| Freaknik: The Musical | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster |
|
| Format | Musical, Comedy, Animation |
| Written by | Carl Jones Nick Weidenfeld |
| Directed by | Chris Prynoski Jacob Escobedo |
| Starring | T-Pain Andy Samberg Bill Hader Lil Wayne Rick Ro$$ Young Cash Sophia Fresh Snoop Dogg DJ Pooh Kelis George Clinton Bootsy Collins Cee-Lo Lil Jon Big Boi Kel Mitchell Affion Crockett Charlie Murphy DJ Drama Mack Maine Carl Jones |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Carl Jones Nick Weidenfeld T-Pain David Abram Rocco Valdes Mike Blumstein |
| Running time | 60 minuets 91 minuets (Uncut) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Adult Swim |
| Picture format | 16:9 HDTV |
| Original airing | March 7, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | That Crook'd 'Sipp |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Freaknik: The Musical is a musical special produced by T-Pain. It features the voice of T-Pain as the Ghost of Freaknik, as well as the voices of entertainers such as Lil Wayne, Young Cash, Snoop Dogg, Sophia Fresh, and Rick Ross, and comedians such as Andy Samberg and Charlie Murphy who provide additional voices. It was scheduled to air on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim sometime in 2009, but after several push-backs, it premiered on March 7, 2010. The musical is based on the actual music festival of the same name that used to take place in Atlanta, Georgia.
A soundtrack was released by Jive Records and Nappy Boy records on April 20, 2010. The 90-minuet uncut version of Freaknik: The Musical was released on DVD on October 26, 2010. In addition to being available on DVD, Freaknik: The Musical is also available on iTunes and the "Build Your Own DVD" feature on Adultswim.com.
Contents |
The movie starts in at a party in which a group of teenagers (Kid 'n Play) claims it is the best party they have ever attended, until an elderly man (Lil Jon) enters and tells them the history of Freaknik. He tells them it was the biggest party of all time, until it was broken up by the police, whom he claims killed Freaknik. The group is then led by the old man in summoning Freaknik, who appears as the Ghost of Freaknik Past (T-Pain).
The scene changes to a radio announcer (DJ Drama) that is interviewing Freaknik, who, along with Freaknik, announces that a rapping contest will be held, the victor of which gets "a lifetime supply of money, clothes, and hos". The scene changes once more to the bedroom of Virgil (Young Cash), Big Uzi (Rick Ross), and Light Skin (Cee-Lo Green), collectively known as the Sweet Tea Mobsters, a group of teenage rappers from Sweet Tea, Florida, who hope to achieve fame. The group decides to drive to Atlanta to participate in the aforementioned contest, along with their weed smoking (and supplying) friend Doela Man (DJ Pooh).
During their journey Light Skin tells of a secret society of African Americans called the Boule, fraternity parlance for "a council of noblemen", that seeks to guide the course of black culture. The members of this organization are parodies of Oprah (Kelis), Al Sharpton (Charlie Murphy), Bill Cosby, Russell Simmons, O. J. Simpson, and Jesse Jackson. They wear medallions inscribed "10%", an allusion to the W. E. B. Du Bois essay The Talented Tenth, which says a class of exceptional members of the black race will rise to lead it.
The Sweet Tea Mobsters make a number of pit stops, including a detour at a college fraternity party where they meet two alcoholic fraternity members (Bill Hader and Andy Samberg) . At the party the group meets the Fruit Bowl Boys (Kel Mitchell and Affion Crockett), who later become the group’s biggest competition and are from the mostly white suburbs of Sweet Tea, Florida (although they ironically resemble the Sweet Tea Mobsters). On their long, winding road trip, the Sweet Tea Mob gets lost in New Orleans and are confronted by a gangster (Snoop Dogg) who makes them see his boss Trap Jesus (Lil Wayne). Upon meeting Trap Jesus the group loses hope, thinking it is the end, but instead he inspires them to compete and gives them one of his many Lamborghinis to use to get to Atlanta. However, they crash the lamborghini after Big Uzi becomes enraged after hearing the Fruit Bowl Boys rapping about his jail experience. The group gives up except Virgil who believes that it's their destiny. The rest of the group still doesn't believe him until they are given a ride in an airplane by the "Flying Malcolms."
Meanwhile, the Freaknik character is elected the "ghost mayor of Atlanta" and dubs the city "Freaknation." Soon after, President Barack Obama hands the presidency over to the ghost of Freaknik, a move that greatly angers the Oprah-looking leader of the Boule who wants to see Freaknik destroyed. She then devises a plan to send a giant robotic monster called the "Perminator" (a robotic version of Al Sharpton) to Atlanta to destroy Freaknik. Meanwhile at the party the Fruit Bowl Boys begin singing "Shank Ya in The Shower." At this time the Sweet Tea Mobsters arrive at Atlanta, right about the same time the Perminator begins to attack, killing the Fruit Bowl Boys almost immediately. He seems to have Freaknik down for the count, but mass love from the crowd empowers Freaknik by having him grow to a monstrous size and using the love of his fans, he is able to destroy the Perminator. After the fight, Freaknik hands the prize of the contest over to the Sweet Tea Mobsters, but Virgil refuses it and tears the check in half. He tells Freaknik that he doesn't need it as long as Freaknik comes back every year, however before he can finish, a dog shaped spaced craft named the "Mothership Connection", that is inhabited by three brightly colored aliens (George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Michael "Clip" Payne.) They say they have come to take Freaknik because "there are other galaxies that need his powers of positivity", saying that maybe someday he shall return and they can "Funk it up" once again. Freaknik gives Virgil his gold chain and says that Atlanta will always be his home. A woman approaches Freaknik telling him her baby (which looks like Freaknik) needs a father. Freaknik then rushes on board the ship. The DJ from the beginning then speaks saying how crazy that was and they'll see us next time as Freaknik is seen dancing on The Mother Ship as it leaves Earth.Later on they make Virgil tape back the million doller bill.
T-Pain also used some of the songs that were uploaded on his website that other people sent to him like the song known as Ghetto Commandments and others on the soundtrack.
On March 8, 2010, the animated special was released for purchase on iTunes. The uncut 90-minute long version of Freaknik: The Musical was released on one-disc DVD set in the United States on October 26, 2010[1][2] , and included the soundtrack. In addition to being available on DVD Freaknik: The Musical is also available on the "Build You Own DVD" feature on Adultswim.com.
There were no plans to release a separate soundtrack until it was announced by T-Pain that a soundtrack would be released through Jive Records and Nappy Boy records on April 20, 2010. The track "Ghetto Commandments", the song playing in the credits, was released on iTunes as a single on March 23 and it features rappers Snoop Dogg & Mack Maine who also play in the movie; it was released the same day as the release of T-Pain's promo single for his album "rEVOLVEr" "Reverse Cowgirl". The Rick Ross song "Grab Yo Beltloop" didn't make the final cut for the album.
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Freaknik Is Back" (T-Pain AKA Ghost of Freaknik) | Tha Bizness | 2:26 |
| 2. | "Save You" (T-Pain AKA Ghost of Freaknik featuring One Chance) | Tha Bizness | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Ghetto Commandments" (T-Pain AKA Ghost of Freaknik featuring Snoop Dogg & Mack Maine) | Tha Bizness | 4:47 |
| 4. | "We The Mob" (T-Pain AKA Ghost of Freaknik featuring Young Cash AKA Virgil) | Ky Miller | 3:02 |
| 5. | "Beat Build" (T-Pain AKA Ghost of Freaknik featuring Young Cash AKA Virgil & Rick Ross AKA Big Uzi) | Tha Bizness | 3:31 |
In its original American broadcast on March 7, 2010, Freaknik: The Musical was watched by 797,000 viewers, making it the second most watched Adult Swim program of that night, behind a rerun of Family Guy.[3]
Freaknik: The Musical did well among audiences (As of May 2011, it holds a current score of 7.3/10 on IMDB.com).[4]
IGN.com gave this episode a 6.1 out of 10, which is considered "Passable", and received comments both positive and negative.[5]
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