Fat Freddy's Drop

Fat Freddy's Drop is an eight-member music group from Wellington, New Zealand, working in a blend of roots, dub, reggae, jazz, and soul.

Their first album, Live at the Matterhorn (2001), is a long jam session recorded live at Wellington's popular nightclub. Until 2005 they were mainly known for their live shows and their track Hope. Their first studio album, Based on a True Story, was released on 2 May 2005 and reached number one in New Zealand the very next day. Wandering Eye, the first single from the album, spent 17 weeks in the New Zealand Top 40, peaking at number six.

In 2005, they dominated the New Zealand Music Awards, winning in every category for which they were nominated: best group, best album, best New Zealand roots album, and the people's choice award. On 18 December 2005, the band was awarded album of the year by more than 20,000 listeners of British radio station BBC Radio 1.

The band toured relentlessly from 2006 to 2008, mainly in New Zealand and Australia but also in Europe. A DVD documenting these shows was released by the band in 2008 under the title Fantastic Voyages vol. 1.

In May 2009, their second studio album, Dr. Boondigga and The Big BW, was released.

After announcing the release of their third studio album, Blackbird, in late 2012, it came out in June 2013.

Their first single, Silver and Gold, was unveiled to the public at a concert in November 2012. It was also made available as a free download in April 2013.

The band's name is inspired by the LSD strain “Fat Freddy,” which itself takes its name from the Fat Freddy's Cat character created by underground comic book author Gilbert Shelton in 1969.

Chris Faiumu, one of the band's founding members, died suddenly on 16 July 2025 in his sleep. The cause of death was not disclosed.