Freaknik returns to Atlanta this weekend ... and here's what to expect

ATLANTA — Do you remember Freaknik?

If you lived in Atlanta in the 80s and 90s, you can’t forget the concerts and the traffic jams. Well, it’s coming back -- but this time with a twist.

[READ MORE: Freaknik returns to Atlanta this summer in family-friendly form]

Channel 2 anchor Craig Lucie sat down with the promoters, and they promised it will be a completely different experience in 2019.

“Once you put people in a building, you can control that environment. That's what sets it aside from the old Freaknik,” D-Roc of the Ying Yang Twins said.

D-Roc is excited to be one of the many performers for Freaknik.

“I want it to be different and more live and exciting,” D-Roc said.

The promoters of the new Freaknik, Carlos Neal and Tony Wizard of After 9 Partners, said this time around, it will be much different than what people witnessed in the streets of Atlanta decades ago.

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To give some background, Freaknik started back in 1983. It was a small gathering then, but over the years and into the 90s, hundreds of thousands of people came from all over the country to the big event. The community became outraged over huge parties, chaos in the streets and crime.

“This is not Freaknik of 90s. This is a celebration of the Freaknik of the 90s,” Neal said.

In the 90s is when then Mayor Bill Campbell’s staff made a big decision to stop Freaknik.

“We've actually been able to get the support of the person who made the recommendation initially to the city of Atlanta to end Freaknik,” Neal said.

“We're going to have a lot of community aspects to it other than the concert. So we're going to do a lot health fair, testing, blood drive," Wizard said.

So, this time around, it will be at the Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood on Saturday, June 22, with a long lineup and the Ying Yang Twins can’t wait.

“Freaknik, we gone show you a little bit of Freaknik, but it's going to be contained in a building,” D-Roc said.

The lineup includes Project Pat, Uncle Luke, Da Brat, Foxy Brown, Kilo Ali, Bun B. and Pastor Troy. Tickets, which range from $46-$221, are on sale now at www.livenation.com.

Organizers envision Freaknik 2.0 as an annual concert that will showcase unity and togetherness.

Cox Media Group