Ludacris

Real Name: Christopher Brian Bridges D.O.B.: September 11th, 1977 Champaign, Illinois

Label(s): Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam Recordings

Known by his stage name Ludacris, he is a three-time Grammy Award-winning southern 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. He is also the rapper with the most Top 40, Top 25, and Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of all time. Ludacris is tied with Nelly for the title of the hip-hop solo artist with the second most Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits (four each).

Early Career

Young Christopher was the son of Roberta Shields and Wayne Brian Bridges. Ludacris lived in Oak Park, Illinois and attended Oak Park and River Forest High School. During his high school years his family later moved to the College Park a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Banneker High School there, and then studied at Georgia State University.

Ludacris first revealed his personality to local media as the radio DJ Chris Lova Lova at Hot 97.5 (which later became Hot 107.9), an urban radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. His first shot at of exposure was when he penned lyrics for the “Swing My Way” (Remix) by KP and Envyi on EastWest Records America in 1998. He also had his opportunity to gain commercial exposure when hip hop producer/rapper Timbaland heard him on Atlanta radio. Timbaland contacted and made an offer for Ludacris to work with him at the radio station. Timbaland then produced a beat for Ludacris in the radio station. The two worked together and made Ludacris’ recorded debut on “Phat Rabbit”, a track from Timbaland’s 1998 album Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment.

Back For The First Time [2000]

Ludacris released his major label debut, Back for the First Time, in November 2000. This album, which was actually a modified re-release of the album Incognegro, 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 $hort, along with his first ever single “Phat Rabbit”, from two years prior. Guest appearances included I-20, Lil Fate, Shawnna, Pastor Troy, Timbaland, Trina, Foxy Brown, UGK, and others.

Word of Mouf [2001]

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. Word of Mouf became Ludacris’ best selling album to date. Guest appearances included Nate Dogg, Mystikal, I-20, Shawnna, Lil Fate, Three 6 Mafia, Twista, and Jagged Edge.

Chicken-n-Beer [2003]

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’”), which is heavily inspired by Too Short. 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, Marco, Snoop Dogg, Eightball & 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’s 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. Luda 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.

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, 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”. Luda 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.

The Red Light District [2004]

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.

Release Therapy [2006]

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. “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. His second 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 more than 300,000 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.

Theater of the Mind [2008]

Ludacris recently revealed to BET Weekly that he has collaborated with rock group Good Charlotte for his upcoming sixth solo album titled Theater of the Mind. Ludacris also divulged that he also wants to work with Eminem on the album. The Preview, a mixtape to preview the album has been released on the 28th of July 2008. Theater of the Mind, is slated for release in October 2008, and in April 2008, a single named “Stay Together” appeared on xxlmag.com; supposedly from the new album. Also a song with Small World called “Pinky Shinin’” might be on the album. Also in an interview with complex magazine he informs them that Lil Wayne and The Game will be on the album. [6] Swizz Beatz has also produced some songs for the album. T.I. will be on the album on a track called “Wish You Would”.

Other Work

In 2003, Ludacris recorded a rap section for Kylie Minogue on her song Chocolate (Kylie Minogue song), to be included on her ninth studio album Body Language (Kylie Minogue album). However, his contribution was edited out from the final mix, although the rap version was leaked onto the internet during 2006.

On July 7, 2007, Ludacris performed at the American leg of Live Earth. Ludacris made a verse for 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” remix. He also appeared on the four hundredth episode of The Simpsons, “You Kent Always Say What You Want”. The rapper has also recorded a verse for DJ Khaled’s “I’m So Hood Remix”. Ludacris also made a track entitled “Down In The Dirty”, which features Rick Ross & Bun B. In the booklet of Release Therapy ,it says, in the “coming soon” section, his next album will be called “Theater of the Mind”. More recently Ludacris has made a verse for Alicia Keys’ “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” Remix, as well as a verse on the remix to “Dey Know” by Shawty Lo. A verse for Lloyd’s How We Do has also been made. He is also featured on Ciara’s new single “High Price”, which will be on her new album “Fantasy Ride”, slated for release in November 2008. The-Dream stated on 106 & Park that in this collaboration, Luda spit the best 32 bars he has ever heard someone spit on a feature.

Ludacris has released two official mixtapes. The first one called Pre-Release Therapy with DJ Green Lantern was released in 2006. He has recently release The Preview with DJ Drama.

Business Ventures

Ludacris was featured on the cover of Beyond Race magazine for the publication’s summer 2008 issue.

After the success of The Red Light District, Ludacris then used his opportunity to start his own foundation. The Ludacris Foundation, started by Ludacris and Chaka Zulu, is an organization that helps young middle and high school students motivate themselves in creative arts.

In April 2008, Ludacris was to have launched his latest business venture, Straits Atlanta, bringing Singaporean cuisine to the artist’s hometown. The restaurant is the fourth of its kind: Ludacris’ partner in the venture, Chef Chris Yeo, owns three other restaurants in the Straits brand in San Francisco, San Jose and Burlingame, California. Straits Atlanta will further incorporate Georgian ingredients into the menu. The upscale $2.7 million dollar restaurant will open in Midtown Atlanta, in a building purchased by Ludacris nearly one year ago. Ludacris has also invested almost $1,000,000 into renovating the building. Two more restaurants are in the works.

Ludacris is also the co-host of a show with rocker Tommy Lee for Planet Green entitled “Battleground Earth”. The show premiered on August 3rd, 2008 and will air through September 2008. The show airs Sundays at 10 PM ET on Planet Green and Thursdays at 8 PM ET on TLC (TV channel).

Controversies

Bill O’Reilly:

On August 27, 2002, Bill O’Reilly called for all Americans to boycott Pepsi products, due to O’Reilly’s opinion that Ludacris’ lyrics glamorize a “life of guns, violence, drugs and disrespect of women”.

On August 28, 2002, O’Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Luda. O’Reilly later denied his call for a boycott when challenged on his show, claiming that he merely said he wasn’t going to drink any Pepsi products.

Furthering the Pepsi controversy, in response to the signing of the Osbourne family, popular hip-hop music mogul Russell Simmons organized a boycott against the company. Simmons demanded an apology from Pepsi to Ludacris and a 5 million dollar donation to one of his charities. Eventually Simmons and Pepsi settled on an agreement to stop the boycott, right before it was to officially begin. While Pepsi did not formally apologize to Ludacris, they did agree to donate millions of dollars over several years to Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

Ludacris’ song “Blow It Out” (from the Chicken & Beer album) acted as a response to his critics, namely Bill O’Reilly. “Shout out to Bill O’Reilly, I’ma throw you a curve You’re mad cause I’m a thief and got a way with words I’ma start my own beverage, it’ll calm your nerves Pepsi’s the new generation? Blow it out…”

Upon winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album on February 11, 2007, Ludacris included in his thank-yous a “special shout-out to Bill O’Reilly”.

The following day O’Reilly responded on his show with a less than enthusiastic reaction. He soon began criticizing Ludacris’ Grammy win.

Oprah Winfrey: In a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, Oprah Winfrey criticized Ludacris about his appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. During the interview, the conversation veered from the movie and Winfrey chose to speak on Ludacris’ lyrical content, which he felt was unfair as he was visiting her show in the capacity of an actor and not a rapper. Also, Ludacris was upset that some of his responses were later edited from the show’s airing. He was later joined by other rappers, such as 50 Cent, Ice Cube, and Killer Mike, who argued that Winfrey has an anti-hip hop bias.

Winfrey responded by saying that she’s opposed to rap lyrics that “marginalize women”, but enjoys some artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally.[ citation needed ] Ludacris later said the media had blown his comments out of proportion and said he respects Winfrey and considers her “a great individual”. At the 2007 Grammy awards, Ludacris gave a special shout-out to Oprah Winfrey. On “Freedom of Preach”, a song off his album, “Release Therapy”, he asked God to “forgive Oprah for editing most my comments out of her show”.

Discography:

2000 Incognegro (Chart position: 179)

2000 Back for the First Time (Chart position: 4 RIAA: 3x Platinum)

2001 Word of Mouf (Chart position: 3 RIAA: 3x Platinum)

2003 Chicken-n-Beer (Chart position: 1 RIAA: 2× Platinum)

2004 The Red Light District (Chart position: 1) RIAA: 2x Platinum)

2006 Release Therapy (Chart position: 1) RIAA: 2x Platinum)

2008 Theater of the Mind (unreleased)

Filmography

2001 The Wash*

2003 2 Fast 2 Furious

2003 Def Jam Vendetta (video game)

2003 Lil’ Pimp

2004 Eve (TV series) (Cab Driver)

2004 Def Jam: Fight for NY (video game)

2005 Crash

2005 Hustle & Flow

2006 Def Jam: Icon (video game)

2006 The Heart of the Game (Narrator)

2006 Law and Order: SVU (Darius Parker)

2006 NBA Ballers Phenom (video game)

2007 American Hustle (Himself)

2007 Law and Order: SVU (Darius Parker)

2007 The Simpsons (Ludacris as himself)

2007 Fred Claus

2008 Ball Don’t Lie

2008 RocknRolla

2008 Max Payne

2008 Game

Awards

BET Awards Won:

2007 Best Collaboration (“Runaway Love”) with Mary J. Blige

Nominations:

2002 Video of the Year (“One Minute Man [Remix]”) with Missy Elliott & Trina

2002 Best Male Hip-Hop Artist

2003 Best Collaboration (“Gossip Folks”) with Missy Elliott

2004 Video of the Year (“Yeah!”) with Usher & Lil Jon

2004 Best Male Hip-Hop Artist

2005 Best Male Hip-Hop Artist

2006 Best Collaboration (“Unpredictable”) with Jamie Foxx

2007 Best Hip-Hop Artist

2008 Best Collaboration (“I’m So Hood [Remix]”) with the South’s finest

BET Hip-Hop Awards

2007 Best Hip-Hop Video (“Runaway Love”) with Mary J. Blige

2006 Hip-Hop Hustler Award

Grammy Awards Wins:

2005 Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Yeah!”) with Usher & Lil Jon

2007 Best Rap Album (“Release Therapy”)

2007 Best Rap Song (“Money Maker”) with Pharrell

Nominations:

2002 Best Short-Form Video (“One Minute Man”) with Missy Elliott & Trina

2002 Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Area Codes”) with Nate Dogg

2003 Best Male Rap Solo Performance (“Rollout (My Business)”)

2003 Best Rap Album (“Word of Mouf”)

2004 Best Rap Solo Performance (“Stand Up”)

2004 Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or TV Series (“Act a Fool”)

2004 Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group (“Gossip Folks”)

2005 Best R&B Song (“Yeah!”) with Usher & Lil Jon

2005 Record of the Year (“Yeah!”) with Usher & Lil Jon

2006 Best Rap Solo Performance (“Number One Spot”)

2007 Best Rap Performance by Duo/Group (“Georgia”) w. Field Mob & Jamie Foxx

2007 Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Unpredictable”) with Jamie Foxx

Ozone Awards Nominations:

2007 Best Video (“Grew Up a Screw Up”) with Young Jeezy

2007 Best Rap Album (“Release Therapy”)

2007 Best Male Rap Artist

2007 Best Rap/R&B Collaboration (“Runaway Love”) with Mary J. Blige

Film Awards Won Screen Actors Guild Awards

Best Cast: Crash