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Ludacris (born Christopher Brian Bridges on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Illinois, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia (after attending grammar school in Illinois), this is where he eventually made a name for himself as one of the most prominent Southern rappers.
Music career
Early years
Bridges began his music career as a radio personality and DJ as Chris Lova Lova on Hot 97.5, an urban radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. He made his recorded debut on "Phat Rabbit," a track from Timbaland's 1998 album Tim's Bio: Life from the Bassment. Although both Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri showed interest in signing Ludacris, he decided to release the album Incognegro independently in 1999. The album sold over 50,000 copies through the Atlanta based indepedent music distributor, Southern Music Distribution. The same year, he recorded the theme to the video game Madden NFL 2000. Scarface, an original member of the Geto Boys, signed Ludacris in 2000 to Def Jam Recordings, and created a new imprint, Def Jam South, around him.Back for the First Time
Ludacris released his major label debut, Back for the First Time in October 2000. 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". Back for the First Time was the beginning of Ludacris's explosion to the top of the rap world.Word of Mouf
Ludacris promptly completed his next album, Word Of Mouf and released it at the end of 2001. Its lead single, "Rollout (My Business)" was boycotted in many American video stations. Despite the controversy, the video was nominated for a 2003 VMA, and Luda performed it live at the awards' pre-show. Ludacris also toured with Papa Roach in 2002 after the release of their sophomore album lovehatetragedy. Ludacris reached a new level of notoriety when TV's Bill O'Reilly expressed outrage that Pepsi had hired Ludacris as a spokesman. O'Reilly repeatedly attacked Ludacris's foul language and called for a nation-wide boycott of Pepsi, who then fired Ludacris and hired Ozzy Osbourne's family instead.Chicken & Beer
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 upcoming album, Chicken & 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 & Beer opened strongly, but without a popular single, the album fell quickly.However, in the fall of 2003, Ludacris rebounded with his next single, "Stand Up", which appeared on both Chicken & Beer as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip-hop/dance movie, Honey. Produced by Kanye West, "Stand Up" went on to become Ludacris' biggest mainstream hit to date, hitting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, MTV2, and BET.
The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", was released in early 2004. Though not a pop hit, it became a success at urban radio and BET. 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". Luda next released "Blow It Out", a gritty song that had a heavily low-budget, gritty, and urban-looking music video, which was a huge departure from the colorful, sensual, R&B leanings depicted in "Splash Waterfalls". "Blow It Out" acted both as a scathing response to the aforementioned criticism levied by Bill O'Reilly and an expression of disgust at Pepsi's cowardice in the affair:
- ''Shout out to Bill O'Reilly, I'm'a throw you a curve
- ''You mad cause I'm a thief and got away with words
- ''I'm'a start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves
- ''Pepsi's the New Generation?—Blow it out cha ass!
- On June 1, 2006, a federal jury found that "Stand Up" did not infringe on the copyright of a song called "Straight Like That" by a New Jersey group known as I.O.F. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict. "This whole experience is proof to me of why I will always fight for what I believe in."
The Red Light District
The fifth studio album from Ludacris. Although entirely different from the usual antics of the previous albums, Ludacris had taken a more mature approach to his album. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat. Ludacris had recently filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured a muscle-bounded hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned his critics to leave him alone. 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. Ludacris 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 and legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh. Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, 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. And most recently the rapper had 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. Ludacris also has a daughter by the name of Karma. Ludacris had also participated at the Super Bowl and is the spokesman for the Boost Mobile Phone ad-campaign. Ludacris also received his first Grammy Award with Usher and Lil Jon for their hit single "Yeah".Release Therapy
In a recent 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 will be released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris is going to format the cd to have two sides, a Release side and a Therapy side. With the Release side having songs that allow him to get everything off his chest and the Therapy side being just feel-good music. A song titled "War With God" is one of the confirmed tracks from the upcoming album. It is a diss track aimed at...himself. Another track, "Tell It Like It Is" was released. The first single, "Money Maker", which features Pharrell, will be released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17.*Acting career
Ludacris has been acting in film since The Wash in 2001, but his big break came in 2005, where he received critical praise for his roles in Hustle & Flow and Crash. Crash includes an ironic sequence where Ludacris's character is dismissive of hip-hop music. He is occasionally credited as "Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges". On January 29, 2006 he was awarded with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture for his work in the film Crash. Ludacris also starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and appeared in the March 28, 2006 episode of Special Victims Unit. Ludacris narrated the 2006 Ward Serrill basketball documentary "Heart of the Game."
Beef
On August 27, 2002 Bill O'Reilly started a boycott against Pepsi over their endorsement of Ludacris. O'Reilly's reasons for starting the boycott was due to the fact that Ludacris' lyrics have been known to degrade women and support the use of drugs. Pepsi adhered to O'Reilly's message and dropped Ludacris from their company. During the following year's superbowl, Pepsi signed the Osbourne Family which some have accused of engaging in the type of conduct which had prompted O'Reilly to urge Pepsi to drop Ludacris.
Furthering the controversy, in response to the signing of the Osbourne family, popular music hip-hop 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 Ludacris' 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 apologise to Ludacris, they did agree to donate millions of dollars over years to Russel Simmon Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.
O'Reilly remained silent over Pepsi's endorsement of the Osbourne family, which some critics described as "racial hypocrisy". Further, O'Reilly denied calling for a boycott of Pepsi on February 4, 2003.
Ludacris' song "Blow It Out" (from the Chicken & Beer album), acted as a scathing response to his critics, namely O'Reilly, who is mentioned by name in the following lyrics:
Shout out to Bill O'Reilly, I'm'a throw you a curve You mad cause I'm a thief and got away with words I'm'a start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves Pepsi's the New Generation—Blow it out ya ass!
In a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, Ludacris criticized Oprah Winfrey about his appearance on her show with the cast the film Crash (2004 film). * 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 had an anti-hip hop bias.
Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women," but enjoys some artists, including Kanye West, who appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludracris 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.
Ludacris later said the media had blown his comments out of proportion and said he respects Winfrey and considers her "a great individual."*
In 2004, before the release of his debut album Straight Outta Ca$hville, Nashville, Tennessee native and G-Unit member Young Buck would enlist the services of fellow Atlanta emcee T.I., also known as T.I.P. in his native Bankhead neighborhood of westside Atlanta. They would create a track entitled "Stomp" amid growing tension between Buck's good friend Ludacris and T.I. On the track, T.I. takes subliminal shots at Ludacris including the line "me gettin' beat down, that's ludicrous." Buck, immediately sensing the tension, decided before releasing the track to notify Ludacris that T.I. had mentioned him since he didn't want to position himself as encouraging T.I.'s actions. Ludacris hears the track and asks Buck if he can add his own verse to which Buck agrees. The results end up being costly for T.I. as he is berated throughout Ludacris' verse and called out by name in his last line. Representatives from T.I. notify Buck that T.I.'s vocals will not be cleared for the album unless T.I. is allowed to change his verse, and also have Ludacris change his. Buck refuses this offer and T.I. prohibits his vocals from being used. Buck has hypeman and fellow rapper D-Tay replace T.I. on the song and D-Tay himself is eventually replaced by The Game on the official release.
Although T.I. was removed, the street cut featuring him and Ludacris had already been leaked to DJs in Atlanta and New York. T.I. was unable to stop the track's distribution throughout the streets of the nation at this point. It is widely accepted that T.I. "lost" this battle with Ludacris easily being the victor. The beef between Ludacris and T.I. was then put to an end behind closed doors as the rappers have both said that the problems between them have ceased.
In 2006 however, T.I. would release his highly anticipated fourth solo album entitled KING. In his Just Blaze produced track titled "I'm Talkin To You," T.I. lyrically attacks one or more unknown targets who have widely been speculated to be either Ludacris, New Orleans emcee Lil Wayne, or Houston rapper Lil' Flip (whom T.I. also had beef with but has since ended their animosity behind closed doors) or a combination of all three. It is still unknown whether or not T.I. was in fact dissing Ludacris or anyone else for that matter at all. A closer listen to the song, however proves that T.I. isnt dissing Ludacris. In one of T.I.s lines he quotes "had it out with 'Cris, but he still my nigga...sat down and talked it over like real niggas", alluding to the sit down that he and Ludacris had to end their beef. As a matter of fact during the taping of MTV's My Block 'Atlanta', T.I. and Ludacris are shown greeting each other respectfully.
In July of 2006, a track entitled "War with God" would see Ludacris return after some time off in movies. In the track, Ludacris goes on the offensive against an unknown rapper who has sold drugs, and makes repeated references to shooting guns in his songs, isn't as rich as he (ludacris) and likes to give himself titles - all very well known characteristics and facts directly relating to T.I and Young Jeezy (or countless other less popular rappers) or the newcoming rapper Yung Joc. The track is rumored to be a selection from Ludacris' upcomin album Release Therapy this September. In this instance it also unknown whether or not Ludacris is indeed aiming his disses at Young Jeezy, T.I. or if the track is even a song recorded recently. Ludacris recently stated that he was not dissing T.I. he was dissing himself, him and T.I. are still cool.
Recently Ludacris have released the track "Tell It Like It Is" that state that he is the best rapper out the game and most of rapper don't come close to competition when it comes for lyrics .
Discography
Solo albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|
| Incognegro |
| Back for the First Time |
| Word of Mouf |
| Chicken & Beer |
| The Red Light District |
| Release Therapy |
Albums with Disturbing Tha Peace
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|
| Golden Grain |
| Disturbing tha Peace |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop | U.S. Rap | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2000 | "Southern Hospitality" | #23 | #6 | #5 | - | Back for the First Time |
| 2000 | "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna) | #21 | #10 | #12 | #19 | Back for the First Time |
| 2001 | "Area Codes" (featuring Nate Dogg) | #24 | #10 | #7 | #25 | Word of Mouf |
| 2001 | "Fatty Girl" (with LL Cool J & Keith Murray) | #87 | #32 | #6 | - | FUBU - The Good Life Comp |
| 2001 | "Roll Out (My Business)" | #17 | #7 | #20 | #20 | Word of Mouf |
| 2002 | "Move Bitch" (featuring Mystikal and I-20) | #10 | #3 | #3 | - | Word of Mouf |
| 2002 | "Saturday (Oooh Oooh)" (featuring Sleepy Brown) | #22 | #10 | #4 | #31 | Word of Mouf |
| 2002 | "Welcome to Atlanta" (Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris) | #35 | #15 | - | - | Instructions/Word of Mouf |
| 2003 | "Act a Fool" | #32 | #20 | #10 | - | 2 Fast 2 Furious (OST) |
| 2003 | "Stand Up" (featuring Shawnna) | #1 | #1 | #1 | #14 | Chicken -N- Beer |
| 2004 | "Splash Waterfalls" | #6 | #2 | #3 | - | Chicken -N- Beer |
| 2004 | "Diamond in the Back" | #94 | #51 | - | - | Chicken -N- Beer |
| 2004 | "Blow It Out" | #79 | #65 | #45 | - | Chicken -N- Beer |
| 2004 | "Yeah" (Usher featuring Ludacris & Lil Jon) | #1 | #1 | #1 | #1 | Confessions |
| 2004 | "Get Back" | #13 | #9 | #5 | #30 | The Red Light District |
| 2005 | "Number One Spot" | #19 | #8 | #6 | #30 | The Red Light District |
| 2005 | "Potion" | - | #65 | - | - | The Red Light District |
| 2005 | "Oh" (Ciara featuring Ludacris) | #2 | #6 | - | #4 | Goodies |
| 2005 | "Pimpin' All Over the World" (featuring Bobby Valentino) | #9 | #5 | #2 | - | The Red Light District |
| 2005 | "Unpredictable" (Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris) | #9 | #2 | - | #16 | Unpredictable |
| 2005 | "Georgia" (Ludacris & Field Mob featuring Jamie Foxx) | #39 | #31 | #21 | - | Ludacris Presents: Disturbing tha Peace/Light Poles & Pine Trees |
Grammy Awards history
| Category | Genre | Song | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Rap Solo Performance | Rap | "Number 1 Spot" | 2006 | Nominated |
| Best R&B Song | R&B | "Yeah!" | 2005 | Nominated |
| Record of the Year | General | "Yeah!" | 2005 | Nominated |
| Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap | "Yeah" | 2005 | Won |
| Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television Special | Motion Picture | "Act A Fool" | 2004 | Nominated |
| Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group | Rap | "Gossip Folks" | 2004 | Nominated |
| Best Male Rap Solo Performance | Rap | "Stand Up" | 2004 | Nominated |
| Best Rap Album | Rap | Word of Mouf | 2003 | Nominated |
| Best Male Rap Solo Performance | Rap | "Roll Out (My Business)" | 2003 | Nominated |
| Best Short Form Music Video | Music Video | "One Minute Man" | 2002 | Nominated |
| Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap | "Area Codes" | 2002 | Nominated |
| Best Rap Album | Rap | Back For the First Time | 2001 | Nominated |
Filmography
- The Wash (2001)
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
- Lil Pimp (2003)
- Crash (2005)
- Hustle & Flow (2005)
- Heart of the Game (2006) *
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
External links
- Official website
- Disturbing Tha Peace Records
- The Ludacris Foundation
- Luda Reveals Who He Is Dissing In God Of War!!!
1977 births | Living people | African American musicians | African-American actors | American film actors | American rappers | Def Jam affiliated performers | People from Champaign, Illinois | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | American dance musicians | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actors | Grammy Award winners | Atlanta rap artists | Illinois musicians | People known by pseudonyms
"Ludacris"