Big Freedia’s ‘Rona Rona’ Is The Most Important COVID-19 Anthem Yet

Nobody yells the same word over and over quite like New Orleans sissy bounce star Big Freedia, and you need to drop everything right now and immediately listen to her just-released new single “Rona Rona.” Can you guess what word Big Freedia yells over and over on this new track? (Hint: It’s “Rona Rona Rona Rona Rona Rona Rona Rona.”) 

This COVID-19 public awareness track is more than just bouncing ass, elaborate fingernail work, and GERMS EVERYWHERE GERMS EVERYWHERE. The song reinforces the gospel of washing your hands, practicing phone screen hygiene, and foregoing public gatherings. And it’s also a partnership Big Freedia has made with Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), to help virus prevention and quarantine support in New Orleans’ underserved communities. 

The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which describes the song “Rona Rona” as “more contagious than the disease,” reports that proceeds from the track will go “to promote contact tracing and quarantine services that are primarily focused on serving vulnerable communities, including low-income people of color.”

New Orleans, of course, was hit hard by COVID-19 after February Mardi Gras celebrations when we didn’t realize what was about to happen to the world. “When [CORE] asked me to make a song, I was fully on board,” Big Freedia said in a press statement. “Many people in my community work as essential workers and are at high risk for getting sick. Anything I can do to spread the word about testing and best practices for COVID, I’m down to do.”

“Rona Rona” sounds exactly like every single other Big Freedia song ever, which is just what her fans want and love. And this is the track we need right now. Our morale is so low as we slog into the eighth month of shelter-in-place, and we’re all itching to do things that we really should not be doing from a public health standpoint. 

So it helps for Big Freedia to drop a track to yell at us, so we stay on our best behavior, continue to respect the public health protocols, and not be an ass everywhere.