Ludacris

"Luda" redirects here. For the class of ships, see Luda class destroyer.

Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11 1977), better known by his stage name Ludacris, 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 tied with Nelly for the title of the hip-hop solo artist with the second most Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits (four each). He has sold more than thirteen million records in the United States alone. He is also the rapper with the most Top 40, Top 25 and Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of all time.

Early life

Ludacris was born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Roberta Shields and Wayne Brian Bridges. Ludacris lived in Oak Park, Illinois and attended Oak Park and River Forest High School. He only attended his freshman year. His family later moved to Atlanta, Georgia. And in this time his father exposed him to all kinds of music ranging from Hip Hop to Rock. At nine years old, he started rapping, soon pursuing his own career as a rap musician. Before his rap career, Ludacris made his first media appearance within Dr. Dre's "Fuck Wit Dre Day" music video, visible at 5:13.

Music career

Early career

Ludacris first revealed his homosexual personality to local media as the radio DJ Douche Bag Bigolo at Flaming Homo 97.5 (which later became Super Homo Inferno 107.9), an urban radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. His first shot at of exposure was when he penned lyrics for the "I Swing Both Ways"(remix) by KP and Envyi on East West Records America in 1998. He also had his opportunity to gain commercial exposure when hip hop producer/rapper Timbaland hooked up with him at the Atlanta radio station. Timbaland contacted and made an offer for Ludacris to "work" with him at the radio station late hours into the night. Ludacris is reeel gay. LOLOLOLOL. 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. He currently owns a house in Centreville, Virginia (where his mother lives and he visits regularly), along with a house in Los Angeles and his permanent residence in Atlanta.

Although Jermaine Dupri showed interest in signing Ludacris, he decided to take matters into his own hands and released the album Incognegro independently in 1999. The album sold over 50,000 copies with most of them sold out of the trunk of his car. Through Scarface, Def Jam Records signed Ludacris in 2000 and created a new imprint, Def Jam South, around him. Def Jam then re-released a newer version of Incognegro, titled "Back for the First Time". The album launched Ludacris' career as a Southern rapper. Ludacris had more of a comedic rapping style earlier in his career.

Chicken-n-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 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, Chingy, Snoop Dogg, Eightball & MJG, Lil' Flip, I-20, Lil Fate, & Shawnna.

Stand Up

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 of 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. 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". 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

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.

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.

Release Therapy

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

Ludacris recently revealed to Entertainment 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 album was slated for release in September 2008, and in April 2008, a single named "Stay Together" appeared on xxlmag.com; supposedly from the new album.

Other work

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.And he is also featured on Ciara's new single "High Price",that will be on her New Album "Fantasy Ride".

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

Disputes

T.I.

Ludacris And T.I. have been involved in a long standing rivalry. This "beef" supposedly started because of some miscommunication between the two camps. The "beef" exploded after Young Buck invited them to record a song called "Stomp". T.I.'s verse was a diss towards Ludacris, and when he heard the verse, Ludacris recorded a scathing verse torwards T.I. The verse goes like this:

Muthafucka, I'm A Monster In This Game, Similar To The Lochness/ My Rhymes Is Nappy Rooted, Sum Verses Gotta Process/ The Truth In This Booth, Ain't No Doubt When I'm Rappin'/ If I Say It, I've Either Done It, Or It's 'Bout To Happen/ When I Pull Up In The Louis Truck On 26's, People Dumb Out/ If Life's A Crap Game, I'm Rollin' 7's On The Come Out/ These Rapper's Think I'm Ig-nent, Love Sayin' My Name/ Cuz Maintainin My Fish Tank, And They House, Cost The Same/ Ask Me, I'll Say I Made It, And It Sure Wasn't Luck/ Because Hustler's Relate To Me, And Some Are Younger Than Buck/ You See I'm Married To My Music, But We Got A Prenupt/ So If That Bitch Don't Act Right, I'm Still Gettin My Cut/ My Deals Never Get Screwed, My Contracts Practice Abstinence/ I'm Masterin This Program, Hazin' These Undergraduates/ So, Pimpin' Be Easy, Quit Catchin' Feelings/ Cuz You Worth A Couple Hundred Grand, And I'm Worth Millions/ Nobodys Thinkin' About You, Plus Your Beef Ain't Legit/ So Please Stay Off The T.I.P. Of My Dick

T.I wanted to record another verse but was denied his request by Buck's label but was granted his request to have his verse taken off. He was replaced by The Game. Since then thier beef had subsided, but when T.I. lost the Best Rap Album Grammy to Ludacris he began to take shots at Ludacris in the media. Most notably his second verse on "You Know What It Is", T.I. stated the following:

Women sweatin when they see me im apparently hot Had the album of the year nigga grammy or not

Ludacris responded with a remix verse to 50 Cent's "I Get Money". Ludacris stated :

Lets get one thang clear south's right here still got the Grammy for the album of the year 12 mil sold still flying on Leirs over 30 million dollars over in the past three years

So it looked like the beef was back on but before the 2007 Bet Hip Hop Awards. At a pre party at a club before the award show the next day, Ludacris was performing his diss verse torwards T.I. on 50 Cent's "I Get Money Remix" and to the shock and suprise of everyone in the crowd, T.I. showed up on stage and they embraced each other and officially settled their differences right there. Recently Ludacris has wished T.I. and his family well during his rough time because of his impending case.

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 limp 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

ma start my own beverage, it'll calm your nerves

Pepsi's the new generation? Blow it out...

In another song, "Hoes in My Room", he tells a story about anonymous prostitutes being left in his room, and at the end of the last verse says:

Then it got to my head and Somethin' remind me

I know who let 'em in, it was Bill O'Reilly.

Then, in 2004, in "Number 1 Spot"

''Respected highly, Hi Mr. O'Reilly.

'Hope all is well, kiss the plaintiff and the wifey."

involved O'Reilly telling a Def Jam executive that he will boycott Def Jam if Ludacris isn't fired. O'Reilly, played by Darrell Hammond, says that although his boycotts have had the opposite effect of his intention, Def Jam's sales will decrease dramatically.

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, Ludacris criticized Oprah Winfrey 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 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. 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 and on "Freedom of Preach" a song on "Release Therapy" he asked God to "Forgive Oprah for editing most my comments out of her show".

Discography

Main article: Ludacris discography

• 2000: Incognegro
• 2000: Back for the First Time
• 2001: Word of Mouf
• 2003: Chicken-n-Beer
• 2004: The Red Light District
• 2006: Release Therapy
• 2008: Theater of The Mind

Filmography

• 2001: The Wash
• 2003: 2 Fast 2 Furious
• 2003: Def Jam Vendetta
• 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)
• 2007: American Hustle (Himself)
• 2007: Law and Order: SVU (Darius Parker)
• 2007: The Simpsons (Ludacris as him self)
• 2007: Fred Claus
• 2007: NBA Ballers Phenom (Video Game)
• 2008: The Boondocks (TV series)
• 2008: Max Payne
• 2009: Game

Awards Won

• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • Best Cast: Crash

External links

• Official website
• Disturbing tha Peace Records Recording Label
• The Ludacris Foundation
• Ludacris at MySpace
• Ludacris News
• Ludacris Fansite
• Ludacris' Profile on VH1
• CNN interview with Ludacris
• Live Earth Performance Footage
• Ludacris Fan Site