When Chic’s “Le Freak” hit the airwaves in 1978, the pop group couldn’t have predicted the impact their song would have. It’s explored through the new Hulu documentary film Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told about the legendary Atlanta spring break event that conquered headlines in the 1990s. From the event’s tame and humble beginnings to the out-of-control juggernaut it became, this 90-minute film weaves together a fascinating time capsule of pop culture.
(Hulu)
The story is told mostly in chronological order, beginning with the Atlanta HBCU students who wanted to create a lively spring break event for their peers who couldn’t go anywhere for the short school break. The framing device is a 2023 reunion of Sharon Toomer, Emma Horton, Monique Tolliver, and Amadi Boon – each credited as a “Founder of Freaknik” – who transport viewers back in time to 1983 when they organized a small event in Piedmont Park, a music-filled picnic that they dubbed “Freaknik,” inspired by the song “Le Freak.” During the early years of organizing the event, they never could’ve imagined its evolution.
The Freaknik story is inseparable from the rise of Atlanta-based hip hop, and with Luke Campbell, Jermaine Dupri, and 21 Savage serving as executive producers, the meatiest section of the doc tracks the correlation between the rise in popularity of the Freaknik event and the symbiotic relationship it had with local musical acts. Each of the producers appears on camera in talking head interviews, joined by other well-known performers connected to Freaknik, including Lil Jon, CeeLo Green, Killer Mike, Rasheeda, Too $hort, and Erick Sermon. Local DJ and radio hosts also get into the conversation (Kenny Burns, Kawan “KP” Prather, DJ Nabs, and Greg Street) as well as representatives from the music industry (Shanti Das, Clay Evans, Adamma McKinnon, Rico Wade, Legendary Jerry, and DJ Kizzy Rock).
Cleaned-up archival footage offers a nostalgic window into the event’s height of popularity and its road to ruin. Interviewees include some notable participants, such as former NBA player Jalen Rose and writer/historian Ronda Racha Penrice; plus professors Marc Lamont Hill, Anjanette Levert, and Dr. Maurice Hobson; and representatives from the city of Atlanta, including former mayor Kasim Reed, Kathleen Bertrand of the ATL Conventions & Visitors Bureau, and George Hawthorne of the Black Spring Break Planning Committee.
The film opens with a trigger warning about sexual violence, which unfolds through the memories of Morris Brown alumni Stacy Loyd. Her story is one of several from the final era of the original Freaknik when the event exploded beyond its intended audience of college students, and when its name had evolved to an anything-goes party where you could “Get your freak on.” It’s a fascinating bookend from the wholesome 1983 picnic to its last hurrah in the late ‘90s.
While the event was ultimately tarnished, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told is a mostly joyful look at the most premiere Black spring break event that has ever existed, the microcosm of events that led to its rise and fall, and why what was then can never be again, despite efforts to revive it. Most importantly, it’s sweet ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia and a fun time capsule of the sights and sounds those decades left us with.
I give Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told 5 out of 5 stars.
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told starts streaming on Thursday, March 21st, exclusively on Hulu.