Wielding nothing but a CashConverters microphone and an open Urban Dictionary browser window, FREDDY is a kitsch enigma. Inspired by method acting and an Xbox Live lobby, their music is jarring, groovy, and original. Absence of genre is their weapon, shape shifting through rap and singing where they feel fit.
Inspired by William the Conqueror, FREDDY’s newest project Fred The Conqueror is the artist’s coronation. A cloud rap odyssey, FREDDY spews their mind, thoughts unfiltered. Conceived on a bedroom floor with a free copy of Soundtrap, the album could almost be their bastard son.
“When I’m Fred the Conqueror I’m a different person – my shoulders would hunch, and I would become this man.”
It opens with ‘My Bling’, a bubbly off-the-cuff freestyle featuring SLEEPR. It boasts of pacifism, riding on kangaroos, and Michael Hill jewellers. ‘Cat Vibes’ is a jersey club anthem that would play in their kingdom’s house of pleasure. It’s distorted and delivered with a smirk. Throughout ‘Fred The Conqueror’s’ run time, the monarch’s visage cracks and bends. Each time, another layer of lead-based make-up is applied.
“I put on a fur coat, do a little twirl, and I become him”
‘Swagmaxxing’ transports you to an orchestral realm, juxtaposed by lyrics pulled from a Roblox server. ‘Illegitimate’ is a brooding open letter to the king’s abandoned child. Dramatic strings sweep while FREDDY speaks of opulence, chauffeurs, and sending their opponents to the gallows. In these little moments queer magic is conceived.
Adventurine, their 2025 collaboration album with partner and co-conspirator LOOKS is genreless and transformative. At times trip-hop, at others R&B and drum and bass, it’s a love letter to their partnership. ‘Count to 10’ is FREDDY’s heart on their sleeve, their bedroom eyes half closed. ‘Our Love is a Symphony’ could be plucked off an N.E.R.D. record. It shuffles and shakes, never taking itself too seriously.
“I’m really blessed to be able to communicate with him in that way. It’s like another language”
With FREDDY, you never know what you’re going to get. And that’s what makes their music addictive - their ethos. Press play, close your eyes and be transported to their realm.
Words by Nick Hibbs