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Theater of the Mind

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Untitled

Theater of the Mind is the sixth studio album by American hip hop rapper Ludacris. It was released on November 24, 2008.[1]

Background

The album was slated for release on October 21, but was pushed back to November 24. In April 2008, a song named "Let's Stay Together" appeared on xxlmag.com;[2] supposedly from the new album. It is now an iTunes bonus song on Theater of the Mind. Toomp has also worked on this album.[3] T.I. will also be appearing on a track called "Wish You Would".[4]

The album cover was released on October 24, 2008 at wemix.com. The cover is a homage to Sly and The Family Stone's Life album, which had the band appearing as all the cinemas goers in the picture. The album cover features 18 different moods of Ludacris. It was rumored there was 18 different moods for 18 songs but on the official tracklisting there are only 14 songs.

When asked what 2009 would look like for Ludacris he responded talking about two new albums, including a sequel to this album.[5]

In ’09, I’m definitely dropping another album. I’m working on a Battle of the Sexes album and a Theater of the Mind 2. With Battle of the Sexes, I’m trying to do some stuff with Shawnna."

Ludacris has also been talking to T.I. and Young Jeezy about a tour together.[6]

"I haven't confirmed anything yet," he explained. "It's little talks here and there. But I'll put it out there: I would love to do a tour where it's me, T.I. and [Young] Jeezy. Me, Tip and Jeezy would be outrageous. But nothing is confirmed at the moment."

Concept

Ludacris says the album is theatrical, conceptual-wise. Every song you hear sounds like a scene from a movie.[7]

Guests

Ludacris stated before the release of the album that, rather than featuring "guests", the tracks would have "co-stars", in keeping with the concept of the album as a "movie".[4] "Co-stars" on Theater of the Mind include Nas, Plies, Jay-Z, T.I., Common, T-Pain, Willy Northpole, Rick Ross, Playaz Circle, Ving Rhames, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Chris Brown, Sean Garrett, Lil Wayne, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Jamie Foxx, and The Game. [8]

The Preview

Ludacris released a "Gangsta Grillz" mixtape with DJ Drama called The Preview. The mixtape was released as a download on July 28, 2008. This mixtape is known for the disses toward George Bush, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain (since Ludacris supports Barack Obama).

Leaks

On October 24, 2008, three songs from Theater of the Mind, "Do the Right Thing", co-starring Common and Spike Lee, "I Do It for Hip Hop", co-starring Jay-Z and Nas, and "Last of a Dying Breed", co-starring Lil Wayne were leaked to the Internet. Ludacris commented on the situation:

Although I don't know where the leaks came from, the 3 songs leaked to the Internet today were unfinished tracks and premature versions of songs. I'm glad that my fans are excited about the new project, but to get the final masterpiece, the album Theater of the Mind premieres on November 24.[9]

The Leaked version of "Last of a Dying Breed" had a different set of verses during all of Ludacris' parts.

Chart performance

The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 214,126 copies in its first week.[10] It was his first album since 2001's Word of Mouf to not reach number one status, and his lowest charting album since his debut.

Singles

The first official single is "What Them Girls Like", "co-starring" Chris Brown & Sean Garrett. The single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first promo single is "Wish You Would", "co-starring" T.I.. The second promo single is "Undisputed", featuring Floyd Mayweather Jr.. The second official single is "One More Drink", "co-starring" T-Pain, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single is confirmed to be "Nasty Girl", "co-starring" Plies.

Track listing

# Title Composer(s) Featuring Length Samples
1 "Intro" The Runners 1:55
2 "Undisputed" Don Cannon Floyd "Money" Mayweather 4:33 "We'll Find a Way" by Edwin Starr
3 "Wish You Would" DJ Toomp and 8TRIX T.I. 4:47
4 "One More Drink" Trackmasters T-Pain 3:41 "Heaven Can Wait" by Michael Jackson
5 "Call Up the Homies" Clinton Sparks & Kamau Georges The Game & Willy Northpole 4:04
6 "Southern Gangsta" StreetRunner Rick Ross, Playaz Circle & Ving Rhames 4:34
7 "Everybody Hates Chris" Don Cannon Chris Rock 4:54 "It Takes a Whole Lotta Man for a Woman Like Me" by Gladys Knight & the Pips
8 "What Them Girls Like" Darkchild (Co-Produced by Sean Garrett) Chris Brown & Sean Garrett 4:02
9 "Nasty Girl" Swizz Beatz Plies 4:14
10 "Contagious" Scott Storch Jamie Foxx 4:45
11 "Last of a Dying Breed" Wyldfyer Lil Wayne 4:10 "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield
"Eric B. Is President" by Eric B. & Rakim
12 "MVP" DJ Premier 3:50 "Virgo" by Nas
"DTP for Life" by Disturbing tha Peace
13 "I Do It for Hip Hop" Wyldfyer Nas & Jay-Z 5:22
14 "Do the Right Thang" 9th Wonder Common & Spike Lee 5:14 "Na Boca Do Sol" by Arthur Verocai
* "Let's Stay Together" (USA & UK iTunes Bonus Track) DJ Paul & Juicy J 4:18 "Everybody's Breakin' Up" By Billy Paul
* "Press the Start Button" (Dutch iTunes Bonus Track / Japanese bonus track) Dre & Vidal 4:00

Personnel


Release dates

Country Date
Britain, Switzerland, Jamaica December 4, 2008
United Kingdom February 10, 2009
United States, Australia, Canada, Japan November 24, 2008
Poland December 9, 2008
Mexico December 11, 2008
South Africa January 18, 2009
Egypt October 2, 2008
Ireland February 15, 2009
Italy February 9, 2009
India, Argentina, France, Germany, Greece, Brazil November 16, 2008
New Zealand March 5, 2009
Middle East, Costa Rica January 16, 2009

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[11] 22
Swiss Albums Chart[12] 46
U.S. Billboard 200[13] 5
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[14] 2
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums[15] 1

References

  1. ^ http://www.defjam.com/site/news.php?news_id=106604
  2. ^ Ludacris "Let's Stay Together" audio.
  3. ^ DJ Toomp: Grammy Family. Accessed July 6, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Ludacris, T.I. 'Wish You Would' Believe There's No Beef Between Them. Accessed August 8, 2008.
  5. ^ Ludacris: Audio Cinematic. HiphopDX.com.
  6. ^ Ludacris In 'Talks' To Tour With T.I. And Young Jeezy, Says Theater Of The Mind Is A 'Classic'. MTV.com.
  7. ^ (July 16, 2008). Ludacris Gets Theatrical on Sixth Album Rap-Up. Accessed August 3, 2008.
  8. ^ Ludacris Interview.
  9. ^ Ludacris Speaks on Song Leaks. HipHopDX.com. Accessed October 26, 2008.
  10. ^ Hasty, Katie (2008-12-03). "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. 1 Debut". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  11. ^ "Top Canadian Albums — Theater Of The Mind — Ludacris". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  12. ^ "Ludacris — Theater Of The Mind — Music Charts". αCharts. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  13. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Theater Of The Mind — Ludacris". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  14. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums — Theater Of The Mind — Ludacris". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  15. ^ "Top Rap Albums — Theater Of The Mind — Ludacris". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-27.


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