Audiences will hear a lot of the songs Mannie Fresh is best known for when the New Orleans producer and rapper performs with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday, Nov. 21. But Fresh is a DJ at his core, and he\u2019s approaching his show from that point of view: What\u2019s going to get the people dancing?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a DJ set with an orchestra,\u201d Fresh says. \u201cI\u2019m putting some of my songs in there, but I\u2019m also doing some of my favorite songs that I like, that I think will move the crowd and are special to people and special to me. So it\u2019s all over the place, from the Bee Gees to Barry White to trap music.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, the LPO has collaborated with several New Orleans musicians for concerts performing those artists\u2019 original music. The orchestra has backed bounce icon Big Freedia three times in the Orpheum Theater, performed with Tank and the Bangas, and the recording of the LPO\u2019s concert with the Lost Bayou Ramblers won a Grammy Award.<\/p>\n
The LPO\u2019s unique Market Nights (formerly Music at the Museum) series has had an LPO ensemble back pop musician Dawn Richard, rapper Alfred Banks, folk musician Leyla McCalla, electronic project IFE and synth-pop band People Museum.<\/p>\n
Those concerts have closely followed the guest musician\u2019s original music orchestrated for a fuller sound with the LPO\u2019s strings, brass and percussion. Fresh\u2019s concert, though, is a little different, says LPO Executive Director Anwar Nasir, as the DJ and the LPO reach into not just Fresh\u2019s music but his influences.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an artist, producer and DJ, all in one. You\u2019re going to see all three of those worlds come together,\u201d Nasir says. \u201cAnd because he has such a creative mind, we\u2019re rethinking how the orchestra plays a part of that. He\u2019s seeing the orchestra as, \u2018Now I have all these instruments to play with.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Fresh was the in-house producer for Cash Money, rapped in the duo Big Tymers with Bryan \u201cBaby\u201d Williams and on Hot Boys records, and has produced his own albums and songs for artists like T.I. There are a lot of hits to pull from, and Friday\u2019s show will include Juvenile\u2019s \u201cHa,\u201d Lil Wayne\u2019s \u201cGo DJ,\u201d Big Tymers\u2019 \u201cStill Fly\u201d and more.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the LPO\u2019s Hannah Yim and Jacob Fowler joined Juvenile and Fresh on NPR Tiny Desk to perform the instantly recognizable strings in \u201cBack That Azz Up.\u201d Now, the full LPO will play the dance floor staple.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited about doing it this way,\u201d Fresh says. \u201cNormally when you\u2019re at something like an orchestra, you think tuxedos and people sitting down. This one is not that. This is the energy orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n
A New Orleans legend, Fresh has been DJing for more than 40 years. Collaborating with an orchestra, though, presents some unique challenges, he said, like coordinating turning, timing and pitch between the ensemble and his DJ equipment. But it\u2019s also a rare opportunity to swap digitally produced sounds with live instrumentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I was brought up, coming from New Orleans, we love musicianship,\u201d Fresh says. \u201cWe love live instruments, but some things [just aren\u2019t possible]. That\u2019s what\u2019s good about doing it with an orchestra. It feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n