Georgia Entertainment Scene

WATCH: Hulu’s Freaknik documentary trailer is out before March 21 release

Freaknik revelers bring Lenox Road traffic to a standstill after Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza malls closed early on a Saturday in 1995.
Freaknik revelers bring Lenox Road traffic to a standstill after Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza malls closed early on a Saturday in 1995.
Feb 29, 2024

Hulu Thursday released the trailer to its upcoming documentary, “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” set to come out March 21.

Naturally, the first commentator in the trailer is Killer Mike, who has always has a knack for a cogent soundbite.

“Every generation has a moment where they come just to have some fun,” he said.

“Freaknik was the greatest Black gathering in America,” Lil Jon declared to the aural backdrop of Ghost Town DJ’s 1996 track “My Boo” from Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def label.

Dupri, an executive producer for the documentary, also pops up in the trailer as a pivotal hip-hop player in Atlanta during that era.

Others who show up in the trailer accompanying vintage video from the 1990s: fellow executive producers 21 Savage and Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Freaknik creators Amadi Boon and Sharon Toomer and music acts such as Too Short, Rasheeda and CeeLo Green.

But this isn’t just a celebration of Black culture. It will also show how what started as a spirited HBCU annual spring festival drew bad elements, with accounts of sexual assault and crime. Its growing popularity also led to gridlocked streets, causing a massive backlash among power brokers in Atlanta just before the arrival of the 1996 Olympics, and how that led to its eventual downfall.

IF YOU WATCH

“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” out March 21 on Hulu

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

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