‘Freaknik’ Doc Tells the Story of the ‘Greatest Black Gathering in America’

“Freaknik was the greatest Black gathering in America,” Lil Jon says in the trailer for the upcoming doc, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told. The film looks at the history of the long-running Atlanta street party known as Freaknik, with commentary from 21 Savage, Killer Mike, Jermaine Dupri, Uncle Luke, and many others. The full documentary will premiere on Hulu on March 21.

“We said, ‘Let’s plan a picnic during spring break,'” Amadi Boon, one of the event’s co-founders, says in the trailer. “Let’s call it ‘Freaknik,'” says Sharon Toomer, another founder. In addition to commentary from some of hip-hop’s biggest names, the clip includes feel-good footage of Atlantans just having a good time. “To be able to be in the middle of the street, dancing, laughing, playing your music — it’s a moment,” says Dupri, one of the doc’s producers. “The interstate, the highway, was a street party.”
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Dupri, along with fellow producers Luke Campbell and 21 Savage, have made a film that shows how in the Eighties and Nineties, hundreds of thousands of people would come to Atlanta for the party. The movie shows how Freaknik helped establish Atlanta as a cultural force. It also looks at why the event came to an end about two decades ago. Some of the people interviewed include Jalen Rose, Too $hort, Shanti Das, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Erick Sermon, CeeLo Green, Rico Wade, and Kenny Burns, among others.

“Trust me, your momma and daddy got down,” Killer Mike says at the end of the clip.