Ludacris: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Ludacris

rap musician

Personal Information

Born Christopher Bridges, c. 1978 in Champaign, IL
Education: Attended Georgia State University.

Career

Rapper. Interned at Atlanta Hot 97-FM radio station; released Inconegro on his own Disturbing tha Peace record label, 2000; signed to Def Jam South and released multi-platinum-selling Back for the First Time, 2000; released Word of Mouf, 2001.

Life's Work

Most radio stations can only play clean versions of Ludacris's hit singles, and most of his lyrics "cannot be reprinted in a family magazine," wrote Entertainment Weekly critic Tom Sinclair. However, the Atlanta-based rapper is a multi-platinum-selling star. His 2000 major-label debut, Back for the First Time, sold more than three million copies, fueled by the hit singles "What's Your Fantasy" and "Southern Hospitality." His 2001 release, Word of Mouf, was similarly successful. He is "more than just a party- and sex-obsessed MC (though he is that, too)," claimed music critic Touré in Rolling Stone. "He's a guy with a bagful of flows and tones, whose voice is an instrument that he's taking full advantage of." The humor and danceability of his songs can sometimes get him off the hook for his often harsh and sexually demeaning lyrics. In true hip-hop fashion, Ludacris has also performed with other big-name talents, including pop star Mariah Carey, rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot, R & B singer Ginuwine, and Timbaland and Magoo.

Ludacris was born Christopher Bridges and spent his first 12 years in Champaign, Illinois. As a child, he was a natural talent. "Since I was a kid, I was always a little entertainer," he told Fridge magazine. His parents, who were still in college when their only child was born, used to take him to parties to provide entertainment. He grew up around hip-hop music, and recalled writing and recording demo tapes when he was just a child; his first song included the lyrics "I'm cool, I'm bad, I might be ten, but I can't survive without my girlfriend," he told Teen People. He was only nine when he wrote it, he continued, "but I needed something to rhyme with 'girlfriend.'" He moved with his family to Atlanta when he was 12 years old.

South Reigned Supreme

Ludacris told Fahiym Ratcliffe in an interview with the Source that despite his years in the Midwest, "Atlanta is where I spent most of my life and [where] my years of real growth and development took place." He wrestled and played baseball at Banneker High School, and his high school cohorts eventually became his Disturbing tha Peace entourage. After graduating in 1995, he attended Georgia State University as a music business major for a while, but dropped out to pursue his rapping aspirations. He also developed Ludacris, his outlandish alternate persona. "I have a split personality," he joked in Showcase. "The nickname is something I made up--part of me is calm, cool, and collective, while the other side is just beyond crazy." The rapper counts MCs Scarface, Q-Tip, and Rakim among his influences, as well as comedians Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Cheech & Chong.

Ludacris competed in local hip-hop talent shows, and sent a demo tape to Atlanta's Hot 97-FM, which earned him an internship at the radio station. He started recording promotional spots that aired on the station, graduating to his own primetime show under the moniker "Chris Lova Lova," where his voice was heard throughout Atlanta. A major break came when hip-hop producer Timbaland hired him to work on the single "Fat Rabbit" from his 1998 album Tim's Bio, after he heard Ludacris's demo. Soon after, popular hip-hop artist Jermaine Dupri hired him to voice the John Madden 2000 video game. Motivated by the hype he was getting, but with no sign of a record deal, Ludacris decided to release his first record on his own. His debut, Inconegro, on his own Disturbing tha Peace label, hit Atlanta record stores in 2000. It ended up selling 30,000 copies and generating considerable word of mouth for the artist. The success resulted in his signing on as the first artist to Def Jam Records' then-new Def Jam South imprint.

Ludacris is part of a surge of hip-hop that has risen out of the South, overtaking the national charts, and he is one of a list of contemporary R & B and hip-hop luminaries, including Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin, Arrested Development, TLC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Organized Noise, and Too Short. "The East Coast had a time when it was reigning supreme," Ludacris explained in Vibe. "The West Coast had a time when it was reigning supreme. And now the South's reigning supreme."

Added Humor to Hip-Hop Scene

Def Jam South repackaged Inconegro and released it as Back for the First Time in 2000. The release was a breath of humorous fresh air on the serious hip-hop scene. "When my album came out," Ludacris told New York, "it seemed like no one wanted to be fun or crazy anymore." According to writer Kris Ex in XXL, "What's Your Fantasy," the album's first single, "established [Ludacris] as an NC-17 rapper: full frontal nudity, but more artistic than sleazy." On the second single, "Southern Hospitality," Ludacris declared his love for his adopted hometown and the song became a smash hit. Back for the First Time sold more than three million copies and "solidified him as the South's prince of rhyme," according to the Source. Though he was known for his outlandish lyrics, Ludacris maintained that he was a more complex artist. "I don't worry about being typecast as one type of rapper," he said in the Source, "because if they really listen ... then they'll find that there's more to acting crazy and being stupid. Sometimes it's being ... serious and talking about real-life situations on stuff that I go through."

Ludacris turned out his follow-up release, Word of Mouf, during the next year. Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Mystikal, and Organized Noise were among the hot hip-hop talents Ludacris called upon to help out on the album. Ludacris explained in Rolling Stone that "Cold Outside" and "Growing Pains" recall his struggle to the top, and "Saturday" describes "what people do on their best days." On the Timbaland-produced "Rollout," Ludacris not-so-subtly urges people to mind their own business instead of his. The hit single "Area Codes" is about having girlfriends all over the country, features rapper Nate Dogg, and is "one of the high points" of the album, according to Boston Globe critic Keri Callahan, who declared the album "not for innocent ears." "They say the number-one promotion is word of mouth," Ludacris said in Fridge. "So I'm trying to tell everybody that if there was no radio and there was no television, this album is going multi-platinum by word of mouth alone. That's how good I feel it is."

Works

Selected discography

Inconegro, Disturbing tha Peace, 2000.
Back for the First Time, Def Jam South, 2000.
Word of Mouf, Def Jam South, 2001.