Big Freedia is making promo runs for , and the Queen of Bounce made a special visit to Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club for a conversation that included coming up in the game as a Black gay musician and how support from superstars like Beyoncé and made the breakthrough even more monumental. 

Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Freedia says that being featured on both Beyoncé’s Lemonade lead single “Formation” and Drake’s insanely viral 2018 chart-topping hit “Nice For What” helped the New Orleans queer icon reach new heights and open doors, saying, “I was appreciative of Drake and Beyoncé, forever be grateful, just opening doors for a black gay artist like myself to be even on their track, you know? It was a privilege and an honor for me to do it, and it made my money go up.” According to her — sidenote: even though Big Freedia identifies as a gay male, she does in fact use female pronouns — working with two of the biggest musicians in the world was a very nice pay day that helped her price go up in other situations. 

Watch Big Freedia’s full interview with The Breakfast Club below, where she also addresses not being featured in the “Formation” video or not being credited on “Nice For What” amongst other topics: