Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told

‘Freaknik’ Doc Director P. Frank Williams To Be Honored At San Diego State University

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P. Frank Williams has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 School of Journalism and Media Studies Alumni Impact Award by his alma mater San Diego State University. The award will be presented to Williams on May 10, 2024 at JMS Next, the school’s annual graduation celebration.

Williams, an Emmy and 8-time NAACP Image winner, will be celebrated for his outstanding contributions to the field of media and storytelling producing and directing several acclaimed projects centered around Black culture and music including TV One’s renowned documentary series “Unsung” and “Unsung Hollywood,” BET’s award-winning series “American Gangster,” “Hip Hop Homicides” executive produced by 50 Cent and Mona Scott-Young and films such as “Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan,” and his latest top-trending Hulu documentary “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told.” 

“The journalism school was a place that I called home and it was a place where I discovered a lot about myself as a journalist, as a writer and as a reporter,” said Williams. “A lot of the lessons that I learned, stuff that I got from San Diego State, has propelled my career from newspapers to magazines to television and documentary filmmaking. Professionally, it means a lot to receive this award because JMS is the foundation of all that I’ve achieved.”

A native of Oakland, California, Williams has had a career spanning three decades in Film/TV and journalism, during which he has made a significant impact as a writer, speaker, teacher, and producer. The award honor comes on the heels of the recent announcement of his multimedia production company, For The Culture By The Culture (@FXCXC). Williams is actively addressing the underrepresentation of people of color in the media by prioritizing authentic representation both in front of and behind the camera.

“Williams personifies what the Alumni Impact Award is all about. We are celebrating him not only for his professional achievements but also for his commitment to social change and justice,” said director of JMS, Dr. Temple Northup.

“It’s just an amazing and beautiful feeling to be able to come full circle back to JMS. I just want to make sure that all of the students at the school know that it doesn’t matter your background or where you start,” said Williams. “It’s about putting the work in, staying focused and trying to get to that next level. So whatever it is that you can dream of, you can achieve it. You just got to go toward the goal and go toward the light.”

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Jermaine Dupri And Uncle Luke Talk To Apple Music About New Documentary, ‘Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told’

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Ebro Darden sits down with hip-hop legends Jermaine Dupri and Uncle Luke on Apple Music 1 to talk about the new Hulu documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told. They dive into the little-known origins of the Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands during the ‘80s and ‘90s and how it evolved into the party of lore that it’s known as today. They also get into Uncle Luke’s history as a pirate radio DJ, his legal battles with George Lucas, and how he “invented” the Black strip club.

Check out the new episode on Apple Music HERE

in an excerpt from the interview, the So So Def founder talk about Luke inventing the idea of a “Black strip club”, saying, “The story goes so deep that in Atlanta, all I know is strip clubs, right? And I don’t know Atlanta to not be a place where we don’t have a strip club.” Dupri continued, “[Uncle Luke] was going to strip clubs before Black people. He actually invented Black people going to the strip club, and I don’t think in hip hop we ever talked about this, ever. He invented Black people going to the strip club in Miami. Because I asked him, I said, “In Miami,” I said, “How was the strip clubs in the ’80s?”

The episode also includes an exclusive playlist curated by JD and Uncle Luke featuring songs that were popular and frequently played during Freaknik over the years. Listen to the playlist HERE.

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“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” Director P. Frank Williams Launches Multimedia Venture ‘For The Culture By The Culture’

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P. Frank Williams, a recipient of Emmy and eight NAACP Image Awards for his work in television and film production, has launched his multimedia production company, For The Culture By The Culture Media Inc. (@FXCXC). This venture comes on the heels of his recent success directing and executive producing the highly-anticipated “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” set to premiere on HULU this Thursday, March 21. 

Williams has produced and directed several acclaimed projects centered around Black culture and music. These include TV One’s renowned documentary series “Unsung” and “Unsung Hollywood,” BET’s award-winning series “American Gangster,” “Hip Hop Homicides” executive produced by 50 Cent and Mona Scott-Young and films such as “Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan,” “A Hustler’s Ambition” by Universal/Def Jam Records, and award shows such as BET Awards and BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Williams explains, “After working in newspapers, magazines, TV, and film for over 25 years, producing content for major networks and streamers, I noticed a recurring issue: stories about people of color were often not being produced by people of color themselves. For The Culture By The Culture aims to fill that void by ensuring representation both in front of and behind the camera. Specializing in Black culture, hip-hop, sports, true crime, and music, @FXCXC is a unique one-stop content studio that handles everything from idea generation to production, editing, and delivery. @FXCXC stands out as one of the first global culture content companies led by individuals who are deeply rooted in the culture they represent.”

The launch of the new multi-media venture follows Williams’ latest project, directing and executive producing the eagerly awaited documentary “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” in partnership with Swirl Films & Mass Appeal and co-executive produced by Jermaine Dupri, Luke Campbell, and 21 Savage. The documentary is a celebratory exploration of the boisterous times of Freaknik, the iconic Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands of people in the 80s and 90s, helping put Atlanta on the map culturally. It takes a close look at the rise and fall of the event that began as a Black college cookout, impacting culture, race, politics, and the 1996 Olympics.

“Freaknik left an undeniable mark on American and Black culture. Its legacy is timeless. With ‘90s nostalgia everywhere and millennials fascinated with their parents’ fun times, it has reemerged into the pop culture consciousness,” describes Williams. “Executive produced by Black music icons like Jermaine Dupri and Luther Campbell, ‘Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told’ also breaks down how Atlanta became the capital of Black culture that it is today. It laid the foundation for the explosion of Black southern music and style that dominates the world today.” 

“For many of us golden era twenty-somethings coming of age in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Freaknik was our Woodstock, a street festival rooted in the energy of American classic films like ‘American Pie’ and ‘School Daze’. At its height in the mid ‘90s, Freaknik was a traffic-stopping, city-shuttering juggernaut cult classic non-stop party. Us Gen Xers created this weekend long rebellion against our parents and authority that still continues to resonate with audiences and people all over the world decades later.”

For The Culture By The Culture has production offices both in Burbank, CA, and Atlanta, GA. Stay tuned for official announcements regarding upcoming productions with Tube, TV One, BET, and other partners.

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21 Savage, Killer Mike, And Lil Jon Get Nostalgic In Hulu’s ‘Freaknik’ Documentary Trailer

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Hulu’s Freaknik documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told is just weeks from release after a year of development and today, Hulu shared the official trailer. The film will feature interviews from Atlanta luminaries like Killer Mike, Lil Jon, and more, with commentary from 21 Savage, historian Marc Lamont Hill, and Freaknik founder Amadi Boon, among others. They’ll reminisce on the wild, days-long street party that took over A-Town in the ’90s and brought attention from stars like Outkast and Tupac — and the Atlanta police when things began to get out of hand.

Freaknik has become the subject of much nostalgia in recent years, as Adult Swim created an animated feature about the Ghost Of Freaknik Past (as portrayed by T-Pain) called Freaknik: The Musical and rappers like Quavo and 21 Savage paid homage to the wild party in music videos for “Strub Tha Ground” and “Peaches & Eggplants.” A revival was attempted in 2021, but to paraphrase what a commentator says in the trailer above, it just wasn’t the same.

When the documentary was first announced, users on Twitter joked that some of the more respectable Gen-Xers might find their younger transgressions being “exposed.”

Those Freaknik aunties will only need to spend three more weeks in suspense; Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told comes to Hulu on 3/21.

[WATCH] First Trailer For “Freaknik” Documentary Featuring 21 Savage, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon

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The very first trailer for the forthcoming Freaknik documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, ATL’s pioneering HBCU festival that was popularized in the early 90s, has been released.

The in-depth doc features various celebrities speaking about going to Freaknik, including Jermaine Dupri, Rasheeda, and Jalen Rose. 21 Savage, Jermaine Dupri, and Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell are also featured in the documentary and serve as the film’s producers. 

Jalen Rose recalls the days of Freaknik, saying “I don’t know what heaven looks like, but this seems like a version of it.”

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