Big Freedia To Drop Summer Release Produced By SOPHIE

Big Freedia has announced that a brand new EP fully produced by SOPHIE will finally arrive this summer.

The New Orleans rapper shared the news earlier this month on May 7, revealing through Instagram that the currently untitled three track project is scheduled for release on June 19. The lead single, ‘Blaze That Ass’, is already available now.

The track delivers a hard hitting industrial hip hop sound, pairing SOPHIE’s sharp and chaotic club production with Big Freedia’s commanding and energetic vocal style.

Check out the official visualiser for ‘Blaze That Ass’ here:

Freedia revealed that the songs were originally created during studio sessions with SOPHIE in Los Angeles back in 2016.

“I can’t believe we made these tracks 10 years ago. Recording with SOPHIE is something I hold even closer to my heart now, especially after her passing,” Freedia shared.

“She was an artist who showed the world that living boldly is your greatest power!” she continued. “With this EP, I want to show the world how loved she was and still is!!!”

SOPHIE’s family also reflected on the collaboration and explained how meaningful the project was to the late producer.

“This collaboration was exciting to SOPHIE right from the start. Freedia’s energy and vocal power, a perfect match for her production. Their connection gave us these songs, all of them SOPHIE loved to play out, and we can’t wait to hear them in the club again,” they said.

Big Freedia released her third studio album ‘Pressing Onward’ last year and remains one of the most influential figures in bounce music. She is also widely recognised for appearances on Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ and Drake’s ‘Nice For What’.

SOPHIE, meanwhile, became known for constantly reshaping the possibilities of experimental electronic music throughout her career and was heavily associated with the PC Music movement during the mid 2010s. She tragically died in Athens in January 2021 following an accident.

Her influence has since been acknowledged by artists including Charli XCX, Vince Staples, FKA twigs, Jack Antonoff and Sam Smith. Despite her massive impact on modern pop and electronic music, SOPHIE only released two studio albums during her lifetime: 2015’s ‘Product’ and 2018’s ‘Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides’.

Earlier this year, fans also launched an online preservation project dedicated to archiving and documenting her work.

In 2024, a posthumous self titled album featuring music SOPHIE had been working on before her death was released. In a three star review, NME wrote: “There’s enough diamond material shining in the dirt to make this one of the most inventive posthumous albums that’s been released in recent times, it’s just a shame that the album doesn’t fully execute SOPHIE’s unique vision. But perhaps that’s one more reason to fully treasure what we have left of her, and to do justice to the mark she’s left on pop forever.”