, I know that pussy hairy ♪ 631 00:30:29,705 --> 00:30:31,874 ♪ Sade, ooh, I know that pussy tight ♪ 632 00:30:31,957 --> 00:30:33,292 ♪ Smacked Tina Turner... ♪ 633 00:30:41,633 --> 00:30:43,468 - Yo! - My man, 50 grand. 634 00:30:43,552 --> 00:30:45,554 - What's up, my brother? - What's happenin'? 635 00:30:45,637 --> 00:30:46,638 Alright, man. 636 00:30:46,722 --> 00:30:48,390 This is the first time I've been here, man. 637 00:30:48,473 --> 00:30:50,225 - Welcome. - Nice studio. 638 00:30:50,309 --> 00:30:53,061 The-the-the house that J built. 639 00:30:53,145 --> 00:30:54,563 Yeah, yeah, the house that I built. 640 00:30:54,646 --> 00:30:56,815 So-so, we talkin' about this Freaknik thing, huh? 641 00:30:56,899 --> 00:30:58,400 - Mm-hmm. - You know, what's crazy? 642 00:30:58,483 --> 00:31:02,279 Was I... I wasn't old enough to be a part of the actual... 643 00:31:02,738 --> 00:31:04,239 Festivities. 644 00:31:04,573 --> 00:31:07,659 Yeah, the festivities, the Luke festivities 645 00:31:07,743 --> 00:31:09,119 in the beginning. 646 00:31:09,203 --> 00:31:11,205 So what year was your first year? 647 00:31:11,288 --> 00:31:13,749 It had to be like '93, '94. 648 00:31:14,166 --> 00:31:15,709 So you missed-- You-- 649 00:31:15,792 --> 00:31:19,129 What you missed was the-the beginning of it all, the transition. 650 00:31:19,213 --> 00:31:21,131 - Yeah. Yeah. - You know when-- 651 00:31:21,215 --> 00:31:25,135 When it was, "Okay, the little Greek thing in the park," 652 00:31:25,219 --> 00:31:27,804 and then, "Now we want to elevate this thing, 653 00:31:27,888 --> 00:31:30,557 take it to another level and bring the freaky part of it." 654 00:31:30,641 --> 00:31:31,642 Hmm. 655 00:31:31,725 --> 00:31:33,685 If you gon' have a freak show party 656 00:31:33,769 --> 00:31:35,479 or a freak anything party, 657 00:31:35,562 --> 00:31:37,356 you know, you gotta have us. 658 00:31:39,358 --> 00:31:41,485 ♪ Me love you long time ♪ 659 00:31:41,568 --> 00:31:43,946 Atlanta embraced us from word "go" 660 00:31:44,029 --> 00:31:46,198 and that's why Freaknik was so great, 661 00:31:46,281 --> 00:31:50,577 because Atlanta is the, is the Black Mecca of the South. 662 00:31:50,661 --> 00:31:55,290 Everything pretty much starts and end in Atlanta. 663 00:31:55,374 --> 00:31:58,168 I truly believe that at some point, 664 00:31:58,252 --> 00:32:02,172 you know, the South will control hip-hop, you know, 665 00:32:02,256 --> 00:32:04,466 and-and eventually ended up having to make-- 666 00:32:04,550 --> 00:32:06,301 - they made me look like a genius. - Oh, yeah. 667 00:32:06,385 --> 00:32:09,054 - Y'all made me look like a genius. - You are, you are a genius. 668 00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:19,064 Freaknik, it's been growing every year. 669 00:32:19,147 --> 00:32:20,566 You know, I've been here for four years. 670 00:32:20,649 --> 00:32:22,568 As long as they just come out here and have a nice time, 671 00:32:22,651 --> 00:32:25,153 enjoy themselves, mingle among the crowds, 672 00:32:25,237 --> 00:32:26,488 then everything should be alright. 673 00:32:28,407 --> 00:32:30,909 In '93, it was a nice, peaceful party. 674 00:32:30,993 --> 00:32:32,578 People walking down the street, 675 00:32:32,661 --> 00:32:34,830 you know, and all this beautiful stuff. 676 00:32:36,540 --> 00:32:38,584 You got this little innocent Freaknik, 677 00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:41,879 then you got this crazy motherfucker in Miami, me... 678 00:32:44,548 --> 00:32:48,802 ...doing all these sexually driven, wild-ass songs, 679 00:32:48,886 --> 00:32:50,512 screamin', "We want some pussy" 680 00:32:50,596 --> 00:32:52,890 and "Shake that ass, bitch," "Let me see what you got," 681 00:32:52,973 --> 00:32:55,058 "Pop that pussy," "Doo-doo brown." 682 00:32:55,142 --> 00:32:56,185 ♪ Pop that pussy ♪ 683 00:32:56,268 --> 00:32:58,604 ♪ Pop, pop that pussy, baby ♪ 684 00:32:59,104 --> 00:33:02,733 And then you got these sexually charged-up college students. 685 00:33:02,816 --> 00:33:06,236 I mean, anybody, you know, that goes to college, 686 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,447 you know, that's the first thing you think about, is sex. 687 00:33:11,033 --> 00:33:15,871 And so you add all that into this nice, beautiful city called Atlanta 688 00:33:15,954 --> 00:33:17,497 where all these Black people 689 00:33:18,290 --> 00:33:21,001 and it became a perfect storm. 690 00:33:23,670 --> 00:33:27,841 Luke is basically a soundtrack for what Freaknik feels like, 691 00:33:27,925 --> 00:33:30,302 because where he came, came the freak shit. 692 00:33:31,136 --> 00:33:32,679 So, you got Freaknik, 693 00:33:32,763 --> 00:33:34,765 why wouldn't you have the king of freak shit there? 694 00:33:38,310 --> 00:33:39,520 Luke did a lot of chantin', 695 00:33:39,603 --> 00:33:41,355 which made you want to just get up and be like, 696 00:33:41,438 --> 00:33:42,523 "Yeah, freak them girls!" 697 00:33:42,606 --> 00:33:43,941 The shit felt good. 698 00:33:44,024 --> 00:33:45,025 Just be honest. 699 00:33:49,446 --> 00:33:51,198 Regardless of what was going on, 700 00:33:51,281 --> 00:33:54,535 it made you just feel like having fuckin' fun. 701 00:33:55,577 --> 00:33:58,497 All the things that were poppin' in Atlanta was influenced 702 00:33:58,580 --> 00:34:00,624 by 2 Live Crew and what Luke was doing in Florida. 703 00:34:03,460 --> 00:34:06,547 I think I had a large influence on more people coming 704 00:34:06,630 --> 00:34:08,799 because it became word of mouth. 705 00:34:08,882 --> 00:34:10,217 You know, word of mouth is, 706 00:34:10,300 --> 00:34:12,845 "Man, they got this wild, crazy, freaky party." 707 00:34:12,928 --> 00:34:14,805 Then now on top of it, 708 00:34:14,888 --> 00:34:17,808 you got me do a fuckin' Work It Out video, 709 00:34:17,891 --> 00:34:20,394 and the Work It Out video was shot at Freaknik. 710 00:34:20,477 --> 00:34:23,856 ♪ Ooh, aah, I want some fuckin' pie ♪ 711 00:34:23,939 --> 00:34:27,651 And then now that song became big, and before you know it, 712 00:34:27,734 --> 00:34:30,404 people would then come back to Freaknik 713 00:34:30,487 --> 00:34:31,697 because you heard the stories. 714 00:34:31,780 --> 00:34:33,240 "Man, that shit was crazy." 715 00:34:33,323 --> 00:34:35,242 "Man, the girls was this and that." 716 00:34:35,325 --> 00:34:36,618 "Man, the dudes was this." 717 00:34:36,702 --> 00:34:40,289 "Man we went-- we never slept a day while we was at Freaknik. 718 00:34:40,372 --> 00:34:42,124 "We just all got a hotel room. 719 00:34:42,207 --> 00:34:43,625 "We never even stayed in there. 720 00:34:43,709 --> 00:34:46,336 We was fuckin' having sex on the streets." 721 00:34:46,420 --> 00:34:48,964 I mean, you name it, it was guys doin' it. 722 00:34:49,047 --> 00:34:51,008 I just brought the freak to Freaknik. 723 00:34:51,550 --> 00:34:53,969 Shit, somebody had to do it. 724 00:34:59,266 --> 00:35:01,393 ♪ Look at them girls with the Dazzey Duks on ♪ 725 00:35:01,476 --> 00:35:02,853 ♪ I want you to ♪ 726 00:35:02,936 --> 00:35:04,980 ♪ Look at them girls with the Dazzey Duks on ♪ 727 00:35:05,063 --> 00:35:06,523 ♪ Everybody ♪ 728 00:35:06,607 --> 00:35:08,650 ♪ Look at them girls with the Dazzey Duks on ♪ 729 00:35:08,734 --> 00:35:10,110 ♪ I want you to ♪ 730 00:35:10,194 --> 00:35:12,154 ♪ Look at them girls with the Dazzey Duks on ♪ 731 00:35:13,989 --> 00:35:16,116 In the '90s, places like Freaknik 732 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,327 were one of the few sites in public 733 00:35:18,410 --> 00:35:20,913 where you could let loose, wear a little less. 734 00:35:20,996 --> 00:35:23,248 And so it was a moment where Black women and girls 735 00:35:23,332 --> 00:35:25,834 were able to see themselves as not just people 736 00:35:25,918 --> 00:35:28,003 who responded to what men wanted, 737 00:35:28,086 --> 00:35:30,297 but who could express their own desires. 738 00:35:30,380 --> 00:35:32,633 That kinda stuff was radical at the time. 739 00:35:32,716 --> 00:35:34,009 ♪ ...Dazzey Duks on ♪ 740 00:35:34,092 --> 00:35:35,344 ♪ I want you to ♪ 741 00:35:35,427 --> 00:35:39,014 You know, uh, Daisy Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard? 742 00:35:39,431 --> 00:35:42,142 Like, her shorts was short. 743 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,437 When they named the shorts after her, 744 00:35:46,146 --> 00:35:48,148 they wasn't fittin' on her like they fit on, 745 00:35:48,815 --> 00:35:49,816 on these girls. 746 00:35:51,109 --> 00:35:52,736 So Daisy Dukes are, you know, 747 00:35:52,819 --> 00:35:56,406 you might just maybe catch a little bit of booty 748 00:35:56,490 --> 00:35:58,283 underneath, but they short. 749 00:35:58,367 --> 00:36:01,161 But them coochie cutters, you got camel toes, monkeys, 750 00:36:01,245 --> 00:36:02,287 booty crack, 751 00:36:02,371 --> 00:36:04,790 you got the whole shit poppin' out. 752 00:36:04,873 --> 00:36:07,668 It's-it's showing it all. You cuttin' in the coochie. 753 00:36:07,751 --> 00:36:09,294 That's why they called coochie cutters. 754 00:36:11,630 --> 00:36:13,465 Like, thinking about booty shorts, 755 00:36:13,549 --> 00:36:15,050 like, in the best way possible, though. 756 00:36:15,133 --> 00:36:16,635 Like, you had enough cheek, 757 00:36:16,718 --> 00:36:18,095 but not like the whole cheek. 758 00:36:18,595 --> 00:36:21,014 And I think that left something for mystique. 759 00:36:21,098 --> 00:36:22,808 Mwah. Magnifique. 760 00:36:23,308 --> 00:36:24,601 ♪ Come on, baby ♪ 761 00:36:24,685 --> 00:36:26,562 ♪ Kick them Dazzeys ♪ 762 00:36:26,645 --> 00:36:28,981 But honestly speaking, 763 00:36:29,064 --> 00:36:33,068 that's the epitome of the homegrown Southern woman. 764 00:36:33,151 --> 00:36:34,736 Back then it wasn't no BBL. 765 00:36:34,820 --> 00:36:36,780 Bitches had real asses 766 00:36:36,864 --> 00:36:38,907 and it was the real deal. 767 00:36:38,991 --> 00:36:40,993 You know, you put shorts on and you lookin' fine, 768 00:36:41,076 --> 00:36:42,286 and it ain't no enhancements, 769 00:36:42,369 --> 00:36:44,955 it's just all real Black beautifulness. 770 00:36:46,915 --> 00:36:50,335 You know how some people have some in-inhibition, 771 00:36:50,419 --> 00:36:52,462 you know, that they just want to do somethin' 772 00:36:52,546 --> 00:36:54,715 that they just know they can't do at home 773 00:36:54,798 --> 00:36:56,550 because they know people in their neighborhood, 774 00:36:56,633 --> 00:36:58,010 they know people at their schools, 775 00:36:58,093 --> 00:37:00,429 and their parents will somehow find out. 776 00:37:00,512 --> 00:37:02,472 I mean, you come out to another place 777 00:37:02,556 --> 00:37:05,475 and then it's like a whole bunch of people from other places 778 00:37:05,559 --> 00:37:07,644 who don't know you and you kinda feel like, "Okay, 779 00:37:07,728 --> 00:37:10,063 well, maybe I can get away with this here," you know? 780 00:37:10,772 --> 00:37:12,983 Well, some people actually like that at home, 781 00:37:13,066 --> 00:37:14,776 which we're not gonna talk about. 782 00:37:16,111 --> 00:37:18,322 Baby, it's Freaknik. It's Freaknik, baby. 783 00:37:18,405 --> 00:37:19,573 Do that, do that, baby. 784 00:37:20,616 --> 00:37:22,492 It's Freaknik baby. It's called Freaknik. 785 00:37:30,542 --> 00:37:32,920 The joy for women for Freaknik, I would say, 786 00:37:33,003 --> 00:37:35,214 was just the fact of just being outside 787 00:37:35,297 --> 00:37:37,382 and having fun and having a really, really good time. 788 00:37:37,466 --> 00:37:39,510 It was just different levels of, you know, 789 00:37:39,593 --> 00:37:42,262 what women did or wanted to do. 790 00:37:49,937 --> 00:37:52,481 The couple of Freakniks that I just hold dear, 791 00:37:52,564 --> 00:37:54,066 it was like art. 792 00:37:54,149 --> 00:37:55,859 She'd just drop it in them shorts, 793 00:37:55,943 --> 00:37:57,486 respect the space. 794 00:37:57,569 --> 00:38:00,072 You got a video camera or take a few pictures, 795 00:38:00,155 --> 00:38:01,907 and the girl keep on movin' and, you know, 796 00:38:01,990 --> 00:38:03,659 it was like her little hero moment 797 00:38:03,742 --> 00:38:06,745 or her-her showcase moment of, like, "Check this out, boys." 798 00:38:07,246 --> 00:38:09,122 You know, some women automatically knew, 799 00:38:09,206 --> 00:38:12,042 you know, like, "Hey, this Freaknik, I'm finna go crazy," you know? 800 00:38:12,125 --> 00:38:13,377 And other women was just like, 801 00:38:13,460 --> 00:38:15,170 "You know what? This is the time to have fun. 802 00:38:15,254 --> 00:38:17,548 I might do a little extra, but not too much." 803 00:38:17,631 --> 00:38:20,717 And some of us was just normal, just like kickin' it, having fun, 804 00:38:20,801 --> 00:38:23,637 and just being able to really just be around everybody. 805 00:38:26,390 --> 00:38:29,393 Freaknik was a form of expression, 806 00:38:29,476 --> 00:38:31,603 but I would actually say liberation. 807 00:38:33,021 --> 00:38:36,733 It was an opportunity for them to express themself 808 00:38:36,817 --> 00:38:38,610 without the fear of backlash. 809 00:38:39,695 --> 00:38:43,949 You began to see women articulating their sexual agency, 810 00:38:44,032 --> 00:38:46,702 their sexual freedom, differently. 811 00:38:47,911 --> 00:38:51,164 What we're, we're looking at is, you know, 812 00:38:51,248 --> 00:38:55,669 Black women kind of flexing their sexuality. 813 00:38:56,336 --> 00:38:58,714 You know, you have to understand, TLC had come out. 814 00:38:58,797 --> 00:39:01,091 ♪ If I need it in the morning or the middle of the night ♪ 815 00:39:01,175 --> 00:39:03,051 ♪ I ain't too proud to beg, no ♪ 816 00:39:03,135 --> 00:39:06,054 And then, you know, Left Eye was wearing the condom 817 00:39:06,138 --> 00:39:07,222 and so forth, 818 00:39:07,306 --> 00:39:10,726 and it was just saying to girls it's okay that-- 819 00:39:10,809 --> 00:39:12,769 you know, if you wanna have sex, 820 00:39:12,853 --> 00:39:15,063 you know, on your own terms, it's okay. 821 00:39:16,148 --> 00:39:18,984 I just think that as young women, 822 00:39:19,067 --> 00:39:22,821 it was becoming more acceptable for you to be free 823 00:39:22,905 --> 00:39:26,158 and not necessarily for it to be 824 00:39:26,241 --> 00:39:27,993 something that the guy wanted. 825 00:39:37,127 --> 00:39:39,505 There were some young ladies that were looking for young men. 826 00:39:39,588 --> 00:39:41,882 Of course there were some young men that were looking for young ladies. 827 00:39:41,965 --> 00:39:43,217 People were on the prowl. 828 00:39:47,221 --> 00:39:48,847 - What's your name? - Michelle. 829 00:39:48,931 --> 00:39:50,641 - Michelle what? - Michelle Sexy. 830 00:39:50,724 --> 00:39:53,018 - That's her name. 831 00:39:53,101 --> 00:39:56,313 I wanna know is everybody really having sex at Freaknik? 832 00:39:56,396 --> 00:39:57,856 Because, like, I'm not having sex, 833 00:39:57,940 --> 00:39:59,733 but everybody keeps asking me to have sex. 834 00:40:00,234 --> 00:40:02,110 If I tell you no then that means no, 835 00:40:02,194 --> 00:40:03,987 like, so why you keep asking me to do it to you? 836 00:40:04,071 --> 00:40:06,323 I'm not doing to everybody that ask me to do it to 'em. 837 00:40:06,406 --> 00:40:09,701 We decided we-- we were gonna change the rules a little... 838 00:40:11,203 --> 00:40:13,455 ...and instead of the girls showing off, 839 00:40:13,539 --> 00:40:15,332 - all the guys-- - We wanna see, we wanna see 840 00:40:15,415 --> 00:40:17,292 - what they have to offer. - Penis. Like, ass. 841 00:40:17,376 --> 00:40:19,211 Like, guys will come up and say, "Can we see your tits? 842 00:40:19,294 --> 00:40:20,504 Can we take a picture of your tits?" 843 00:40:20,587 --> 00:40:22,756 We'll, turn around. "Can take a picture of your dick? 844 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:23,966 - And some of 'em-- - And they run. 845 00:40:24,049 --> 00:40:25,342 Most of 'em are scared. 846 00:40:25,425 --> 00:40:27,261 - Most of 'em are. 847 00:40:27,344 --> 00:40:28,595 Maybe we took some pictures. 848 00:40:28,679 --> 00:40:31,390 But another thing, the guys gotta understand 849 00:40:31,473 --> 00:40:32,766 that we pick and choose 850 00:40:32,850 --> 00:40:34,810 - who we want at Freaknik this year. - Right. 851 00:40:40,232 --> 00:40:42,818 I mean, people are young, they're trying to hook up. 852 00:40:42,901 --> 00:40:45,529 They're like, "Oh, you're cute. You're cute," you know. 853 00:40:45,946 --> 00:40:48,031 I want y'all to introduce y'all selves to my man. 854 00:40:48,115 --> 00:40:49,491 I'm Artelia. 855 00:40:49,992 --> 00:40:51,869 And that's Brandy over there. 856 00:40:51,952 --> 00:40:53,996 - What's your name? - Tory. 857 00:40:54,079 --> 00:40:55,789 - What's up, Tory? - What's happenin'? 858 00:40:56,582 --> 00:40:58,667 - Have fun, y'all. Be safe. - Alright, you too. 859 00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:00,961 - Where y'all going? - Why? Where is there to go? 860 00:41:01,044 --> 00:41:02,713 Luke just started his little concert. 861 00:41:02,796 --> 00:41:05,382 The Platinum House is bumpin', Piedmont Park. 862 00:41:05,465 --> 00:41:08,302 We in the streets, you just pulling up on any car, 863 00:41:08,385 --> 00:41:11,346 talking to the women, or you in the park. 864 00:41:11,430 --> 00:41:14,474 You know that was a time when you wrote phone numbers down. 865 00:41:14,558 --> 00:41:16,310 So in your pocket you might have, 866 00:41:16,393 --> 00:41:19,521 "Dark-skinned girl in the gray car." 867 00:41:21,231 --> 00:41:23,150 Dark and lovely, what's up? 868 00:41:24,651 --> 00:41:26,570 I'm alright. What's your claim to fame? 869 00:41:27,654 --> 00:41:29,615 You know, you-you ain't know no names. 870 00:41:29,698 --> 00:41:31,158 You-You might get a few names, 871 00:41:31,241 --> 00:41:33,452 but, "Girl with the green dress on 872 00:41:33,785 --> 00:41:35,537 in tennis shoes," you know. 873 00:41:36,747 --> 00:41:39,416 - Hey, where the party at? - Where the party at? 874 00:41:39,499 --> 00:41:40,751 Where the bad boy party at? 875 00:41:40,834 --> 00:41:44,213 There was just so many girls, it was like a candy store of-of girls 876 00:41:44,296 --> 00:41:46,715 and I assume for girls it was a candy store of guys. 877 00:41:46,798 --> 00:41:48,467 Like, at the end of the day it was like, 878 00:41:48,550 --> 00:41:50,511 just all these young Black people from everywhere. 879 00:41:53,138 --> 00:41:54,681 ♪ Going home ♪ 880 00:41:54,765 --> 00:41:56,808 ♪ We're going home ♪ 881 00:41:58,310 --> 00:42:00,270 So what's the message you wanna send 882 00:42:00,354 --> 00:42:02,272 to the ladies in Atlanta during Freaknik? 883 00:42:02,356 --> 00:42:03,565 All you ladies of Atlanta, 884 00:42:03,649 --> 00:42:05,734 if you ain't freakin', I ain't speakin'. 885 00:42:05,817 --> 00:42:07,528 - Whatever. 886 00:42:07,611 --> 00:42:09,613 Aah! 887 00:42:11,031 --> 00:42:14,868 It was like people enjoying themselves, having fun, 888 00:42:14,952 --> 00:42:16,745 meetin' people, communicatin'. 889 00:42:16,828 --> 00:42:19,373 - Ohh! Oh, wait, you see that? - What? 890 00:42:19,456 --> 00:42:21,250 That shit's so sexy. 891 00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:23,293 - Your navel ring. - Ooh, man. 892 00:42:23,377 --> 00:42:24,628 - Let me see. 893 00:42:24,711 --> 00:42:26,421 I gotta get, wait, zoom in, zoom in on that. 894 00:42:26,839 --> 00:42:29,424 You know, nowadays everybody be so worried about certain shit. 895 00:42:29,508 --> 00:42:31,677 We wasn't worried about shit then. 896 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,929 All we wanted to do was have fun 897 00:42:34,012 --> 00:42:35,597 and that's exactly what we did. 898 00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:39,893 Well, '93 was a free-for-all. 899 00:42:39,977 --> 00:42:41,979 It was just a big traffic jam party. 900 00:42:42,062 --> 00:42:44,731 People were everywhere 'cause it wasn't contained 901 00:42:44,815 --> 00:42:46,567 in one particular area. 902 00:42:46,650 --> 00:42:48,026 It was kinda taking over the city. 903 00:42:48,110 --> 00:42:50,654 People were hanging outta cars and yelling. 904 00:42:50,737 --> 00:42:52,614 I said, "Oh, my goodness, I don't know what to expect." 905 00:42:52,698 --> 00:42:54,491 And then someone told me that it gets worse. 906 00:42:54,575 --> 00:42:55,742 Atlanta, Georgia. 907 00:42:55,826 --> 00:42:58,161 Thousands of African-American college students 908 00:42:58,245 --> 00:43:00,163 are flocking south for Freaknik. 909 00:43:00,247 --> 00:43:03,876 About 150,000 students are expected to converge on Hotlanta. 910 00:43:04,209 --> 00:43:06,879 This weekend is expected to ring in about $20 million. 911 00:43:11,008 --> 00:43:12,301 Spring 1994. 912 00:43:13,010 --> 00:43:14,636 Atlanta is on tilt. 913 00:43:16,346 --> 00:43:18,765 '94 was the best. That was prime. 914 00:43:19,349 --> 00:43:22,519 My favorite Freaknik was '94. 915 00:43:22,603 --> 00:43:25,606 That's when it really popped, 'cause the city wasn't ready for it. 916 00:43:28,108 --> 00:43:29,985 I hope my wife ain't watching this, 917 00:43:30,068 --> 00:43:33,071 but I met a lot of girls and I'm having a ball out here. 918 00:43:38,452 --> 00:43:40,454 It was unbelievable. 919 00:43:40,537 --> 00:43:44,166 I mean, every street, everywhere you went, 920 00:43:44,249 --> 00:43:48,504 every gas station, hotel, Waffle House, 921 00:43:48,587 --> 00:43:51,924 whatever, just partied the whole time. 922 00:43:53,008 --> 00:43:54,676 We just came on the plane. 923 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:56,720 Don't have a room or nothin'. We just-- 924 00:43:56,803 --> 00:43:57,804 We just here. 925 00:43:58,722 --> 00:44:01,099 Even some of the older people kinda joined in on the fun. 926 00:44:01,183 --> 00:44:03,727 They was throwing barbecues and hanging out with everybody. 927 00:44:03,810 --> 00:44:06,772 I got big porterhouse steaks on there, hamburgers. 928 00:44:07,898 --> 00:44:10,943 You know, just tryin' to make a vibe for the community 929 00:44:11,026 --> 00:44:12,528 so everybody can have a good time. 930 00:44:12,611 --> 00:44:14,363 You know, it was our Woodstock. 931 00:44:15,572 --> 00:44:17,658 They had their Woodstock, it was ours. 932 00:44:18,075 --> 00:44:19,493 We was just having a good fuckin' time. 933 00:44:32,548 --> 00:44:36,426 It was just the ultimate street party. 934 00:44:36,510 --> 00:44:37,928 Not on one street, 935 00:44:38,011 --> 00:44:41,932 but the entire city of Atlanta was a street party. 936 00:44:45,394 --> 00:44:46,937 What brings you to Atlanta? 937 00:44:47,020 --> 00:44:48,564 Following the crowd. 938 00:44:48,647 --> 00:44:50,357 You always have a good time down here? 939 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:51,733 I always have a good time. 940 00:44:51,817 --> 00:44:53,694 Even if I can't get to where I'm supposed to be going, 941 00:44:53,777 --> 00:44:54,862 I still have a good time. 942 00:44:55,654 --> 00:44:57,614 And it wasn't no traffic control. 943 00:44:57,698 --> 00:44:59,199 People like us, we just parked. 944 00:44:59,283 --> 00:45:00,826 We don't know where the fuck we left them cars, 945 00:45:00,909 --> 00:45:03,161 just park and just jump in it. 946 00:45:04,162 --> 00:45:06,373 Once you park the car, that's it. 947 00:45:07,457 --> 00:45:12,629 You walkin', you hitchhikin', you jumpin' in with people. 948 00:45:12,713 --> 00:45:14,548 You-you're doing whatever to get for point A to-- 949 00:45:14,631 --> 00:45:17,342 Ain't no drivin', it's too crowded. 950 00:45:18,552 --> 00:45:20,554 The interstates, 951 00:45:20,929 --> 00:45:22,222 the highway, 952 00:45:22,848 --> 00:45:24,725 nobody moving. 953 00:45:26,393 --> 00:45:28,228 Hey, yo, we should have walked, man. 954 00:45:28,312 --> 00:45:30,105 What's really going on? 955 00:45:30,689 --> 00:45:33,192 It was like the traffic was the Freaknik. 956 00:45:35,444 --> 00:45:36,778 ♪ Round and round you go ♪ 957 00:45:37,196 --> 00:45:38,530 ♪ Round and round you go ♪ 958 00:45:38,989 --> 00:45:40,157 ♪ Round and round you go ♪ 959 00:45:40,240 --> 00:45:42,284 ♪ Let me hear you say, "Scrub da ground" ♪ 960 00:45:42,367 --> 00:45:43,535 ♪ Scrub da ground ♪ 961 00:45:43,619 --> 00:45:45,621 ♪ Let me hear you say, "Scrub da ground" ♪ 962 00:45:45,704 --> 00:45:47,289 The middle of Peachtree Street, 963 00:45:47,372 --> 00:45:49,208 dancing, playing your music. 964 00:45:49,291 --> 00:45:51,793 It was a club outside the club, as well. 965 00:45:56,215 --> 00:45:59,760 People watching you, people laughing, people filming you. 966 00:45:59,843 --> 00:46:01,053 Nobody's shootin'. 967 00:46:02,346 --> 00:46:06,225 Then a girl from another car runs up to your car 968 00:46:06,308 --> 00:46:07,559 and you ain't trippin'. 969 00:46:07,643 --> 00:46:10,020 You let her stand on top of your hood of your car, 970 00:46:10,103 --> 00:46:11,438 and it's a moment. 971 00:46:13,273 --> 00:46:14,525 Freaknik! 972 00:46:15,901 --> 00:46:17,277 - ♪ Goddamn ♪ - ♪ Here we go, here we go ♪ 973 00:46:17,361 --> 00:46:19,363 ♪ Head gotta get his money worth, hoe ♪ 974 00:46:19,446 --> 00:46:22,032 It was so much fun, though. 975 00:46:24,785 --> 00:46:26,954 You came all the way from Nashville for this? 976 00:46:27,037 --> 00:46:28,539 All the way from Nashville, Tennessee. 977 00:46:28,622 --> 00:46:31,083 - Why? - Why? 'Cause I heard about the Freaknik, 978 00:46:31,166 --> 00:46:34,127 and I heard that it was at least about 250,000 people that comes here. 979 00:46:34,211 --> 00:46:35,712 That means money in your pocket. 980 00:46:35,796 --> 00:46:36,797 A lot of money. 981 00:46:39,341 --> 00:46:41,385 - ♪ Where the dollars at? ♪ - ♪ I'm chief in' heavy, understand me ♪ 982 00:46:41,468 --> 00:46:43,095 - ♪ Baby this Gangsta Boo ♪ - ♪ Where the dollars at? ♪ 983 00:46:43,178 --> 00:46:45,681 ♪ Where the dollars at? Where the dollars at? ♪ 984 00:46:45,764 --> 00:46:47,808 - ♪ Where the dollars at? ♪ - ♪ I'm chief in' heavy, understand me ♪ 985 00:46:47,891 --> 00:46:49,643 - ♪ Baby this Gangsta Boo ♪ - ♪ Where the dollars at? ♪ 986 00:46:49,726 --> 00:46:52,354 You can rent this phone for $8.99 a month. 987 00:46:52,437 --> 00:46:54,147 - No down payment. - Really? 988 00:46:54,231 --> 00:46:56,316 - And then-- - So what if you got bad credit? 989 00:46:56,400 --> 00:46:59,361 Well, then you're out of, out of getting a phone. 990 00:46:59,444 --> 00:47:01,154 - Oh, really? - You won't be able to get the phone 991 00:47:01,238 --> 00:47:02,823 with bad credit. Sorry. 992 00:47:02,906 --> 00:47:04,658 Atlanta's a "get money" city. 993 00:47:04,741 --> 00:47:06,201 You know what I mean? Trust me. 994 00:47:06,285 --> 00:47:08,829 Because it's-it's got that entrepreneurial, 995 00:47:08,912 --> 00:47:11,331 that enterprising attitude. 996 00:47:11,415 --> 00:47:13,500 I mean, you could come set up your shop and get money. 997 00:47:13,584 --> 00:47:15,460 ♪ How many bustas gettin' the chance... ♪ 998 00:47:15,544 --> 00:47:18,255 Well, Walter's is a very important store in the history of Atlanta, 999 00:47:18,338 --> 00:47:20,048 especially in the Black community. 1000 00:47:20,132 --> 00:47:22,467 We sold so many Freaknik T-shirts, 1001 00:47:22,551 --> 00:47:24,136 and we sold so much merchandise. 1002 00:47:24,219 --> 00:47:25,721 It was great. 1003 00:47:25,804 --> 00:47:28,182 I've never seen a crowd with as much cash 1004 00:47:28,265 --> 00:47:29,683 and money as these kids had. 1005 00:47:29,766 --> 00:47:31,018 They had $100 bills. 1006 00:47:31,101 --> 00:47:33,979 They were ordering Dom Pérignon in room service. 1007 00:47:36,023 --> 00:47:38,150 People was getting they money on or whatever, 1008 00:47:38,233 --> 00:47:41,653 so it became a economic tornado 1009 00:47:42,571 --> 00:47:44,114 and I was just watching the city grow. 1010 00:47:46,992 --> 00:47:48,535 ♪ Rollin' straight Hammers and Vogues ♪ 1011 00:47:48,619 --> 00:47:50,204 ♪ In that old Southern slouch ♪ 1012 00:47:50,287 --> 00:47:52,998 OutKast came out April 26th. 1013 00:47:55,292 --> 00:47:57,669 So, of course, you want someone to buy your album, 1014 00:47:57,753 --> 00:48:00,088 but the best way to get 'em to buy your album 1015 00:48:00,172 --> 00:48:02,007 is to give them a sampler. 1016 00:48:03,175 --> 00:48:05,302 It was a cassette tape where on one side 1017 00:48:05,385 --> 00:48:07,137 you might have Player's Ball... 1018 00:48:08,597 --> 00:48:10,974 ...but on the other side you got a minute's snippet 1019 00:48:11,058 --> 00:48:12,059 of Git Up, Git Out, 1020 00:48:14,269 --> 00:48:16,438 a minute snippet of Crumblin' Erb, 1021 00:48:16,522 --> 00:48:19,441 a minute snippet of other songs that's on the album. 1022 00:48:22,027 --> 00:48:24,821 OutKast's sampler spread like weeds. 1023 00:48:24,905 --> 00:48:27,324 It just, it-it was like you was hearin' in everybody car, 1024 00:48:27,407 --> 00:48:28,784 and it meant you was cool. 1025 00:48:30,953 --> 00:48:33,288 And we just here, I'm sayin', trying to put Atlanta out there. 1026 00:48:33,372 --> 00:48:35,541 You know what I'm sayin'? To let people know Atlanta is here 1027 00:48:35,624 --> 00:48:38,085 and-and they got some real players in this game down here. 1028 00:48:38,168 --> 00:48:39,503 You know what I'm saying? 1029 00:48:39,962 --> 00:48:42,172 Well, around that time we were grinding, 1030 00:48:42,256 --> 00:48:44,550 living under one roof, living at the Dungeon. 1031 00:48:44,633 --> 00:48:47,928 It was about putting a focus on André and Big Boi 1032 00:48:48,011 --> 00:48:51,515 and making sure that, you know, they made it across the lines. 1033 00:48:52,266 --> 00:48:54,476 I think the Dungeon family, we owe Freaknik 1034 00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:57,646 as the first place that gave us virility, 1035 00:48:57,729 --> 00:49:00,482 because that's where we dropped the tapes. 1036 00:49:03,151 --> 00:49:06,238 We didn't have a phone where you could just send someone a link 1037 00:49:06,321 --> 00:49:08,282 and anybody in the world could get it. 1038 00:49:08,365 --> 00:49:09,825 So this was the only opportunity 1039 00:49:09,908 --> 00:49:13,704 to catch this many Black people of our age in one place 1040 00:49:13,787 --> 00:49:16,540 in a captive situation, 'cause traffic was fucked up, 1041 00:49:16,623 --> 00:49:19,501 so you give a person a tape, they put it in their cassette player right then. 1042 00:49:19,585 --> 00:49:22,129 Freaknik was an opportunity for us 1043 00:49:22,212 --> 00:49:24,464 to really do hand-to-hand distribution 1044 00:49:24,548 --> 00:49:27,467 and promote our artists in a way that we had never been able to do it before. 1045 00:49:27,551 --> 00:49:30,179 And it was really dope. Like, you could literally ride down the street 1046 00:49:30,262 --> 00:49:33,390 and every car was bumping our cassette that we had passed out. 1047 00:49:33,473 --> 00:49:34,975 It was a marketer's dream. 1048 00:49:35,058 --> 00:49:36,476 So we went balls-to-the-wall 1049 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:39,062 and spent all we needed to spend on street promotions. 1050 00:49:39,146 --> 00:49:41,565 I used to have to go into strip clubs, you know, 1051 00:49:41,648 --> 00:49:43,192 to take the OutKast music. 1052 00:49:43,275 --> 00:49:46,486 I remember a gentleman's club was poppin' during Freaknik. 1053 00:49:46,570 --> 00:49:48,238 It was, like, Monday nights 1054 00:49:48,322 --> 00:49:50,073 was, like, the hottest night at the gentleman club. 1055 00:49:52,618 --> 00:49:54,161 ♪ Yeah, get money ♪ 1056 00:49:55,621 --> 00:49:57,080 ♪ Do what I want her to ♪ 1057 00:49:57,164 --> 00:49:58,582 Strip clubs run everything. 1058 00:49:58,665 --> 00:50:00,584 You want your music broke, you gotta go to the strip club. 1059 00:50:00,667 --> 00:50:02,753 You want to be that dude, you wanna be seen, 1060 00:50:02,836 --> 00:50:04,296 you gotta go to the strip club. 1061 00:50:04,379 --> 00:50:06,465 And to get your name up out here in the streets, 1062 00:50:06,548 --> 00:50:07,883 you gotta go to the strip club. 1063 00:50:07,966 --> 00:50:09,218 ♪ ...get paid here the table though ♪ 1064 00:50:09,301 --> 00:50:10,761 ♪ Put a leg band on you a project ho ♪ 1065 00:50:10,844 --> 00:50:12,638 Strip clubs in Atlanta, like we say, 1066 00:50:12,721 --> 00:50:14,264 "We ain't got no sand, we ain't got no beaches, 1067 00:50:14,348 --> 00:50:16,350 all we got these Georgia peaches," you know what I'm saying? 1068 00:50:16,433 --> 00:50:18,894 ♪ Not much butt but I wonder what it shaped like ♪ 1069 00:50:18,977 --> 00:50:20,562 You want your music in the, in the club 1070 00:50:20,646 --> 00:50:22,731 and you don't wanna force it, or you wanna find a person 1071 00:50:22,814 --> 00:50:24,775 that like it and make it be a part of they set. 1072 00:50:24,858 --> 00:50:27,945 So, it wasn't about just, um, going to see naked women 1073 00:50:28,028 --> 00:50:31,406 as much as it was going to get a post with the CD on. 1074 00:50:32,908 --> 00:50:34,743 ♪ Don't stop, get it, get it, don't stop ♪ 1075 00:50:34,826 --> 00:50:37,287 At that time, college radio and community radio 1076 00:50:37,371 --> 00:50:39,289 is where you heard hip-hop. 1077 00:50:39,373 --> 00:50:41,834 It was changing from a Miami-based culture 1078 00:50:41,917 --> 00:50:43,961 to its own identity and we were the forefront of that. 1079 00:50:44,044 --> 00:50:45,087 We led the way. 1080 00:50:45,754 --> 00:50:47,631 You move into '95, 1081 00:50:47,714 --> 00:50:49,967 we got a rap station now in Atlanta, 24 hours. 1082 00:50:50,050 --> 00:50:53,679 Now we're playing OutKast's music, all Rico Wade, 1083 00:50:53,762 --> 00:50:55,764 Goodie Mob, we're playing Cool Breeze. 1084 00:50:55,848 --> 00:50:57,891 We're breaking records and we're not even trying 1085 00:50:57,975 --> 00:50:59,810 'cause it was so much rap and it's from the South 1086 00:50:59,893 --> 00:51:00,894 and we can play it. 1087 00:51:00,978 --> 00:51:02,229 That changes everything. 1088 00:51:02,312 --> 00:51:06,608 It was an opportunity to realize how much talent 1089 00:51:06,692 --> 00:51:09,111 was right below the surface in Atlanta 1090 00:51:09,194 --> 00:51:11,530 that was about to bubble up to the top and be extraordinary. 1091 00:51:17,327 --> 00:51:20,706 I would argue that Freaknik gave Atlanta 1092 00:51:20,789 --> 00:51:23,876 a stage for the world to see Atlanta in a different light. 1093 00:51:23,959 --> 00:51:25,919 And we weren't just a small town masquerading 1094 00:51:26,003 --> 00:51:27,004 as a big city anymore. 1095 00:51:29,214 --> 00:51:31,341 The International Olympic Committee 1096 00:51:32,467 --> 00:51:37,389 has awarded the 1996 Olympic Games 1097 00:51:38,098 --> 00:51:40,601 to the city of Atlanta. 1098 00:51:49,359 --> 00:51:51,320 There you have it. The announcement is in. 1099 00:51:51,403 --> 00:51:53,989 Atlanta, Georgia will be the site 1100 00:51:54,072 --> 00:51:56,825 of the 1996 Summer Olympics. 1101 00:51:56,909 --> 00:51:58,869 And this city is now an international city, 1102 00:51:58,952 --> 00:52:00,204 there's no two ways about it. 1103 00:52:00,913 --> 00:52:03,207 Winning the Centennial Olympic Games 1104 00:52:03,290 --> 00:52:05,042 and beating Athens, Greece 1105 00:52:05,125 --> 00:52:07,002 was transformational for Black people. 1106 00:52:07,085 --> 00:52:09,546 That was a critical moment where Atlanta 1107 00:52:09,630 --> 00:52:12,049 became the most important city for Black culture 1108 00:52:12,132 --> 00:52:13,926 in the United States of America. 1109 00:52:14,009 --> 00:52:17,054 And it put Atlanta on the global map forever. 1110 00:52:18,222 --> 00:52:21,058 It was very clear that Atlanta was about to change 1111 00:52:21,141 --> 00:52:23,018 its fortune dramatically. 1112 00:52:23,101 --> 00:52:24,895 You were gonna have billions of people around the world 1113 00:52:24,978 --> 00:52:26,772 watching Atlanta, knowing Atlanta's name, 1114 00:52:26,855 --> 00:52:28,357 suddenly wanting to visit Atlanta, 1115 00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:29,942 suddenly wanting to invest in Atlanta. 1116 00:52:30,025 --> 00:52:31,860 Leading up to the Olympics, Atlanta was 1117 00:52:31,944 --> 00:52:34,071 one of the most exciting places to be in the world. 1118 00:52:34,696 --> 00:52:37,991 Have you ever heard anybody go to the Olympics 1119 00:52:38,075 --> 00:52:40,744 and come back feeling like they lost? 1120 00:52:41,119 --> 00:52:44,498 Just the fact that we got here makes us a winner. 1121 00:52:45,832 --> 00:52:48,669 The Olympics was great for the city of Atlanta. 1122 00:52:49,419 --> 00:52:52,297 But the Olympics wasn't really great for Freaknik. 1123 00:53:03,308 --> 00:53:04,643 ♪ Whatz up, whatz up ♪ 1124 00:53:04,726 --> 00:53:06,770 The Dirty South, that's how we do it down here. 1125 00:53:07,938 --> 00:53:09,356 On the road, True and D. 1126 00:53:09,439 --> 00:53:11,149 We goin' down to Georgia right quick, 1127 00:53:11,233 --> 00:53:13,902 checkin' out this Freaknik action for the weekend. 1128 00:53:13,986 --> 00:53:15,529 ♪ One time for the girls with the big butts ♪ 1129 00:53:15,612 --> 00:53:17,531 - ♪ Let's buck, whatz up, whatz up ♪ - ♪ Whatz up, whatz up? ♪ 1130 00:53:17,614 --> 00:53:18,782 - ♪ Let's hit tha sets ♪ - ♪ Sets ♪ 1131 00:53:18,866 --> 00:53:19,867 ♪ 'Cause tons be jag... ♪ 1132 00:53:19,950 --> 00:53:22,452 When Freaknik went from just 1133 00:53:22,536 --> 00:53:24,246 the colleges knowing about it, 1134 00:53:24,329 --> 00:53:27,332 into the streets and the hood started knowing about it, 1135 00:53:27,416 --> 00:53:29,877 it took on a whole 'nother shape and form. 1136 00:53:30,961 --> 00:53:33,422 Just started to get a lot more out control 1137 00:53:33,505 --> 00:53:36,008 because people were coming by the masses. 1138 00:53:36,091 --> 00:53:39,428 You got 35-, 40-year-old men coming to Freaknik. 1139 00:53:40,179 --> 00:53:42,306 Well, isn't this a college event? 1140 00:53:42,389 --> 00:53:43,974 No, people were just coming. 1141 00:53:44,057 --> 00:53:46,393 They were drawn by "Freaknik." 1142 00:53:47,102 --> 00:53:50,439 And Freaknik became more about the "freak" than the "nik." 1143 00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:05,120 There was a flatbed truck. 1144 00:54:05,204 --> 00:54:06,705 I'm sitting behind this truck, 1145 00:54:06,788 --> 00:54:08,415 and there are women, 1146 00:54:08,498 --> 00:54:10,959 they're all sitting with their legs wide open 1147 00:54:11,043 --> 00:54:12,503 and no underwear. 1148 00:54:13,253 --> 00:54:14,671 It was insane. 1149 00:54:14,755 --> 00:54:16,507 The things that I saw, 1150 00:54:16,590 --> 00:54:19,218 I was just glad that my kids weren't in my car. 1151 00:54:20,260 --> 00:54:22,137 Everybody had their system bumpin' 1152 00:54:22,221 --> 00:54:24,473 and some people had the women on top of the cars 1153 00:54:24,556 --> 00:54:26,475 or they-- women had themselves on top of the cars, 1154 00:54:26,558 --> 00:54:27,768 or hanging out the car. 1155 00:54:27,851 --> 00:54:30,270 One guy's charging, so you could see. 1156 00:54:30,646 --> 00:54:32,064 It's like a peep show. 1157 00:54:32,147 --> 00:54:34,358 That's probably the best way to explain it. 1158 00:54:35,108 --> 00:54:37,778 People just kinda started getting disrespectful. 1159 00:54:37,861 --> 00:54:40,447 Like, some of the guys just started wildin' too much, 1160 00:54:40,531 --> 00:54:43,450 and it didn't really feel like the good time 1161 00:54:43,534 --> 00:54:45,202 and the fun that it used to be. 1162 00:54:45,285 --> 00:54:46,912 - Hey, there your man! 1163 00:54:46,995 --> 00:54:48,580 Are you gonna come back next year? 1164 00:54:48,664 --> 00:54:50,165 No, I'm not coming back. 1165 00:54:50,249 --> 00:54:53,502 This year I'm getting out of Atlanta. I'm leaving Friday morning, 1166 00:54:53,585 --> 00:54:55,587 and I won't be back until Sunday evening. 1167 00:54:55,671 --> 00:54:56,922 It's no fun anymore. 1168 00:54:57,005 --> 00:54:59,341 There are people who didn't like Freaknik 1169 00:54:59,424 --> 00:55:03,178 because they thought that it was not a good representation 1170 00:55:03,262 --> 00:55:04,471 of Black people. 1171 00:55:04,555 --> 00:55:06,431 If you're coming to hang body parts 1172 00:55:06,515 --> 00:55:09,768 outside various parts of the car, you're not welcome. 1173 00:55:09,852 --> 00:55:11,770 They ain't say that about Daytona. 1174 00:55:11,854 --> 00:55:14,356 They ain't say that about Corpus Christi. 1175 00:55:14,439 --> 00:55:15,774 You know, I hate to be that guy, 1176 00:55:15,858 --> 00:55:17,526 but they don't say that about them places 1177 00:55:17,609 --> 00:55:20,320 that they doing some of the same things or even worse. 1178 00:55:20,737 --> 00:55:23,448 Why is it such an issue here with the Freaknik, 1179 00:55:23,532 --> 00:55:25,200 but it's not at Fort Walton Beach, you know? 1180 00:55:25,284 --> 00:55:27,494 Everybody else down there partying just as hard. 1181 00:55:27,578 --> 00:55:30,205 Well, because of the actual portrayal, I think, 1182 00:55:30,289 --> 00:55:33,208 that scene that it's just a lewd gathering, 1183 00:55:33,292 --> 00:55:36,670 and a lot of people I think sometimes are afraid of that image. 1184 00:55:37,212 --> 00:55:39,381 Of course it was gon' start coming with its problems, 1185 00:55:39,464 --> 00:55:41,758 because, shit, a lot of times these white folks 1186 00:55:41,842 --> 00:55:43,385 don't wanna see all these Black people out here 1187 00:55:43,468 --> 00:55:44,845 kickin' and havin' fun like they doin'. 1188 00:55:44,928 --> 00:55:46,138 They wanna stop that. 1189 00:55:46,221 --> 00:55:47,598 They were smoking marijuana, 1190 00:55:47,681 --> 00:55:50,184 they were drinking, totally disrespectful, everybody. 1191 00:55:50,267 --> 00:55:52,144 They was urinating in people's yards. 1192 00:55:52,436 --> 00:55:53,645 This year was a disaster. 1193 00:55:53,729 --> 00:55:56,190 Nothing good has ever come from Freaknik. 1194 00:55:56,607 --> 00:55:59,026 You know, if it was a calm event, I would have no problem, 1195 00:55:59,109 --> 00:56:01,945 but from the past problems we've had with Freaknik, 1196 00:56:02,029 --> 00:56:03,322 I'm totally against it. 1197 00:56:03,405 --> 00:56:05,532 And I'm gonna keep at this till we sit down 1198 00:56:05,616 --> 00:56:07,784 with the mayor and discuss openly 1199 00:56:07,868 --> 00:56:09,786 why we don't want Freaknik in Atlanta. 1200 00:56:11,163 --> 00:56:12,998 Memphis in the house, baby! Freaknik... 1201 00:56:13,081 --> 00:56:15,918 So, I mean, that was always a-a thread 1202 00:56:16,001 --> 00:56:17,586 in the nuance behind Freaknik 1203 00:56:17,669 --> 00:56:21,548 and most things that are controversial within the city 1204 00:56:21,632 --> 00:56:24,676 is the dynamics between the Black culture and the white culture. 1205 00:56:30,349 --> 00:56:33,894 Galveston, white area, Daytona Beach, white. 1206 00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:38,190 But when you looked at Atlanta, this is our shit. 1207 00:56:38,273 --> 00:56:41,026 This is a Black government, Black town. 1208 00:56:41,109 --> 00:56:43,070 So you would have expected 1209 00:56:43,153 --> 00:56:46,657 that they would've embraced Freaknik in a better way. 1210 00:56:47,324 --> 00:56:49,159 When the eye of the world is on you, 1211 00:56:49,243 --> 00:56:50,827 it's a different experience 1212 00:56:51,870 --> 00:56:55,207 because you gotta make sure the foreigners are comfortable when they come in here. 1213 00:56:55,874 --> 00:56:57,876 There's a certain way you gotta present yourself. 1214 00:56:58,377 --> 00:57:01,672 Atlanta's got its arms around it, ready for it, 1215 00:57:02,297 --> 00:57:04,967 prepared to put on the best Olympics the world's ever seen. 1216 00:57:05,050 --> 00:57:07,427 Atlanta understood that this was prime time 1217 00:57:07,511 --> 00:57:09,721 and they did everything they could to be ready for it. 1218 00:57:09,805 --> 00:57:11,682 And so for some people, 1219 00:57:11,765 --> 00:57:13,392 as they're trying to build that reputation, 1220 00:57:13,475 --> 00:57:15,602 as they're trying to grow toward the Olympics, 1221 00:57:15,686 --> 00:57:19,773 Freaknik was an unnecessary distraction and a problem. 1222 00:57:21,775 --> 00:57:23,861 Mayor Campbell had embraced Freaknik 1223 00:57:23,944 --> 00:57:25,904 when it was a more manageable event, 1224 00:57:25,988 --> 00:57:27,030 as most people did. 1225 00:57:27,573 --> 00:57:31,201 Because we felt that we had a sacred responsibility 1226 00:57:31,702 --> 00:57:34,454 for Black college students from all across the United States. 1227 00:57:35,706 --> 00:57:38,500 Uh, it changed into something else. 1228 00:57:38,584 --> 00:57:41,962 The Olympics was the biggest event in the history of the city 1229 00:57:42,045 --> 00:57:43,463 and we had to deliver it. 1230 00:57:43,547 --> 00:57:47,301 And so I think that he had to make some tough decisions. 1231 00:57:47,718 --> 00:57:49,887 While Freaknik did attract 1232 00:57:49,970 --> 00:57:54,558 a million young college-aged Black folk to descend upon the city, 1233 00:57:54,641 --> 00:57:57,936 the Olympics attracted 10 million. 1234 00:57:59,229 --> 00:58:02,774 Freaknik may have brought $15 million to the city coffers. 1235 00:58:03,734 --> 00:58:05,444 The Olympics brought two billion. 1236 00:58:06,862 --> 00:58:09,323 This is a business decision that Bill Campbell is making. 1237 00:58:10,282 --> 00:58:14,036 People act outraged about the social and the cultural and the moral stuff. 1238 00:58:14,119 --> 00:58:16,705 That's not what usually drives change in this country. 1239 00:58:16,788 --> 00:58:18,707 The bottom line is money. 1240 00:58:18,790 --> 00:58:22,461 And there were a lot of business owners who felt like when the city shut down 1241 00:58:22,544 --> 00:58:24,713 that they couldn't run their businesses. 1242 00:58:24,796 --> 00:58:27,049 And so a lot of the complaints you saw, 1243 00:58:27,132 --> 00:58:28,926 it wasn't that they were morally outraged. 1244 00:58:29,009 --> 00:58:31,386 If they could've got paid, they'd have kept Freaknik going forever. 1245 00:58:31,470 --> 00:58:34,056 It was because they couldn't make their money as usual. 1246 00:58:37,351 --> 00:58:39,645 So this has been Freaknik weekend. 1247 00:58:39,728 --> 00:58:42,397 We've been here the whole weekend actually since Thursday 1248 00:58:42,481 --> 00:58:45,817 at the National Paper Trade Association at the Hyatt. 1249 00:58:45,901 --> 00:58:48,028 At that point in time, Atlanta had 1250 00:58:48,111 --> 00:58:51,114 the largest convention center in the country. 1251 00:58:51,698 --> 00:58:55,744 And the difference of 100,000 business people 1252 00:58:55,827 --> 00:58:58,247 that come into town for a convention, 1253 00:58:58,330 --> 00:59:00,999 staying at hotels, eating at restaurants, 1254 00:59:01,083 --> 00:59:05,546 far outweighed the folks coming into town 1255 00:59:05,629 --> 00:59:07,089 for a Freaknik weekend. 1256 00:59:07,548 --> 00:59:11,844 When you have an environment that is not conducive 1257 00:59:11,927 --> 00:59:15,472 and welcoming to the convention business, 1258 00:59:15,556 --> 00:59:17,933 then that becomes a problem. 1259 00:59:18,392 --> 00:59:20,769 No one should have to close their business. 1260 00:59:20,853 --> 00:59:23,647 No one should have to downsize their staff 1261 00:59:23,730 --> 00:59:25,983 because they know that their staff can't get in. 1262 00:59:27,025 --> 00:59:29,319 There was a turning of the Black dollar, 1263 00:59:29,403 --> 00:59:32,197 it just wasn't as traditional as Atlanta was used to, 1264 00:59:32,281 --> 00:59:34,157 'cause this has always been a convention city. 1265 00:59:34,616 --> 00:59:37,494 I mean, it was just not a comfortable period 1266 00:59:37,578 --> 00:59:39,413 for that kind of business. 1267 00:59:39,496 --> 00:59:42,666 And, yes, there are people that brought, uh, money to the city, 1268 00:59:42,749 --> 00:59:45,502 but I'm not sure where they spent it, 1269 00:59:45,586 --> 00:59:48,422 um, because a lot of the places you couldn't get to. 1270 00:59:49,548 --> 00:59:52,634 What I saw in '96 is, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, y'all can't do that. 1271 00:59:52,718 --> 00:59:54,928 "Y'all can't drive here, these streets is barricaded. 1272 00:59:55,012 --> 00:59:56,930 "These hotels don't want us in the lobby. 1273 00:59:57,014 --> 01:00:00,142 "These rooms aren't sold, but they're not selling them to us. 1274 01:00:00,225 --> 01:00:02,311 "These restaurants aren't full, 1275 01:00:02,394 --> 01:00:04,354 but they don't necessarily want us in 'em." 1276 01:00:05,606 --> 01:00:08,275 The city prepped for the Olympics by... 1277 01:00:08,859 --> 01:00:09,943 cleaning up, 1278 01:00:10,736 --> 01:00:12,196 filling potholes, 1279 01:00:12,654 --> 01:00:15,908 and unfortunately putting poor, disenfranchised people out. 1280 01:00:17,367 --> 01:00:19,828 I mean, you know what? I don't really think that it was personal. 1281 01:00:19,912 --> 01:00:22,789 I just think that it was a game of "big bank take little bank." 1282 01:00:22,873 --> 01:00:25,000 Atlanta gets a small preview 1283 01:00:25,083 --> 01:00:27,794 of this Summer's Olympic crowds this weekend. 1284 01:00:27,878 --> 01:00:32,090 Plans are underway to reroute traffic for the city's annual Freaknik gathering. 1285 01:00:32,174 --> 01:00:34,051 Every year, tens of thousands of students 1286 01:00:34,134 --> 01:00:36,303 from historically Black colleges and universities 1287 01:00:36,386 --> 01:00:39,181 converge on Atlanta for a weekend of fun. 1288 01:00:39,264 --> 01:00:41,808 In addition to concerns about traffic and crowd control, 1289 01:00:41,892 --> 01:00:43,644 officials are worried the crowds may hamper 1290 01:00:43,727 --> 01:00:46,063 around-the-clock Olympic preparations. 1291 01:00:47,606 --> 01:00:49,983 At that point, Freaknik was different. 1292 01:00:50,067 --> 01:00:52,319 It wasn't what we dreamed about in the '80s, 1293 01:00:52,402 --> 01:00:54,571 it wasn't what we talked about in the '90s. 1294 01:00:54,655 --> 01:00:56,740 Now, suddenly, Freaknik was something 1295 01:00:56,823 --> 01:00:58,992 that the city was trying to control. 1296 01:01:00,953 --> 01:01:03,956 Bill wanted to move the name even away from Freaknik. 1297 01:01:04,039 --> 01:01:06,416 George Hawthorne is chairman of the planning committee 1298 01:01:06,500 --> 01:01:09,503 for what they tried to call Black College Spring Break. 1299 01:01:10,003 --> 01:01:13,090 Participants, many of them who were not college students, 1300 01:01:13,173 --> 01:01:14,216 called it Freaknik. 1301 01:01:15,676 --> 01:01:17,386 The Spring Break Planning Committee 1302 01:01:17,469 --> 01:01:20,639 was put together as a way to try to see 1303 01:01:20,722 --> 01:01:22,724 if this thing could be organized in a fashion. 1304 01:01:24,268 --> 01:01:26,186 I went into it with the open attitude, 1305 01:01:26,270 --> 01:01:28,480 let's see if we can make this work, 1306 01:01:28,564 --> 01:01:30,315 let's see what the real issues are, 1307 01:01:30,399 --> 01:01:31,567 and let's solve those issues 1308 01:01:31,650 --> 01:01:35,696 and see if this thing can be salvaged as a cultural event for Atlanta. 1309 01:01:36,238 --> 01:01:38,031 And when I took on this-this position, 1310 01:01:38,115 --> 01:01:44,037 I said that if in fact that I cannot, as a parent and as a civic-minded person, 1311 01:01:44,121 --> 01:01:47,624 deliver a safe and sane event for the participants 1312 01:01:47,708 --> 01:01:49,585 and the people of Atlanta, 1313 01:01:49,668 --> 01:01:52,963 that I'll be the first to stand up and say it's got to go. 1314 01:02:02,097 --> 01:02:03,932 But Bill Campbell had started 1315 01:02:04,016 --> 01:02:07,853 implementing a plan where we gonna block all the exits off 1316 01:02:07,936 --> 01:02:10,439 and we're gonna make 'em go this route, 1317 01:02:10,522 --> 01:02:14,902 like kind of take 'em all the way out the loop of everything 1318 01:02:14,985 --> 01:02:17,362 before they was lettin' 'em get off the highway. 1319 01:02:18,280 --> 01:02:21,366 To prevent potentially hazardous backups onto the interstate, 1320 01:02:21,450 --> 01:02:25,078 all the Freaknik jam moved from downtown into midtown. 1321 01:02:25,162 --> 01:02:27,915 With nightfall, police blocked off most exits 1322 01:02:27,998 --> 01:02:29,625 from the downtown connector. 1323 01:02:33,462 --> 01:02:36,381 Just imagine every exit being blocked. 1324 01:02:37,132 --> 01:02:39,343 They had the highway patrols in front of every exit, 1325 01:02:39,426 --> 01:02:41,053 so if you're driving the expressway, 1326 01:02:41,136 --> 01:02:43,514 you had, you had to just keep driving. 1327 01:02:44,056 --> 01:02:46,099 Now if you from out of town, 1328 01:02:46,183 --> 01:02:48,477 then you don't really know where to go. 1329 01:02:48,560 --> 01:02:51,647 'cause, you know, we weren't using GPSs and all that back then. 1330 01:02:51,730 --> 01:02:53,106 They don't know where to go. 1331 01:02:53,190 --> 01:02:55,567 So that started breaking down the energy. 1332 01:02:56,777 --> 01:02:58,445 What do you think of all this traffic? 1333 01:02:58,529 --> 01:02:59,530 It's crazy. 1334 01:02:59,613 --> 01:03:00,906 Y'all having fun? 1335 01:03:00,989 --> 01:03:02,241 - No. - No? 1336 01:03:02,324 --> 01:03:04,076 - You don't like this traffic, right? - No. 1337 01:03:04,159 --> 01:03:05,661 It was fucked up. 1338 01:03:05,744 --> 01:03:07,621 Can I say that? 1339 01:03:07,704 --> 01:03:09,206 The traffic was fucked up. 1340 01:03:09,289 --> 01:03:11,834 And what it did, it actually paralyzed the city 1341 01:03:11,917 --> 01:03:13,210 for, like, the whole weekend. 1342 01:03:13,293 --> 01:03:14,837 When I got off work from Walter's, 1343 01:03:14,920 --> 01:03:16,755 it took me at least three hours 1344 01:03:16,839 --> 01:03:18,715 just to make it to the expressway to go home. 1345 01:03:19,091 --> 01:03:21,134 And it was not ordinary traffic. 1346 01:03:21,218 --> 01:03:23,929 You know, people talk about Atlanta traffic all the time, 1347 01:03:24,012 --> 01:03:25,013 it's a thing, 1348 01:03:25,097 --> 01:03:27,015 but this was not ordinary traffic. 1349 01:03:27,099 --> 01:03:29,101 Ambulances couldn't get through. 1350 01:03:29,184 --> 01:03:30,394 People were having weddings 1351 01:03:30,477 --> 01:03:32,646 that they couldn't get through to the weddings. 1352 01:03:32,729 --> 01:03:35,190 You trying to drive around a certain time on a certain street, 1353 01:03:35,274 --> 01:03:37,276 you might not get from one corner to the next 1354 01:03:37,359 --> 01:03:38,402 in an hour or two. 1355 01:03:38,485 --> 01:03:40,404 If you lived in Atlanta, 1356 01:03:40,487 --> 01:03:41,905 you didn't wanna leave your house. 1357 01:03:41,989 --> 01:03:42,990 You went the other way. 1358 01:03:43,073 --> 01:03:44,658 I knew people that actually took trips. 1359 01:03:44,741 --> 01:03:46,660 It was like, "Oh, okay. Oh, Freaknik is this weekend? 1360 01:03:46,743 --> 01:03:48,328 Okay, bet, I'm going on vacation." 1361 01:03:48,412 --> 01:03:50,539 We basically stayed in the downtown area 1362 01:03:50,622 --> 01:03:52,207 because the traffic was very hectic 1363 01:03:52,291 --> 01:03:53,500 and we didn't wanna drive. 1364 01:03:53,584 --> 01:03:55,002 It's so much of a struggle, 1365 01:03:55,085 --> 01:03:57,337 so difficult trying to figure out the reroutings, 1366 01:03:57,421 --> 01:03:58,922 it's not even worth going outside. 1367 01:03:59,006 --> 01:04:00,382 They could've just told us not to come. 1368 01:04:00,465 --> 01:04:01,800 He should've said, "We ain't havin' it." 1369 01:04:01,884 --> 01:04:03,594 A lot of people came from a long way, 1370 01:04:03,677 --> 01:04:04,887 and they don't have anything to do. 1371 01:04:04,970 --> 01:04:08,557 I mean, what is he gonna do? Stop every Black, uh, college student he sees 1372 01:04:08,640 --> 01:04:11,018 coming into Atlanta and tell 'em they cannot enter the city? 1373 01:04:11,101 --> 01:04:12,102 It's totally ludicrous. 1374 01:04:12,186 --> 01:04:13,437 This is where we have fun. 1375 01:04:13,520 --> 01:04:15,230 If you try to stop all the traffic, 1376 01:04:15,314 --> 01:04:16,773 you know, with us just gathering around, 1377 01:04:16,857 --> 01:04:18,734 you know, it might-- something bad might happen. 1378 01:04:18,817 --> 01:04:20,110 What's up, mayor? 1379 01:04:20,194 --> 01:04:21,778 - I'm saying, I don't know why, 1380 01:04:21,862 --> 01:04:24,198 I don't know why you had the cops blocking off all the exits, man, 1381 01:04:24,281 --> 01:04:26,158 keeping people from coming into the city during Freaknik. 1382 01:04:26,241 --> 01:04:28,118 Well, first of all, we wanna reassure the public 1383 01:04:28,202 --> 01:04:30,162 that Atlanta is a safe place. 1384 01:04:30,245 --> 01:04:31,413 All this isn't called for. 1385 01:04:31,496 --> 01:04:33,165 You see the riot patrol, you see the horses. 1386 01:04:33,248 --> 01:04:35,667 I mean, it shows that we locked down like in a prison. 1387 01:04:35,751 --> 01:04:37,544 So, you know, it's kinda messed up. 1388 01:04:38,670 --> 01:04:42,090 There was a lot of... tension 1389 01:04:43,425 --> 01:04:45,135 that kinda comes around Freaknik. 1390 01:04:46,386 --> 01:04:48,138 And be-because of that, 1391 01:04:48,222 --> 01:04:51,225 of course it made the police that much more vigilant, 1392 01:04:51,308 --> 01:04:54,394 because, I mean, there was real firepower out on the streets. 1393 01:04:54,895 --> 01:04:57,272 And I think that to a certain extent, 1394 01:04:57,356 --> 01:05:00,943 when some of the more heavy-handed police tactics were involved, 1395 01:05:01,026 --> 01:05:05,906 was a way to show that in fact we could control this large event. 1396 01:05:09,326 --> 01:05:11,787 And, you know, and at that point I think that's where... 1397 01:05:12,955 --> 01:05:14,164 the decline happened, right? 1398 01:05:24,800 --> 01:05:26,677 Atlanta Police have caught a glimpse 1399 01:05:26,760 --> 01:05:28,428 of the dark side of the party. 1400 01:05:28,512 --> 01:05:33,308 We have had two cases of reported rape. 1401 01:05:33,392 --> 01:05:34,893 One of the alleged attacks 1402 01:05:34,977 --> 01:05:37,312 happened away from the crowd in an apartment. 1403 01:05:37,396 --> 01:05:39,690 The other, police say, was frighteningly similar 1404 01:05:39,773 --> 01:05:42,359 to this assault captured by Chopper 5 Friday night 1405 01:05:42,442 --> 01:05:43,652 and later showed to police. 1406 01:05:47,406 --> 01:05:49,449 So this is spring 1998. 1407 01:05:52,703 --> 01:05:55,956 My best friend at the time and I had a party to go to. 1408 01:05:56,665 --> 01:05:59,918 And so we're, like, anxious to get to our friend's place, 1409 01:06:00,002 --> 01:06:01,336 um, in Marietta, 1410 01:06:01,420 --> 01:06:02,838 and so we can't. 1411 01:06:02,921 --> 01:06:06,133 And we can't because of these barricades and these roadblocks 1412 01:06:06,216 --> 01:06:09,928 keeping us from heading to the north side of town. 1413 01:06:10,220 --> 01:06:12,764 And what's on the north side of town at that time? 1414 01:06:12,848 --> 01:06:15,142 White people and affluent neighborhoods. 1415 01:06:18,187 --> 01:06:22,816 So we are forced, basically, to go south of town. 1416 01:06:23,650 --> 01:06:25,861 So, my roommate has to get gas, 1417 01:06:25,944 --> 01:06:27,905 she gets out, she uses the bathroom, 1418 01:06:27,988 --> 01:06:31,658 she comes back in the car, realizes her purse is gone. 1419 01:06:32,284 --> 01:06:35,537 So she storms all the way down the street, 1420 01:06:35,621 --> 01:06:37,706 parks in the middle turning lane, 1421 01:06:37,789 --> 01:06:40,959 gets out of the car and storms the crowd, 1422 01:06:41,043 --> 01:06:42,336 trying to get her purse. 1423 01:06:42,419 --> 01:06:44,880 And some guy jumps into the driver's side, 1424 01:06:44,963 --> 01:06:47,007 driver-driver's seat of the car. 1425 01:06:47,090 --> 01:06:50,052 So, we start fighting in the car. 1426 01:06:50,135 --> 01:06:52,387 So I, basically, I sucker punch him, 1427 01:06:52,471 --> 01:06:55,057 and we start tussling in the car, 1428 01:06:55,140 --> 01:07:00,062 because I didn't want him to drive off with me in the car, leaving my roommate. 1429 01:07:00,145 --> 01:07:02,940 And so, um, we're fighting, 1430 01:07:03,023 --> 01:07:07,069 the crowd is starting to come from both sides of the street. 1431 01:07:07,152 --> 01:07:11,448 So someone opens up my car door and starts to pull me out. 1432 01:07:11,532 --> 01:07:14,826 And they drag me on the ground and just start-- 1433 01:07:14,910 --> 01:07:17,287 just start ripping at all my clothing. 1434 01:07:17,371 --> 01:07:19,623 Just start rippin', rippin', rippin'. 1435 01:07:19,706 --> 01:07:25,337 And I would say there were probably 10 active guys 1436 01:07:25,420 --> 01:07:27,881 pu-- almost, like, kind of like taking turns. 1437 01:07:28,215 --> 01:07:31,301 The only thing that saved me from getting raped 1438 01:07:31,885 --> 01:07:33,637 was a man yelled out, "Police." 1439 01:07:36,431 --> 01:07:40,561 And then, um, the crowd kind of just scatters. 1440 01:07:40,644 --> 01:07:43,981 It-- well, it doesn't scatter. Kind of loosens up, if you will. 1441 01:07:44,064 --> 01:07:48,861 Um, when I got up, both breasts were out of the shirt. 1442 01:07:48,944 --> 01:07:50,404 The shirt was ripped. 1443 01:07:50,779 --> 01:07:54,700 Only the elastic, um, was holding my skirt together. 1444 01:07:54,783 --> 01:07:58,078 My hair was all over the place, as you can imagine. 1445 01:07:58,161 --> 01:08:00,455 I was cut and bruised and the whole nine. 1446 01:08:00,539 --> 01:08:03,000 I'm like, "What the hell just happened?" 1447 01:08:03,417 --> 01:08:05,586 And I'm scared and, you know, 1448 01:08:05,669 --> 01:08:08,380 all these emotions on top of anger and frustration, 1449 01:08:08,463 --> 01:08:11,008 because where are the people 1450 01:08:11,091 --> 01:08:12,885 that are supposed to protect and serve? 1451 01:08:18,265 --> 01:08:20,809 Police say they may be able to control the traffic, 1452 01:08:20,893 --> 01:08:23,228 but they cannot always control the crowd, 1453 01:08:23,312 --> 01:08:26,231 so they're warning women to have fun, but be careful. 1454 01:08:26,940 --> 01:08:29,693 So there was nothing that the Atlanta Police Department 1455 01:08:29,776 --> 01:08:31,612 did to follow up. 1456 01:08:31,695 --> 01:08:33,447 I never got an apology. I never-- 1457 01:08:33,530 --> 01:08:35,282 Not that I was expecting one, 1458 01:08:35,365 --> 01:08:37,701 um, but nothing happened. 1459 01:08:37,784 --> 01:08:40,829 It's kind of like the mayor and the police chief, 1460 01:08:40,913 --> 01:08:43,415 I feel like they were enablers, in a sense. 1461 01:08:44,249 --> 01:08:47,503 They were protecting one group of people 1462 01:08:47,586 --> 01:08:50,589 but exposing another group of people 1463 01:08:50,672 --> 01:08:54,384 to the possibility of something like this to happen. 1464 01:08:56,220 --> 01:08:58,180 Atlanta, Georgia, Freaknik. 1465 01:08:58,263 --> 01:09:01,350 50,000 attendees, 481 arrests, 1466 01:09:01,433 --> 01:09:03,435 four for rape, six for fondling. 1467 01:09:03,519 --> 01:09:07,105 The majority of the major problems caused by non-college students. 1468 01:09:07,189 --> 01:09:09,024 It could be anybody, you know what I'm saying? 1469 01:09:09,107 --> 01:09:10,901 You get-- you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, 1470 01:09:10,984 --> 01:09:12,611 anything can happen to you, you know? 1471 01:09:12,694 --> 01:09:14,613 You can have fun, but it's also dangerous. 1472 01:09:14,696 --> 01:09:17,074 Guys was reaching inside the girl's sunroof top, 1473 01:09:17,157 --> 01:09:18,450 grabbing on their breasts. 1474 01:09:18,534 --> 01:09:20,035 Or if the girls was walking down the street, 1475 01:09:20,118 --> 01:09:21,870 they were going up under their dress and everything 1476 01:09:21,954 --> 01:09:24,039 and I felt like the women were being violated. 1477 01:09:24,122 --> 01:09:25,916 While police say there is no excuse 1478 01:09:25,999 --> 01:09:27,668 and no provocation for rape, 1479 01:09:27,751 --> 01:09:31,004 sexuality has become an almost sideshow on the streets. 1480 01:09:31,463 --> 01:09:33,382 There is a narrative in this country 1481 01:09:34,091 --> 01:09:36,760 that Black men are sexually violent, 1482 01:09:36,844 --> 01:09:40,514 sexual predators, sexually irresponsible, 1483 01:09:40,597 --> 01:09:43,267 and it's important that we don't reinforce that idea 1484 01:09:43,350 --> 01:09:45,060 by suggesting that Freaknik was just filled 1485 01:09:45,143 --> 01:09:48,146 with these crazy, violent, Black male sexual predators. 1486 01:09:51,692 --> 01:09:53,986 There was a lot of harassment, 1487 01:09:54,069 --> 01:09:55,988 there was a lot of unwanted touching, 1488 01:09:56,071 --> 01:09:59,241 and there was, in some cases, rape. 1489 01:10:00,492 --> 01:10:02,744 But most people who attended Freaknik 1490 01:10:03,120 --> 01:10:07,583 did not participate in any kind of sexual misconduct. 1491 01:10:07,666 --> 01:10:09,126 That's important. 1492 01:10:10,794 --> 01:10:13,547 So after the attack, 1493 01:10:14,464 --> 01:10:15,591 my... 1494 01:10:16,258 --> 01:10:19,928 So, again, I was just in this weird mental state, 1495 01:10:20,470 --> 01:10:24,391 um, kind of blah, but then angry, um, 1496 01:10:24,474 --> 01:10:27,978 and I was afraid of crowds. 1497 01:10:28,896 --> 01:10:32,107 Um, and I was specifically, unfor-- and unfortunately, 1498 01:10:32,191 --> 01:10:37,905 afraid of Black crowds, um, because I, unfortunately, 1499 01:10:37,988 --> 01:10:39,907 were attacked by my brothers. 1500 01:10:39,990 --> 01:10:42,117 Like, I didn't-- for the life of me, I couldn't get it. 1501 01:10:42,201 --> 01:10:45,120 I'm like, certainly, clearly you have a mom, 1502 01:10:45,204 --> 01:10:49,291 clearly you got a grandmama, um, you know, sister, auntie, 1503 01:10:50,292 --> 01:10:52,461 you know, somewhere along those lines, 1504 01:10:52,544 --> 01:10:56,757 you have females in your life, and what if it was them? 1505 01:10:58,634 --> 01:11:00,761 I did hear about that unfortunate situation 1506 01:11:00,844 --> 01:11:01,929 with that young lady. 1507 01:11:02,012 --> 01:11:04,556 Um, several of my friends felt disrespected 1508 01:11:04,640 --> 01:11:08,060 from some of the guys, like, just unwanted advances 1509 01:11:08,143 --> 01:11:10,979 and-and them being rude, and so that's why, again, 1510 01:11:11,063 --> 01:11:14,066 it got to a point where we didn't really wanna hang out during Freaknik 1511 01:11:14,149 --> 01:11:15,984 because it became something different. 1512 01:11:24,701 --> 01:11:27,287 The nature of Freaknik changed... 1513 01:11:28,914 --> 01:11:31,166 ...and folks weren't handling it in the way 1514 01:11:31,250 --> 01:11:32,668 that it had been handled before. 1515 01:11:36,129 --> 01:11:38,257 It got to the point where Freaknik wasn't fun. 1516 01:11:38,340 --> 01:11:39,675 Not just the traffic. 1517 01:11:39,758 --> 01:11:43,053 The energy started feeling a lot more, um, predatory. 1518 01:11:46,098 --> 01:11:47,724 Let me down! 1519 01:11:48,392 --> 01:11:52,688 If you have to say, "Protect Black women" in the 2020s, 1520 01:11:52,771 --> 01:11:56,900 then imagine what you had to say in the 1990s. 1521 01:11:59,236 --> 01:12:01,488 It just hurt me, and I came from Spelman, 1522 01:12:01,572 --> 01:12:04,658 where our total fabric, DNA, 1523 01:12:04,741 --> 01:12:08,036 is about uplifting the greatness of women. 1524 01:12:10,247 --> 01:12:13,375 That was just the total opposite of Atlanta for me. 1525 01:12:16,253 --> 01:12:22,634 Once I saw definitively the degradation of women, 1526 01:12:23,594 --> 01:12:27,639 I had reached my fill with Freaknik. 1527 01:12:28,432 --> 01:12:30,601 And there was no coming back from that. 1528 01:12:35,856 --> 01:12:38,108 I'm calling this press conference today to release the report 1529 01:12:38,192 --> 01:12:40,235 of the Black College Spring Break Planning Committee. 1530 01:12:40,319 --> 01:12:43,780 We drafted up the final report and released it to the city 1531 01:12:43,864 --> 01:12:46,158 and to the press at the same time. 1532 01:12:46,241 --> 01:12:49,286 The man who heads the Black College Spring Break Planning Committee 1533 01:12:49,369 --> 01:12:50,829 is recommending Freaknik, 1534 01:12:50,913 --> 01:12:53,040 as it's popularly called, be canceled. 1535 01:12:53,123 --> 01:12:55,667 This plan represents the committee's desire 1536 01:12:55,751 --> 01:12:59,129 to get rid of the negative elements of this event. 1537 01:12:59,213 --> 01:13:02,132 The city of Atlanta is not going to host Freaknik. 1538 01:13:02,216 --> 01:13:07,137 It is not an event that, uh, we feel is appropriate for our city. 1539 01:13:07,221 --> 01:13:09,264 It had degraded to a point 1540 01:13:09,348 --> 01:13:12,643 where I thought that Freaknik had become, uh, basically 1541 01:13:12,726 --> 01:13:14,937 a time for guys to come from all over the nation, 1542 01:13:15,020 --> 01:13:18,106 have a free-for-all with women in Atlanta, 1543 01:13:18,190 --> 01:13:23,362 and it just wasn't fair for us to put them in that position 1544 01:13:23,445 --> 01:13:24,738 by supporting such an event. 1545 01:13:29,034 --> 01:13:31,870 No one chastises you for killing a monster. 1546 01:13:33,789 --> 01:13:36,041 And it needs to be known as the monster 1547 01:13:36,124 --> 01:13:38,627 that it metastasized to what it was. 1548 01:13:38,710 --> 01:13:40,963 And so I think it took some courageous leadership 1549 01:13:41,046 --> 01:13:44,299 on behalf of the mayor to make this move and to do this. 1550 01:13:44,383 --> 01:13:46,218 As Freaknik '99 draws near, 1551 01:13:46,301 --> 01:13:48,178 many of those who would attend 1552 01:13:48,262 --> 01:13:50,347 say their attentions are turning elsewhere. 1553 01:13:50,430 --> 01:13:52,558 I think it's pretty much gonna be just like a regular weekend. 1554 01:13:52,641 --> 01:13:54,810 I know I have a lot of friends that are going down to Daytona, 1555 01:13:54,893 --> 01:13:56,937 and that's kinda taking the place of, um, Freaknik. 1556 01:13:57,020 --> 01:13:59,439 And so, it's without the hassles and stuff like that 1557 01:13:59,523 --> 01:14:01,775 from the police and other, uh, city officials. 1558 01:14:01,859 --> 01:14:05,612 Freaknik is totally degrading to women, I believe, 1559 01:14:05,696 --> 01:14:08,866 and, I mean, I won't be participating in it this year. 1560 01:14:08,949 --> 01:14:11,159 No, I'm not planning any Freaknik activities. 1561 01:14:11,243 --> 01:14:12,828 I have a lot of work to do. 1562 01:14:12,911 --> 01:14:14,621 Freaknik is not calling my name. 1563 01:14:14,705 --> 01:14:16,665 It's crazy. Streets are always blocked off. 1564 01:14:16,748 --> 01:14:20,252 It takes you three hours to get home, guys shake your car, rip your clothes off. 1565 01:14:20,335 --> 01:14:21,920 It's not fun for females anymore. 1566 01:14:22,379 --> 01:14:24,006 Freaknik needed to die. 1567 01:14:46,111 --> 01:14:48,864 Everything ain't supposed to last forever. 1568 01:14:50,115 --> 01:14:53,160 Because what happens is Black kids 1569 01:14:53,243 --> 01:14:56,079 has come along generations later and they revive it in the way 1570 01:14:56,163 --> 01:14:58,332 where you remember this amazingness. 1571 01:14:58,415 --> 01:15:00,792 Oh, man. And that's what nostalgia's about. 1572 01:15:01,251 --> 01:15:02,836 That's what history's about. 1573 01:15:03,295 --> 01:15:07,299 Well, tonight we are less than 48 hours from the return of Freaknik. 1574 01:15:07,382 --> 01:15:09,510 And what? You don't know about Freaknik? 1575 01:15:09,593 --> 01:15:11,011 You haven't lived here that long? 1576 01:15:11,094 --> 01:15:12,513 Freaknik ended years ago, 1577 01:15:12,596 --> 01:15:15,307 but organizers say this is the revamped version. 1578 01:15:15,390 --> 01:15:17,726 You know, the organizer, when I spoke to him earlier today, 1579 01:15:17,809 --> 01:15:19,311 he really wants people here in Atlanta 1580 01:15:19,394 --> 01:15:23,065 to know that you can celebrate Freaknik in a positive way. 1581 01:15:23,148 --> 01:15:26,193 So in 2018, and I saw that Cartoon Network 1582 01:15:26,276 --> 01:15:28,320 was the last one to have the trademark 1583 01:15:28,403 --> 01:15:31,782 when they did their Freaknik cartoon series with T-Pain. 1584 01:15:33,408 --> 01:15:35,285 ♪ I'm back! ♪ 1585 01:15:37,079 --> 01:15:39,540 And once I saw that the mark was available, 1586 01:15:39,623 --> 01:15:41,792 I applied for it, and then that's when I put in 1587 01:15:42,751 --> 01:15:46,046 all the financial resources to be able to do it. 1588 01:15:47,339 --> 01:15:49,216 So my brother, um, tell me your name 1589 01:15:49,299 --> 01:15:50,425 and what is it that you do? 1590 01:15:50,509 --> 01:15:53,929 Carlos Neal. I am the owner and the founder 1591 01:15:54,012 --> 01:15:55,514 of the Freaknik Festival. 1592 01:15:58,225 --> 01:16:00,644 When we first started, he came to me and said, 1593 01:16:00,727 --> 01:16:02,563 "Hey, I wanna do Freaknik." 1594 01:16:02,646 --> 01:16:04,523 I was like, "Really? Freaknik? Okay." 1595 01:16:04,606 --> 01:16:06,859 "But it won't be the Freaknik of the past, 1596 01:16:06,942 --> 01:16:08,443 "it'll be the new Freaknik. 1597 01:16:08,527 --> 01:16:10,195 "We're, we're doing a concert 1598 01:16:10,279 --> 01:16:13,991 "and we institute different organizations, 1599 01:16:14,074 --> 01:16:18,203 some health fairs and things like that, not just a party." 1600 01:16:18,287 --> 01:16:20,122 I was like, "Oh, okay, great." 1601 01:16:20,455 --> 01:16:23,625 I can, you know, fully support and get behind that 1602 01:16:23,709 --> 01:16:26,378 because I think that's something that Atlanta needed. 1603 01:16:27,546 --> 01:16:33,010 When I think of Freaknik, I think of Freaknik as what you recognize it as. 1604 01:16:33,093 --> 01:16:35,721 - Yeah. - And what we all recognize it as, 1605 01:16:35,804 --> 01:16:37,598 because we lived that shit. 1606 01:16:37,681 --> 01:16:40,350 You know, from year-in to year-out 1607 01:16:40,434 --> 01:16:42,811 and cars and the partying and all that, 1608 01:16:42,895 --> 01:16:44,188 that's how it should be. 1609 01:16:44,271 --> 01:16:46,940 If you don't-- if you ain't experienced Freaknik, 1610 01:16:47,024 --> 01:16:48,567 you don't know how to treat Freaknik. 1611 01:16:48,650 --> 01:16:50,694 - Right. - You can't just buy the name. 1612 01:16:50,986 --> 01:16:53,572 You can own T-shirts that say "Freaknik" on 'em, 1613 01:16:53,655 --> 01:16:57,159 but you can't own, like, the essence of Freaknik. 1614 01:16:57,242 --> 01:16:59,328 You know what I'm saying? That's just how I feel. 1615 01:17:02,080 --> 01:17:03,207 - ♪ Freak ♪ - ♪ Nik ♪ 1616 01:17:03,290 --> 01:17:04,499 - ♪ Freak, F-Freak ♪ - ♪ Nik ♪ 1617 01:17:04,583 --> 01:17:06,335 ♪ When I say Freak you say Nik ♪ 1618 01:17:07,336 --> 01:17:10,088 People are trying to bring Freaknik back, 1619 01:17:10,172 --> 01:17:13,300 but Freaknik will never be what Freaknik was. 1620 01:17:15,886 --> 01:17:17,930 You can get you a-a park 1621 01:17:18,013 --> 01:17:20,682 and do your big party and call it Freaknik, 1622 01:17:21,725 --> 01:17:25,395 but the actual lifestyle of living of Freaknik, 1623 01:17:25,479 --> 01:17:26,939 that will never happen again. 1624 01:17:28,982 --> 01:17:30,359 Everything has changed. 1625 01:17:31,527 --> 01:17:32,945 Everybody's so uptight now 1626 01:17:33,028 --> 01:17:34,696 and you can't even step on somebody's shoe. 1627 01:17:34,780 --> 01:17:36,448 Like, we had thousands and thousands of people 1628 01:17:36,532 --> 01:17:38,325 just on the streets of Atlanta partying, 1629 01:17:38,408 --> 01:17:40,994 nobody pulling out guns, nobody trying to kill each other. 1630 01:17:41,078 --> 01:17:42,829 We were just trying to have a good time. 1631 01:17:45,249 --> 01:17:47,042 We weren't worried about likes, 1632 01:17:47,125 --> 01:17:48,585 we weren't worried about follows. 1633 01:17:48,669 --> 01:17:50,420 And you know what else we weren't worried about? 1634 01:17:50,504 --> 01:17:52,047 "Ah-ha, I got you!" moments. 1635 01:17:52,130 --> 01:17:55,008 It was a celebration of our heritage, 1636 01:17:55,092 --> 01:17:57,010 a celebration of our Blackness. 1637 01:17:57,261 --> 01:18:01,849 And now with social media, I don't think that could exist. 1638 01:18:03,100 --> 01:18:05,477 Come show that ass like your mama and them do. 1639 01:18:05,561 --> 01:18:09,773 I think that Freaknik, um, was old Atlanta, 1640 01:18:09,857 --> 01:18:13,318 and for those of us who were living in Atlanta 1641 01:18:13,402 --> 01:18:16,572 or frequent visitors of Atlanta at that time, 1642 01:18:16,655 --> 01:18:17,948 understand the difference. 1643 01:18:18,031 --> 01:18:20,075 It's just a completely different city. 1644 01:18:21,785 --> 01:18:24,413 ♪ Boy, you should know that ♪ 1645 01:18:24,496 --> 01:18:26,874 I think there is nostalgia about Freaknik 1646 01:18:26,957 --> 01:18:29,168 because it started in such a good place. 1647 01:18:29,251 --> 01:18:31,628 It started with a pure intent. 1648 01:18:32,379 --> 01:18:34,298 But there were some vile things that happened. 1649 01:18:34,381 --> 01:18:37,926 That's part of the legacy. That's not going to go away. 1650 01:18:38,010 --> 01:18:42,181 That didn't happen during that nostalgic, early, wonderful part 1651 01:18:42,264 --> 01:18:44,349 when it was just the students of the AU Center. 1652 01:18:44,433 --> 01:18:46,393 ♪ ...give me a call boo ♪ 1653 01:18:46,476 --> 01:18:47,686 What we birthed, 1654 01:18:47,769 --> 01:18:49,646 that they can't own. 1655 01:18:49,730 --> 01:18:52,232 - DC Metro... - DC Metro Club! 1656 01:18:54,234 --> 01:18:57,738 College students need something that is theirs. 1657 01:18:59,072 --> 01:19:03,577 Young people need places where they can go and gather 1658 01:19:03,660 --> 01:19:09,208 and not have to be treated as if they're unwanted. 1659 01:19:11,001 --> 01:19:13,420 We need Freaknik. 1660 01:19:13,504 --> 01:19:15,088 ♪ Every night I pray I can call... ♪ 1661 01:19:15,172 --> 01:19:17,216 We might not need the name Freaknik, 1662 01:19:17,299 --> 01:19:20,344 we might not need the same city or the same location, 1663 01:19:20,427 --> 01:19:22,095 but we need Black joy. 1664 01:19:22,179 --> 01:19:23,597 We need Black culture. 1665 01:19:23,680 --> 01:19:27,434 We need spaces for us to unwind and to connect and to bond, 1666 01:19:27,518 --> 01:19:29,436 and not on the Internet! 1667 01:19:29,520 --> 01:19:32,564 ♪ Every weekend just to see my boo again ♪ 1668 01:19:32,648 --> 01:19:35,567 These young people right now, today, they want Freaknik in their lives. 1669 01:19:35,651 --> 01:19:37,569 ♪ At night I think of you ♪ 1670 01:19:37,653 --> 01:19:39,321 ♪ I want to be your... ♪ 1671 01:19:39,404 --> 01:19:41,782 Freaknik was a real serious thing. 1672 01:19:41,865 --> 01:19:44,076 No, it wasn't no revolution, 1673 01:19:44,159 --> 01:19:46,078 but in a sense it was a revolution. 1674 01:19:46,161 --> 01:19:49,748 I mean, it was. Everything that is here now 1675 01:19:49,831 --> 01:19:53,168 comes from this-- not too far away from this era. 1676 01:19:53,794 --> 01:19:57,339 Oh, the seeds that we planted paved the way. 1677 01:19:57,422 --> 01:19:59,341 There would be no Future without OutKast. 1678 01:19:59,424 --> 01:20:02,302 No T.I. without Goodie Mob. 1679 01:20:02,386 --> 01:20:06,598 You know, Southern hip-hop went mainstream on the streets of Atlanta during Freaknik. 1680 01:20:08,517 --> 01:20:11,520 It made me understand how Black youth 1681 01:20:11,603 --> 01:20:14,773 has the power to expand 1682 01:20:14,857 --> 01:20:18,110 and spread culture by itself. 1683 01:20:18,193 --> 01:20:20,070 ♪ But if you can please me ♪ 1684 01:20:20,153 --> 01:20:23,031 I think the legacy of Freaknik is just creativity. 1685 01:20:23,115 --> 01:20:24,491 ♪ My love will come easy ♪ 1686 01:20:24,575 --> 01:20:27,578 The legacy of Freaknik is Black joy, 1687 01:20:27,661 --> 01:20:32,207 Black self-determination, Black music, Black education. 1688 01:20:32,749 --> 01:20:35,335 From the fashion to the music to the culture. 1689 01:20:36,712 --> 01:20:38,255 Like André's famous line said... 1690 01:20:38,338 --> 01:20:40,465 The South got something to say, that's all I got to say. 1691 01:20:42,217 --> 01:20:44,553 It was so big of an influence. 1692 01:20:44,636 --> 01:20:47,139 - I mean, Chevys and dunks and... - Oh, yeah. 1693 01:20:47,222 --> 01:20:49,224 ...and dancing on top of cars. 1694 01:20:49,308 --> 01:20:51,852 Freaknik changed music. 1695 01:20:51,935 --> 01:20:54,146 In my opinion, it helped build the South. 1696 01:20:54,229 --> 01:20:57,107 People just massively coming to Atlanta. 1697 01:20:57,191 --> 01:20:58,734 It was like a meeting ground. 1698 01:20:58,817 --> 01:21:00,444 And a lot of people fell in love with it 1699 01:21:00,527 --> 01:21:02,487 - and stayed for the rest of their life. - Oh yeah. Yeah, 100%. 1700 01:21:02,571 --> 01:21:03,947 - Definitely. They never left. - Yeah. 1701 01:21:04,031 --> 01:21:06,200 Shit, I don't know how many girls I fell in love with here. 1702 01:21:11,079 --> 01:21:12,748 Freaknik was and is the reason 1703 01:21:12,831 --> 01:21:14,499 you'll never be able to tell your mama and daddy 1704 01:21:14,583 --> 01:21:15,667 you partied harder than them. 1705 01:21:15,751 --> 01:21:17,753 Trust me, your mama and daddy got down. 1706 01:21:21,173 --> 01:21:23,634 Uh, ladies and gentlemen, Freaknik is not to be brought back, 1707 01:21:23,717 --> 01:21:24,968 you motherfuckers. It's over. 1708 01:21:25,052 --> 01:21:27,095 I'm tired of you niggas trying to resurrect this shit. 1709 01:21:27,179 --> 01:21:28,263 You need to let it go! 1710 01:21:29,473 --> 01:21:31,350 You didn't think you was gonna get that answer. 1711 01:21:33,435 --> 01:21:35,938 ♪ They saw yo mama down in Freaknik ♪ 1712 01:21:37,606 --> 01:21:39,483 ♪ That's where all the freaks went ♪ 1713 01:21:40,484 --> 01:21:42,402 ♪ The Kawasakis and them Jeeps ♪ 1714 01:21:43,570 --> 01:21:46,031 ♪ The 1996 Olympic Team ♪ 1715 01:21:47,491 --> 01:21:49,493 ♪ She stoppin' traffic, shakin' cheeks ♪ 1716 01:21:49,576 --> 01:21:50,827 ♪ Shakin', shakin' ♪ 1717 01:21:51,286 --> 01:21:53,121 ♪ Beep, beep, who got my keys? ♪ 1718 01:21:54,540 --> 01:21:56,500 ♪ She out in traffic shakin' cheeks ♪ 1719 01:21:56,583 --> 01:21:57,960 ♪ Shakin', shakin', shakin' ♪ 1720 01:21:58,377 --> 01:22:00,045 ♪ Beep, beep, who got my keys? ♪ 1721 01:22:00,128 --> 01:22:03,549 ♪ Could you Tootsie Roll for me like it was 1993? ♪ 1722 01:22:04,049 --> 01:22:07,052 ♪ Panasonic VHS, we 'bout to shoot a scene ♪ 1723 01:22:07,135 --> 01:22:08,846 ♪ I mean, I see you in cut-off jeans ♪ 1724 01:22:08,929 --> 01:22:10,472 ♪ Them tiny strings, you drive a Jeep ♪ 1725 01:22:10,556 --> 01:22:12,391 ♪ Came from the beach, came down to see me ♪ 1726 01:22:12,474 --> 01:22:14,226 ♪ You and Sheena tag team me ♪ 1727 01:22:14,601 --> 01:22:17,980 ♪ 69 Boyz, 95 South, we too live ♪ 1728 01:22:18,063 --> 01:22:20,148 ♪ Whoop, there it is like I'm Luke ♪ 1729 01:22:20,232 --> 01:22:21,316 ♪ Now raise the roof ♪ 1730 01:22:21,400 --> 01:22:22,985 ♪ Who is you? Oh that's yo boo ♪ 1731 01:22:23,068 --> 01:22:24,695 ♪ That So So Def, JD and Toomp ♪ 1732 01:22:24,778 --> 01:22:26,363 ♪ Two more girls in daisy dukes ♪ 1733 01:22:26,446 --> 01:22:28,365 ♪ And they won't come down from my roof ♪ 1734 01:22:29,408 --> 01:22:31,326 ♪ Look at my roof ♪ 1735 01:22:31,410 --> 01:22:35,455 I've been a playa all my life so, it's been Freaknik for me for a long time.