How Baby Yors Champions the Freedom of Expression in New Song ‘Freak Out the People’
Baby Yors is an Argentinean-born, New York-based LGBTQ artist with a powerful message to spread, and he puts all of it on full display in his latest single, "Freak Out the People."
Baby isn't just a singer-songwriter, but also a visual artist who self-directs his own videos and shows, and the colorfully irresistible new animated lyric video for "Freak Out the People" perfectly distills his talents and charisma. The song, mostly performed in Spanish, is a sendup of closed-mindedness and a celebration of freedom of expression, and in this interview with Baby Yors, he told us precisely what the song and its lyrics mean to him.
The Story Behind 'Freak Out the People'
Baby Yors: I wrote it more than two years ago, and because of the pandemic I had to put it on hold, which led me to re-think it and let it gain a new meaning for me. What inspired me to write it was the bad reaction that my parents had when I came out, and the same old unwanted feedback that conservative societies always have about homosexuality. That was just the starting point.
What 'Freak Out the People' Means
BY: It became about freedom. Not just for queer people, but for everybody. Freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom all together. I see more and more people censoring other people, and they don't realize that sooner or later, the turn will be theirs to be censored. People feeling like they have moral superiority by repeating what some groups say. Feeling like heroes just by making a post with no real actions. Also, just the ridiculousness behind the old religious speech that involved homosexuality and the figure of the devil. Hopefully people can hear the humor in the song.
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Baby Yors' Favorite Lyric
BY: "Yeah, Yeonmi has a point, we need someone to talk!" Yeonmi Park is a hero of mine. She escaped North Korea and fights for freedom all over the world. She ended up going to Columbia University, and was shocked when she saw how censored the curriculum was. The universities are protecting the students, instead of teaching them what the world is actually like, as if it's more important to not make the students uncomfortable than anything else. Everything is becoming politicized, and this is a cancer that's spreading. We may not fully see it now, but with the fear that cancel culture creates, we are eliminating potential heroes of the future. The people who speak up when things go the wrong way, the people who stand up when the time comes to defend freedom are being silenced. Yeah, we need someone to talk about things that are unpopular—not for the sake of it, but to start conversations and to challenge popular beliefs.
Click HERE to read our interview with Skylar Grey on her powerful new single, "Falling Apart."