Get Ur Freak On

Arriving on VOD platforms this weekend via Breaking Glass Pictures, Freak Off is a timely and unflinching drama that digs deep into the underbelly of the hip-hop industry depicting a world where power, fame, and exploitation collide. The film’s release coincides with the explosive real-world revelations emerging from the high-profile P. Diddy trial, which has thrust the music industry’s long-standing culture of abuse and manipulation into the national spotlight.

Written and directed by indie auteur Ricky Burchell (AM Radio, Anybody), Freak Off tells the harrowing story of Ava (played with raw intensity by Alya Demirci), a talented but vulnerable R&B singer who gets her big break—only to find herself ensnared in a web of coercion, backroom politics, and betrayal. When a sex tape surfaces, Ava's career trajectory takes a nosedive, and she’s forced to confront the brutal reality of a system that profits from scandal while punishing its female victims.

Although the screenplay was completed prior to the Diddy trial, the parallels are chilling. Burchell’s film eerily mirrors the real-life allegations currently shaking the foundations of hip-hop: claims of sexual misconduct, manipulation, and psychological abuse allegedly perpetrated by powerful industry figures against aspiring artists. “We wanted to shine a light on what so many artists endure behind closed doors,” Burchell explains. “Success is dangled as bait, and consent becomes dangerously negotiable.”

The film centers on Ava’s dangerous entanglement with Renzo (played by Burchell himself), a slick and influential producer whose mentorship quickly curdles into predation. Britney Mercedes Saysombath co-stars as Amara, Ava’s closest competitor and reluctant confidante, further complicating the cutthroat dynamics at play.

While the narrative echoes elements of Pam & Tommy and Hustle & Flow, Freak Off breaks new ground with its layered portrayal of power, gender, and image control in the age of viral media. Burchell uses the sex tape scandal not as shock value, but as a lens to critique how female bodies are commodified, and how digital exposure continues to carry uneven consequences. “Men often walk away from these situations with even more clout,” Burchell notes. “Women are left to rebuild from scratch.”

The film also features a pulsating original soundtrack performed by Kalysta, which traces Ava’s journey from wide-eyed dreamer to jaded industry puppet. Each track serves as both narrative progression and emotional insight, giving voice to Ava’s inner turmoil and strength.

What makes Freak Off especially resonant is its refusal to sanitize. It doesn’t glamorize the industry or offer tidy resolutions. Instead, it challenges viewers to confront uncomfortable truths: Who gets to define consent in a power-imbalanced world? How are women punished for ambition? And what is the real cost of fame when success is brokered behind closed doors?

As the P. Diddy case continues to unfold—drawing new attention to decades of whispered allegations and silenced victims—Freak Off arrives not just as entertainment, but as commentary. It joins a growing wave of films and media calling for a reckoning within entertainment’s elite circles.

The film is a searing, provocative, and necessary story for this moment. With its fearless performances, sharp direction, and message of survival against the odds, it urges audiences to look beyond the spotlight and examine who really pulls the strings in pop culture—and who gets left in the shadows.

Freak Off is available for rental and purchase on all major digital platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play.