The behind-the-scenes story of how Big Freedia ended up on Beyonce's new 'Break My Soul'

The saga involves a laptop being flown cross country, a surprise release date and a last-minute negotiation.

Big Freedia's manager, Reid Martin, was boarding a flight from Los Angeles to New York last month when he opened an email from Beyonce's management company, Parkwood Entertainment.

Beyonce, the email revealed, had crafted a new song that sampled Freedia's 2014 release "Explode." Could Martin come to Parkwood's L.A. office and give it a listen?

Though New Orleans' Queen of Bounce had no direct role in creating Queen Bey's "Break My Soul" - and wasn't even aware of the song's existence until late May - it is a career godsend.

As a writer of "Explode," Freedia, whose given name is Freddie Ross Jr., earned a co-writing credit for "Break My Soul." So did Adam "BlaqNmilD" Pigott, the New Orleans bounce impresario who produced Freedia's original recording of "Explode."