Freaknik: A Discourse on a Paradise Lost

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A celebratory spring break party in Atlanta initially started by the glitterati of African American college students which, over the course of two decades, evolved into a cultural phenomenon. Hear through the eyes of musicians, journalists, residents and politicians as they relive and investigate Freaknik. Presented by Mass Appeal & Endeavor Content. Executive produced by Chris Colbert & DCP Entertainment and created, produced and hosted by Christopher Frierson. To see how we use your data, visit https://www.endeavoraudio.com/privacy-policy.

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Recent Reviews
  • fraggle499
    Awesome!!
    Being an Atlanta native, I thoroughly enjoyed this perspective and it’s cool that he’s not from Atlanta so he could learn from a pure slate. Yes, corny, but I absolutely LOVED listening. I’m sad it’s only 1 season. 😱💔
  • Mikey stacks
    5/5
    Listened for a Morehouse college project, enjoyed the corny aspect makes me laugh especially with the author embracing the fact that he is a black yankee from Michigan and him aiming to truly understand and get to know the culture he wasn’t able to be exposed to. Touched on many enjoyable topics from the history culture of atlanta, auc, and the many inspirational events for black culture that occurred.
  • oldjohnhall
    I love my City
    But this dude is kinda corny
  • GirlsDemStevia
    Coulda been five
    Really enjoyable listen, but the host’s slang attempts made me cringe every single time. EVERY.
  • MelaninMonr0e
    Great coverage BUT his voice made it hard to get through
    I really wish someone like his cousin was the Podcaster. I expected, wanted and was looking forward to a raw ATL or Georgia accent. The podcaster sounds hella corny and when he’s “attempting to be hip” it’s like, please stop! 😒
  • BMWtank
    Well done.
    I really appreciate the way this podcast set up the story of the “event” by showing the historical issues that came to play huge parts in the way the city responded to Freaknik. I especially appreciated how many views and angles were shown and allowed the listener to make up those own mind. I attended 3 Freakniks and I had disagreements with some of the interviewees but it made for a better podcast. I still think the severity of the sexual assaults really wasn’t conveyed. In 96, they were super common and in your face. Grabbing behinds and breast were tame compared to the what went down once the sun went down. The story of the girls being pulled off cars and assaulted were not just common but in your face. When we got back to school, a lot of us had multiple stories of witnesses that kind of stuff. It was bad.
  • Ahhcatuh
    All over the place
    This podcast starts out talking about freaknik and it’s history. By episode 2 It goes into the history of Atlanta and then back to the music of Atlanta and then into HBCU’s....I’m confused. Please pick a topic and stick to it. I understand the history of Atlanta plays a part in the making or organization of the freaknik but, it takes a back seat to the other content in this podcast.
  • kkanderson3
    Enjoy it
    I can honestly say that I don’t know what I was expecting to hear when I saw this podcast. Maybe some Freaknik stories. I can say thank you though. Thank you for taking us on a history lesson of not just Freaknik, but of the city of Atlanta and it’s relationship w Freaknik. I throughly enjoyed listening to this podcast. It did remind me of time in my life where I wanted to attend Freaknik, but never got the opportunity to go. Thank you again!!
  • K.parris03
    Great history lesson!
    Enjoyed it a ton! I always listened to it on my way to the barbershop. Dunno why....just felt like the appropriate black hang out setting to listen to some black entertainment history on the way to. I enjoyed the fact that this went deeper than Freaknik and connected the story of Atlanta into it. I never knew about the kidnappings of the 80s, or the fact that all the mayors have been black, or the purpose of the MARTA keeping blacks out the suburbs. Never knew any, so I learned alot here. Lastly, I gotta shout out the great background music that was played during segment transitions and commercials. I even tried to Shazam them, but had no success lol. What's good with releasing the track and artist names?!
  • ddawgz
    Loved it
    Great show
  • Its_mdot
    Good story telling but missed some marks for me
    I’m all about long form podcast that center black folks. Great topic and interviews. a couple things I think were missing: a deeper race and class analysis. The episode 5 dived deep into the business class and the conclusion was basically “well ultimately racism” but if black wealthy folks are making the decision to keep other black folks out flesh that out more. The other is overall lack of black women voices. Even the last episode was a reflection on how white women claim Atlanta in a real way. Black women were mostly relegated to stories about strippers and sexual assault.
  • Coop314
    Great
    I always wanted to know the details of freaknik as I was too young to even know what was going on lol. Crazy thing is he speaks on topics such as the murders of children that happens to be the topic of season 2 of Netflix Mindhunters which made me appreciate this podcast even more.
  • GreedyGeniuss
    Addicting.
    Being a 90’s baby I literally ate every second of this up about the history of Atlanta and Freaknik.
  • Hammering Hamp
    Love the meandering story here...
    Well told, good arc. Kind of stoney pony but still enjoyable. Truly a discourse.
  • Goons_fla
    Legit
    Great content! Loved how they talked about Freaknix but also touched on the racism and history of Atlanta. They did a great job on utilizing actual people who were there back in the early to mid 90’s. 👍🏾👍🏾
  • sepiasoul
    Little off, but great topic.
    I haven’t heard anyone use the term “Afro-American” since childhood, so that was interesting. Ultimately, great topic, wrong host/team perhaps. Host doesn’t feel connected to the topic. Maybe someone from Atlanta or that has attended freaknik or an HBCU would have been better for the story. Good selection of archival footage. I wish the show wouldn’t center the white gaze as much as it does. I’ll check out future stuff from this team I just don’t know if it works for this story.
  • مهدي المعموري
    مبدع
    جميل جداً انت مذهل
  • Jack_McCoy
    Thoughtful
    Goes deeper than a typical music documentary. This is not some facile E: True Hollywood Story” done Freaknik-style. There’s real substance here. Tons of interviewees help you understand all aspects of the famous Atlanta festival, from how locals reacted to it, to its cultural significance for many young black men and women. Nothing is sanitized. The political aspects are particularly interesting.
  • purpleray
    Really good
    So good!
  • Not Tarts
    You lost me at Episode 6
    It started out great, but you lost me at episode 6 when you created a whole narrative to justify exploitation of women. Wow, how does that power and control Chris talks about work for women in the #metoo and Jeffrey Epstein world we are living in? Yeah, all these women and probably some girls too are in control total control. It’s the ideal career for all women. I want to see how this all goes for Chris while he’s drinking his craft beer or latte back in the Brooklyn social scene he claims to comes from. Shame on you! Please don’t come back to Atlanta.
  • Listen347
    Narrator so annoying
    Good story with some good interviews but man is the narrator annoying and trying too hard by constantly referring to car as whip and house as crib. Give it a rest...
  • Smakdaab
    ATL
    Most of us know and understand the importance of Atlanta and know that Atlanta is real life Wakanda.
  • Bw6510
    Love this
    This podcast is fantastic. Down to earth and talks about the origin story behind Freaknik. Being a white girl from a suburb north of Atlanta (by way of New Jersey), in a high school group of both black and white kids in the 90s, I remember wanting to go to Freaknik so badly. Hearing the experiences of some of Atlanta’s finest current and former citizens gave a much greater understanding of this event. Plus...nothing gets me amped up like hearing the opening line of “Scarred” 👏🏻
  • 48067
    I’m enjoying this
    Happy to learn more about Atlanta and this cultural event!
  • lin the historian
    Interesting—but inaccurate
    Gotta do your basic historical research. That part’s not hard in this instance and it’s lazy to just spread misinformation. Remember that your responsibility is human interest and perspective but accurate info is also a responsibility. Turned off by early basic errors regarding the origins of freaknik
  • mccoydd72
    Confusing
    I think the intention was there but it was poor execution. The narrating left much to be desired. I thought listening to it would give me more information about freaknic but majority of it is about the history of Atlanta. I hoped for more. It’s not concise or thorough.
  • Freshfor77
    What a story!!!
    I wish I could have made it to Freaknik.. This podcast is addictive the stories are so crazy
  • mstcass
    Excited
    So excited to listen to a podcast related to GenXers!
  • Tek Ill
    Awesome!!!
    Amazing stories about Freaknik!!
  • 1126Carol
    Freaking
    Very Interesting. Didn’t know much about Freaknik so this captures my interest . Looking forward to more episodes
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