Big Freedia says she was left completely surprised when Beyoncé unleashed “Break My Soul,” a surprise dance track that samples Freedia’s 2014 “Explode” record.
“I didn’t know that it was coming out,” the Queen of Bounce told Page Six. “I didn’t know that I was the first single. I found out the same day y’all did.”
“Break My Soul,” which arrived on June 20, will appear on Bey’s forthcoming effort, Renaissance—her first solo album since 2016’s Lemonade. Freedia was also sampled on that project’s lead single “Formation” however, she didn’t get to meet Bey until last month, when she first heard “Break My Soul” in a Los Angeles recording studio.
“I mean, the speakers were like jumping at me. The bass was coming out of the speakers so heavy,” she told Page Six. “I was in there just like shaking and like excited and overwhelmed.”
Freedia said hearing the song left her feeling both “humbled” and “grateful,” but those feelings quickly turned into excitement when she was informed that Bey was in the building.
“I was like, ‘Holy crap. You know I wanna talk to her!’” Freedia continued. “She thanked me for being on her track. And I’m like, ‘No, thank you for having me as a guest on the track!’”
Freedia described Bey as “sweet” and “laidback,” much different than her on-stage persona.
“She only turns into ‘Sasha Fierce’ when she hits stage,” she added.
Freedia went on to describe “Break My Soul” as the summer anthem “we all need.”
“It is something that will bring us all back together on the dance floor,” she said. “It’s powerful. It’s inspiration. It’s motivation. It’s gonna have people… in clubs dancing. It’s gonna have people in workout rooms dancing. In the gym. I mean, everywhere.”
Beyoncé’s Renaissance is set to drop July 29.
