HipHopWired received the unique alternative to speak with the filmmakers behind the extremely anticipated Hulu documentary, Freaknik: The Wildest Story By no means Instructed.
For these within the know, Freaknik was not only a occasion that gathered practically each Black individual down in Atlanta, Georgia, each spring, nevertheless it was a veritable cultural second. When phrase broke late final 12 months that there can be a documentary about Freaknik, many instantly questioned if it might focus solely on the wildness that got here to be related to the occasion.
However in Freaknik: The Wildest Story By no means Instructed, we get a clear-eyed and compelling account of Freaknik in all of its elements due to testimony from quite a few folks together with Jermaine Dupri and Luther “Uncle Luke Campbell” (who’re government producers), Lil Jon, 21 Savage and extra.
HipHopWired received the prospect to speak with producers Jay Allen, Nikki Byles and government producer Terry “TR” Ross about their experiences in making this documentary and their perspective on Freaknik because it makes its premiere on Hulu March 21.
HipHopWired: How did this documentary mission get onto your radar, and the way had been you all concerned?
Jay Allen: So Nikki and I had been just a few years youthful, and we didn’t get to attend Freaknik. However we’ve at all times heard the tales of Freaknik from household, cousins and associates. As a result of we reside in Atlanta, we at all times speak about what it might have been prefer to be there. After which we realized that we needed to actually inform the story. So she and I put collectively a pitch deck. We put collectively a sizzle [reel], we received all that stuff collectively. After which we had been making an attempt to determine what the following steps had been. The very first thing that Nikki did was, she received on the telephone and received Uncle Luke concerned.
Nikki Byles: I simply occurred to achieve out to somebody and mentioned, “Hey, I want Luke and please let me speak to him.” And so based mostly on that, we ended up telling him what we needed, and he ended up flying to Atlanta to fulfill with us. And after we went over all the things, he was like, “Yep, I’m on board. Let’s get it.” Then, we spoke with Terry, he added JD [Jermaine Dupri]. Since you undoubtedly want each. And he seemed for the ambassador of Freaknik. And also you want JD for the music.
Terry “TR” Ross: Effectively, not solely that, however you want JD as a result of he’s some of the pivotal folks in Atlanta proper now. So we wanted him for that too, not only for the music. I imply, they name him the “mayor of Atlanta.”
Jay: Terry helped us fill in a number of the gaps. So we went to LA, sat down within the studio with Terry, and simply talked to him about what our imaginative and prescient was. And we advised him we had Luke and that is what we’re making an attempt to do. And from then, Terry jumped in and actually helped us develop this factor, and in addition that we might begin to take it to market.
Terry: So, mainly they introduced it to me. And I used to be extraordinarily fascinated with it. I believed it was compelling. As a result of at the start, that was the rationale why I moved to Atlanta, it was due to Freaknik. I had (Mayor) Kasim Reed – whom I went to Howard with in D.C., and I used to be from D.C. – Kasim Reed, he’s an Atlanta native. And he mentioned, “You guys want to return to Atlanta for this factor referred to as Freaknik.”
And we’d by no means heard of it, so we determined to go to Atlanta, and we placed on this big live performance for Freaknik. And after that, it was similar to, “Yo, I need to reside right here. I need to transfer right here.” And so we determined to maneuver there. This has come full circle as a result of that is my first movie mission. Freaknik being the rationale I moved to Atlanta, and Freaknik being the primary movie mission I did was actually superb.
When Nikki and Jay introduced it to me, I went, “That is one thing that must be advised, as a result of the story had by no means been advised the appropriate method.” I mentioned that we have to get the folks which have been in Atlanta that’s going to make the documentary the place persons are going to be genuine and actually need to get into it. So me, Nikki and Jay, we met with JD, we met him at a Starbucks.
Jay: I need to spotlight how we met him on the Starbucks. We met him outdoors of a Starbucks the place Nikki sat on the bottom and typed all the things. Me and Terry pummeled him with questions, and it was in the course of COVID and JD had like 4 masks on. (Laughs) All this occurred in the course of Atlanta in the course of COVID.
Terry: Then we determined it might be greatest to, you already know, get a number of the tastemakers in Atlanta and begin interviewing them. Who did we interview first, Chaka (Zulu)?
Jay: The primary was Chaka after JD?
Nikki: Yeah, as a result of we needed to get all of them in whereas TR was there.
Jay: Yeah, I feel we had Kasim, Too Quick, Kenny Burns –
Nikki: For some purpose, I keep in mind talking to Mannie Recent. (Laughs)
Jay: There have been many individuals in there, yeah. (Laughs)
Terry: KP and Shanti Das, who was very instrumental in breaking OutKast as a result of they broke in Atlanta throughout Freaknik. She was at LaFace [Records]. Rico Wade of Dungeon Household & Organized Noise.
Jay: You’re the one one getting this story. Nobody else has requested this, so simply know that is an unique proper right here. (Laughs)
HipHopWired: So when it comes to interviews and the expertise of getting testimonials from of us that attended and people who had been in opposition – what was that have like speaking to everybody and getting their recollections?
Jay: Earlier than or after we began filming? As a result of that’s two completely different units.
HipHopWired: After, as a result of as you mentioned with the teaser, there have been people who had been sort of questioning “Effectively, what’s occurring? What is that this going to be?”
Jay: I feel when Terry talks about this – we weren’t passing out checks for folks to be part of this. Terry was actually choosing up the telephone. Nikki was actually choosing up the telephone. And these folks had been coming to take a seat and speak and inform us their Freaknik tales and assist us piece it collectively. For the love. For the love of the folks that have a relationship to it. And that’s how we had been in a position to make the story come collectively.
Terry: All people’s story was completely different, particularly Too Quick’s, Lil Jon’s, and naturally, JD. As a result of JD wasn’t even sufficiently old to attend Freaknik, so he would simply grasp outdoors within the parking zone and simply go out his tapes. And that’s just about how Shanti mentioned they broke OutKast, as a result of that they had these tapes that they had been passing out, after which folks had been enjoying them of their automobiles. As a result of there was nowhere to go, you couldn’t transfer. (Laughs) So they’d pop the tape in and so they had been simply using up and down the road and folks had been bumping OutKast.
Jay: And these are folks which might be legends now, like Shanti. Yeah, she’s one of many greatest ladies in music leisure. Kasim Reed was simply an early legislation scholar then, and Kasim is actually explaining to us how the federal government was working again then. One factor that didn’t make it to the documentary that was tremendous attention-grabbing is how necessary Southwest Atlanta was to all of this coming collectively. And it was a very unimaginable story. As a result of Shanti, Kasim – there’s a gaggle of mayors that each one come from Southwest Atlanta. And so they actually simply broke down the story. So that you’re actually seeing the folks which might be the largest leaders of their industries—from music to executives to politics—actually be on the forefront of what Freaknik was and what it grew to become.
HipHopWired: Constructing off of that, how completely satisfied are you guys with the reception that you simply’ve gotten to date with this documentary, exhibiting such a cultural second for Atlanta and the South general?
Terry: I at all times say this: Atlanta wouldn’t be Atlanta with out Freaknik. It will not be the identical. Freaknik made Atlanta what it’s at this time. Arms down, little doubt. As a result of folks got here from everywhere in the nation to Atlanta after which stayed. So that you began getting a bunch of Black folks from completely different elements of the nation that got here down and began having their very own file labels. We constructed our file label out of Atlanta, we had a file label referred to as Noontime.
We had Jazze Pha, Brian Michael Cox, Ciara and Latoya Luckett. All of those folks got here from us. And you then had the LaFace customary, and also you had So So Def, and you then had Dallas Austin. And you then had the Dungeon Household. Freaknik began flourishing due to the entire completely different folks that had been coming into Atlanta and getting that tradition as a result of that was a complete completely different tradition down there than every other metropolis.
HipHopWired: If there may be one – you may slender it down to 1 – what was your all-time favourite second making this movie?
Nikki: My favourite second, all-time favourite was Clay Evans. Getting his interview and speaking to him about his time at Freaknik. I want we might have simply proven his complete interview. How he acted; y’all he acted so loopy that day of filming. He wouldn’t let anyone speak to him. I used to be the one one allowed to speak to him. No person else can look him within the face. All people refers to him within the third individual. (Laughs) Yeah, he despatched me a two-page rider and let me know that he needed oysters, however he’s the one one which does the shucking. I supplied nothing. I gave him juice. And you’ve got an excellent day.
Terry: We are able to’t omit a vital accomplice. And that’s Alex Avant who was Clarence Avant’s son. I’m good associates with him. Alex was instrumental in bringing Hulu to the desk. So, Alex noticed the imaginative and prescient as properly.
Jay: And to piggyback on what TR mentioned, my favourite second of the movie shouldn’t be even a movie. What folks don’t know is with me, Nikki and TR, different persons are within the combine. For me, Nikki and TR are on the frontlines of this. And folks know what we went via simply placing collectively supplies to pitch, to speak to folks to get them satisfied, to faucet into his complete community, TR tapping into his complete community. And to see the massive billboards in LA and New York and in every single place else off the concept we had been actually sitting with, like one another like, “Are we loopy? Is it is a good thought?”
We’re at South by Southwest and all of us take a look at the group like, “Oh, we did it.” That’s the second for me that I used to be similar to…you may’t let folks let you know that you simply’re loopy. We did get rejection letters from folks, individuals who advised us that this wasn’t related and no one cared about it. So to have a billboard in Instances Sq. in the course of a promotion that broke the web? It simply makes me recognize these folks on this name. I do know we consider in ourselves and we stored pushing from day one. By no means, by no means hesitated. And we must always give some like to Tamara Knetchel. Tam linked us, she’s an unsung hero.
