Best Known As: Rapper who did "Southern Hospitality"
Name at birth: Christopher Bridges
Ludacris is the stage name of Chris Bridges, a rapper and actor from Atlanta, Georgia who became a video and radio star after the success of his 2000 album Back for the First Time. Bridges began his career as a radio DJ in Atlanta, where he was known on the air as Chris Lova Lova. His self-produced record, Incognegro, led to a contract with the Def Jam South record label and was remade into Back for the First Time. His second release, Word of Mouf (2001), was also a hit, and Ludacris rose in the ranks of young rappers in radio and MTV rotation. Ludacris released Chicken and Beer in 2003 and embarked on an acting career in a small role in the feature film 2 Fast 2 Furious (starring Paul Walker). He also appeared as Skinny Black in the movie Hustle and Flow (2005, starring Terrence Howard) and had a small role in the drama Crash (2004, with Don Cheadle). He changed his look in 2006 and presented himself as having grown from "the clown prince of rap" into a mature musical artist and actor. He released a new album, Release Therapy (with the single "Money Maker"), and landed a role in the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla (2008, along with Jeremy PIven).
His career got a boost in 2002 when TV's Bill O'Reilly expressed outrage that Pepsi had hired Ludacris as a spokesman. O'Reilly criticized Ludacris's foul language and called for a boycott of Pepsi, who then fired Ludacris and hired Ozzy Osbourne's family instead... Ludacris has collaborated in the studio with several other hip-hop stars, including Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige... He has toured with Busta Rhymes and Eminem.
Representative Albums: "Chicken -N- Beer," "Word of Mouf," "Theater of the Mind"
Representative Songs: "Stand Up," "What's Your Fantasy," "Area Codes"
Biography
When the Dirty South movement broke nationwide at the turn of the century, Ludacris rode it to immediate widespread popularity, becoming arguably the most commercially successful Southern rapper of the time. In 2000 the Atlanta-based rapper signed to Def Jam's newly established Southern rap subsidiary, Def Jam South, and became the label's flagship Dirty South artist. Def Jam repackaged his underground album Incognegro (2000) as Back for the First Time (2000) and issued "What's Your Fantasy?" as its lead single. The song soon became a national hit, beginning a long string of hits that would include Billboard Hot 100 number ones ("Stand Up," "Money Maker") and Top Tens ("Move Bitch," "Splash Waterfalls," "Pimpin' All Over the World," "Runaway Love"), as well as a bunch of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Top Tens ("Southern Hospitality," "Area Codes," "Rollout [My Business]," "Saturday [Oooh Oooh!]," "Get Back," "Number One Spot"). Plus, Ludacris became a reliable featured guest, gracing Top Tens for Missy Elliott ("One Minute Man," "Gossip Folks"), Mariah Carey ("Loverboy"), LL Cool J ("Fatty Girl"), Chingy ("Holidae In"), Usher ("Yeah!"), Ciara ("Oh"), Jamie Foxx ("Unpredictable"), Fergie ("Glamorous"), and others. Moreover, Ludacris established himself as a versatile actor, notably appearing in such mainstream films as 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Crash (2005), and Fred Claus (2007), among other films and TV series. Along with associate Chaka Zulu, Ludacris also founded his own boutique label at Def Jam, Disturbing tha Peace (aka DTP), which released albums by such diverse rap/R&B acts as Shawnna, Bobby Valentino, Field Mob, and Playaz Circle.
Born Christopher Bridges on September 11, 1977, in Champaign, IL, Ludacris moved to Atlanta during his high school years and attended Banneker High School there. He then studied at Georgia State University. His entry into the rap industry came via radio; he worked as a disc jockey at Atlanta-based urban station Hot 97.5 (which later became Hot 107.9), where he was known as DJ Chris Lova Lova, and this was how he became acquainted with Timbaland. The producer featured Ludacris (then billed as Ludichris) on the song "Fat Rabbit" from his album Tim's Bio (1998), and with such a high-profile feature to his credit, the groundwork was laid for the rapper. Ludacris proceeded to record an independent album, Incognegro (2000), which he in turn released regionally himself, on the label Disturbing tha Peace. Ludacris primarily worked with producer Shondrae for the album, though also with Organized Noize, the acclaimed production team behind the early albums of OutKast and Goodie Mob. Incognegro sold well enough to break into the Billboard 200, and Ludacris was approached by Scarface of the Geto Boys, who as a representative of Def Jam was interested in negotiating a recording contract.
In late 2000, Def Jam repackaged Incognegro and released it as Back for the First Time, adding a few new songs: a U.G.K. collaboration ("Stick 'Em Up"), a Neptunes production ("Southern Hospitality"), and a remix of his previously released song with Timbaland (retitled "Phat Rabbit"). The album's lead single, "What's Your Fantasy?," became a major hit nationally, peaking at number 21 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up single, "Southern Hospitality," was similarly popular, charting at number 23. This pair of hits helped drive sales of Back for the First Time, which climbed all the way to number four on the Billboard 200. The follow-up album, Word of Mouf (2001), was an even greater success for Ludacris, charting at number three and spawning a series of hit singles that carried over well into 2002: "Area Codes," "Rollout (My Business)," "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)," "Welcome to Atlanta," and "Move Bitch." After these singles had run their course, a collaborative album, Golden Grain (2002), was released, showcasing the assembly of talent signed to Ludacris' revived Disturbing tha Peace label, which was now in partnership with Def Jam. The following year was a busy one for Ludacris, as he appeared in the film 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and released his third album, Chicken -N- Beer (2003), his first to reach number one on the Billboard 200. Chicken -N- Beer brought with it another series of hits, including the Hot 100 number one "Stand Up" and number six "Splash Waterfalls."
Ludacris continued his output the following year, with The Red Light District (2004), another number one album loaded with hit singles ("Get Back," "Number One Spot," "Pimpin' All Over the World"). Disturbing tha Peace (2005), a second collaborative album featuring the label's roster of talent, was Ludacris' only release for the year, and he kept a relatively low profile until the release of Release Therapy (2006), an introspective album on which he vowed that he would be taken more seriously than in the past. Another chart-topper, Release Therapy included only two Hot 100-charting singles, yet both were smashes: "Money Maker" (number one), "Runaway Love" (number two). In 2007, Ludacris got a lot of airplay as the featured guest on Fergie's number one hit "Glamorous. A year later a mixtape with DJ Drama called the Preview preceded the November release of Theater of the Mind. The long list of guest stars included director Spike Lee and comedian/actor Chris Rock. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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.
Further Reading
Periodicals
Boston Globe, January 3, 2002, p. CAL12.
Entertainment Weekly, December 7, 2001, p. 102.
Fridge, fall-winter 2001-02, p. 67.
New York, September 10, 2001.
Rolling Stone, December 6-13, 2001.
Showcase, December-January 2002.
Source, February 2002, p. 80.
Teen People, summer 2002, p. 68.
Vibe, November 2001, p. 102; June 2002, p. 92.
XXL, December 2001, p. 91.
On-line
All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (August 20, 2002).
Other
Additional information was provided by Def Jam South publicity materials, 2002.
Christopher Bridges (born September 11, 1977),[1] better known by his stage nameLudacris, is an American rapper, and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris is the highest-selling Southern hip hop solo artist of all time with over 17 million units sold in the United States and 24 million records sold worldwide.[2][3] Ludacris has won SAG, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards during his career.
He worked as a radio editor under the pseudonym DJ Chris Lova Lova at Atlanta hip-hop station Hot 97.5. WHTA, now located at 107.9.[1] Producer/rapper Timbaland made an offer for Ludacris to work with him at the radio station.[10] Ludacris performed on the track "Phat Rabbit" as Ludacris on Timbaland's 1998 album Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment .[1]
Ludacris released his major label debut, Back for the First Time, in November 2000. This album was actually a modified re-release of the album Incognegro, made in 1998. It was produced with the help of the underground producer Sessy Melia, whom he also dated for a short while. The album reached as high as #4 on the charts, and was a major success. Ludacris made his mark on the industry with singles such as "Southern Hospitality" and "What's Your Fantasy", which was heavily inspired by rapper Too Short, along with his first ever single the "Phat Rabbit", from two years prior. Guest appearances included 4-Ize, I-20, Lil Fate, Shawnna, Pastor Troy, Timbaland, Trina, Foxy Brown, UGK, and others. Ludacris stated in an interview on MTV's hip hop program Direct Effect that he came up with his stage name based on his "split personality" that he considered "ridiculous" and "ludicrous".[11]
Ludacris promptly completed his next album, Word of Mouf, and released it at the end of 2001. The video for the lead single, "Rollout (My Business)", was nominated for a 2002 VMA, and Ludacris performed it live at the awards' pre-show. He also released singles "Saturday (Oooh Oooh)" with Sleepy Brown, "Move Bitch" with Mystikal & I-20, and "Area Codes" with Nate Dogg.
During the spring of 2003, Ludacris returned to the music scene after a brief hiatus with a new single, "Act a Fool, from the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. At around the same time, he released the lead single from his album Chicken-n-Beer, called "P-Poppin" (short for "Pussy Poppin'"). Neither of his new singles were as well-received by either the urban or pop audiences as his previous songs had been, and both music videos received only limited airplay. Chicken-N-Beer opened strongly, but without a popular single, the album fell quickly. Guest appearances include Playaz Circle, Chingy, Snoop Dogg, 8Ball & MJG, Lil' Flip, I-20, Lil Fate, and Shawnna.
In the fall of 2003, Ludacris rebounded with his next single, "Stand Up", which appeared on both Chicken-n-Beer as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip-hop/dance movie, You Got Served. Produced by Kanye West, "Stand Up" went on to become one of Ludacris' biggest mainstream hits to date, hitting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, MTV2, and BET. Ludacris was sued by a New Jersey group called I.O.F. who claimed that "Stand Up" used a hook from one of their songs, but in June 2006, a jury found that the song did not violate copyrights. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict.[12]
The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", was released in early 2004. A huge pop hit (despite its steamy video and explicit, adult-oriented lyrical content and themes), it subsequently became a success at urban radio and BET, and is the only time he has produced two consecutive top 10 singles from a solo album,[citation needed] except for Release Therapy (an unedited version of the video could only be viewed on BET's Uncut program). It was Ludacris' most sexual video yet and an R&B remix that featured Raphael Saadiq and sampled Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Whatever You Want". Ludacris also received his first Grammy Award with Usher and Lil Jon for their hit single "Yeah!". Ludacris next released "Blow It Out", a gritty song with an urban, low-budget music video. A departure from the R&B leanings of "Splash Waterfalls", "Blow It Out" acted both as a response to the criticism levied by Bill O'Reilly and an attack on Pepsi's role in the affair.
Although not entirely different from the usual antics of the previous albums, Ludacris had taken a more mature approach to this, his fourth album. Sohail Khalid helped produce this album with various artists such as T.I., Lil Flip and Bun B. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat on the opening track. Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone. He first appeared on the long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live as a special guest performing with musical guest Sum 41 on a season 30 episode hosted by Paul Giamatti. He then recorded Get Back with Sum 41 to make a rock crossover single. The follow-up single was the Austin Powers-inspired "The Number One Spot". It was produced by New York City's Hot 97 personality DJ Green Lantern. It used the Quincy Jones sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow. He also filmed the video in which he pokes fun at O'Reilly's problems with Andrea Mackris (Hi Mr. O'Reilly / Hope all is well kiss the plaintiff and the wifey). Production credits come also from veteran producers Timbaland, Lil' Jon, The Medicine Men. Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, Sleepy Brown, and Disturbing tha Peace newcomers Bobby Valentino (of Mista fame) and Dolla Boi and Small World. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts.
In an issue of XXL, a hip-hop based magazine, Ludacris was placed in the number nine spot for the most anticipated albums of 2006, for Release Therapy. The album Release Therapy was released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris formatted the CD to have two sides: a Release side and a Therapy side on a single CD. With the Release side having songs that allow him to get everything off his chest and the Therapy side being just feel-good music, on the flip side it's extremely dark in mood. Guest appearances include Pharrell Williams, R. Kelly, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Field Mob, Bobby Valentino, Pimp C, C-Murder, & Beanie Sigel. The first single, "Money Maker", which features Pharrell Williams, was released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17, 2006.[13] "Money Maker" reached number one on the BET 106 & Park. It then went to become the rapper's second number one single after 6 years[citation needed]. His second single, "Grew Up a Screw Up", featuring Young Jeezy, dispels rumors that both Ludacris and Young Jeezy having beef toward each other. His third single, "Runaway Love", soon peaked at number one on the U.S. Rap Billboard and won Best Collaboration in the 2007 BET Awards. His album then reached number one on the Billboard 200 album charts with sales of 309,000 in its first week. With the release of this album, Ludacris marked a change in style in his career with his musical style. The new album itself features a departure of the light-hearted mood of his previous albums, and introduces a darker side. A change of hair accompanied this as he cut off his trademark braids for a more conventional "fade" cut. This was done to project a new image for the album. To promote the album, Ludacris returned to Saturday Night Live (as both host and musical guest) on November 18, 2006.
The Preview, a mixtape to preview the album was released on the 28th of July 2008. Theater of the Mind, released on November 24, 2008, and in April 2008, a single named "Stay Together" appeared on xxlmag.com; supposedly from the new album ("Stay Together" was expected to but was released as a bonus track on the CD). Also, a song with Small World called "Pinky Shinin" was also expected to be on the album, but later dropped from the album. In an interview with Complex Magazine he stated that Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I., Plies, Common, T-Pain, Jay-Z, Nas and The Game will be on the album; The Game is featured in a track with Willy Northpole titled "Call Up the Homies". T.I. was on the album on a track called "Wish You Would" squashing the long feud between them. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 with 213,493 sold first week. The album was released the same day as Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, which took the number one spot. [14] His first single "What Them Girls Like", featuring Chris Brown and Sean Garrett, peaked at #33 on the Billboard 100. His second single, "One More Drink", featuring T-Pain, peaked at #24 on the Billboard 100. The third official single is "Nasty Girl", featuring Plies. He also confirmed a "sequel" titled Cineplex[15] due to be released sometime in 2009.[16]
Ventures
After the success of Back For The First Time, Ludacris then used his opportunity to start his own foundation. The Ludacris Foundation, started by Ludacris and Chaka Zulu, is an organization that helps[17] young middle and high school students motivate themselves in creative arts.
In 2007 Matt Apfel[18], a reality TV producer, had an idea for a show about mashups between fans and rock stars. He sat down with Ludacris and Disturbing tha Peace CEO Chaka Zulu and discovered that they wanted to do something similar. Out of this partnership, they started a new media distribution company called wemix.com[19]. Recently, WeMix.com announced a partnership with PhoneZoo to launch an innovative content distribution platform for new artists.[20]
Disputes
Bill O'Reilly
On August 27, 2002, Bill O'Reilly called for all Americans to boycott Pepsi products,[21] due to O'Reilly's opinion that Ludacris' lyrics glamorize a "life of guns, violence, drugs and disrespect of women".[22]
On August 28, 2002, O'Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Luda.[21]
Bridges makes frequent references and light-hearted attacks on O'Reilly on his albums.
2008 Presidential Election
The song "Politics (Obama Is Here)" from Ludacris' mixtape The Preview has caused controversy due to lyrics in the song criticizing Reverend Jesse Jackson(”Now Jesse talkin’ slick and apologizin’ for what?/ If you said it then you meant it”), McCain(”McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed”), President Bush (”Yeah I said it, ‘cuz Bush is mentally handicapped/ Ball up all of his speeches and throw ‘em just like candy wraps/ ‘Cuz what you talkin’ I hear nothin’ even relevant/ And you the worst of all 43 presidents”), and insulting Hillary Clinton(”Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant..”).[23]
1 His role in the The Wash was extremely brief. He references this in his song "Hip Hop Quotables" from the album Chicken-N-Beer, with the lines: "The competition never just wanna admit that they lost, and that they last about as long as my part in The Wash."
