| Cover Story |

"Cinematic Excellence On Wax"
By Cozi Orlen and Aliya Hassan

The best-selling Southern Hip-Hop artist of all time just can't stay away from that mic. Fresh off his role in the film RocknRolla alongside Entourage star Jeremy Piven, rapper/actor extraordinaire Ludacris is celebrating the release of Theater of the Mind, the MC's seventh studio album. The Southern rapper flexes his lyrical muscle on his new, cinema-themed album, and he's been blazing up the charts with two new singles, “What Girls Want” and “One More Drink” featuring T-Pain—it looks like Luda is still at the top of his game.

Long before Ludacris became known for reppin' the ATL, a young Christopher Brian Bridges was spending his childhood in Oak Park, Illinois. It was during high school that Chris's family moved to Atlanta's College Park suburb. He later studied Music Management while attending Georgia State University.

The MC-in-the-making went on to work as DJ Chris Lova Lova on Hot 107.9, a Hip-Hop station in Atlanta. It was there that Chris met some of the artists who would later become his contemporaries. One such artist was Timbaland, then working on his solo record, Tim's Bio. Tim was so impressed by Ludacris that he invited him to contribute his vocals to one of his tracks-in-progress, "Phat Rabbit".

Luda started work on his debut record, and was soon looking for a record deal under the guidance of his manager, Chaka Zulu. Unfortunately, they had no luck finding him a deal, so he and Chaka decided to found a label on which to release Ludacris's debut. They named it Disturbing tha Peace Records (DTP).

Since its inception, DTP has become a Def Jam imprint. Its roster of artists includes Southern rapper Chingy, Shawnna, Lil Fate, Field Mob, and Ludacris himself. At one point, R&B singer Bobby Valentino was also on the label. DTP has come out with two compilations: Golden Grain in 2002 and the gold-selling Ludacris Presents: Disturbing the Peace in 2005. The label also released the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack.

In 2000, Ludacris released his first album on DTP, the excellently-titled Incognegro. The record's release sparked the interest of Def Jam, who offered him a contract. Ludacris gladly signed. Later that year, Def Jam released Ludacris's second cd, Back For the First Time, which was composed mostly of tracks from Incognegro. The MC immediately took over the game with radio bangers “What’s Your Fantasy” and “Southern Hospitality”. His record hit #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Luda quickly became known for his music videos, most notably "Southern Hospitality", in which he and his afro dangled upside down for the entire second verse. Back For the First Time has since gone triple-platinum.

Ludacris's next release, Word of Mouf, came out in 2001. The album gave the rapper a concrete spot in Hip-Hop with the classic singles "Rollout (My Business)", “Move Bitch” with Mystikal and I-20, and “Area Codes” with Nate Dogg. Word of Mouf did extremely well in stores, and eventually became another triple-platinum record. It featured guest artists like DTP member Shawnna, Three Six Mafia, Twista, and Jagged Edge.

In 2002, Ludacris got into a beef with television pundit Bill O'Reilly when the right-wing mudslinger criticized Luda's lyrical content. At the time, Ludacris was featured in one of Pepsi's ad campaigns. O'Reilly called for a Pepsi boycott, which led to Pepsi firing the artist. In response to this, Russell Simmons called for another Pepsi boycott. Pepsi ended the argument by committing to a large donation to Simmons's Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

As a result of all this, Luda's fourth album, 2003's Chicken and Beer, featured many O'Reilly slams. Although the album struggled at first due to lack of a stand-out single, well-received hits like the Kanye West-produced “Stand Up” featuring Shawnna and “Splash Waterfalls” catapulted the record into the spotlight. Chicken and Beer topped the Billboard Top 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, and eventually went double-platinum. That same year, Ludacris introduced himself to the Pop world when he was featured on Usher’s #1 hit, “Yeah”. Luda received his first Grammy for his verse on this Lil Jon-produced track.

Ludacris kept the hit records coming with his next cd, the double-platinum The Red Light District, in 2004. He had created yet another winner. The album featured guest artists like DMX, DJ Quik, Doug E. Fresh, Nas, Trick Daddy, and Nate Dogg. Producers such as Salaam Remi, Polow da Don, Timbaland, DJ Toomp, and DJ Green Lantern all worked on the record. After releasing the single "Get Back", he performed it on Saturday Night Live with Sum 41 as the backing band. This cross-genre version of "Get Back" was later recorded in a studio and released as a single. Other singles from the record included "Number One Spot", "The Potion", and "Pimpin' All Over the World" with Bobby Valentino.

Ludacris made a strong impact in the world of film with his memorable role in the racial drama Crash in 2004, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild award. After Crash, he continued to make a name for himself as Chris Bridges the actor, appearing in films like Hustle & Flow, Fred Claus, and 2008's action-packed Max Payne, along with television shows like Law and Order: SVU and Eve. He is set to appear in the upcoming science fiction thriller Game with Gerard Butler in 2009.

In 2006, Luda put out the mixtape Pre-Release Therapy to build buzz for his next album. He dropped Release Therapy later that year. Darker than previous records, Release Therapy featured a more mature Ludacris. He changed his image slightly to match this newfound maturity, getting rid of his cornrows and adopting a fade haircut. It was a strong contrast to his afro-sporting "Southern Hospitality" days. The change in tone was a hit with fans and critics, garnering him a Grammy in 2007 for Best Rap Album. Four singles were released: "Money Maker" featuring Pharrell, "Grew Up a Screw Up" with Young Jeezy, "Runaway Love" with Mary J. Blige, and "Slap".

2008's mixtape DJ Drama Presents: The Preview created a fair amount of controversy, specifically the track "Politics (Obama Is Here)". The media threw a hissy fit over lyrics insulting John McCain, Jesse Jackson, and Hillary Clinton, and the Obama campaign came out in opposition to the track. All of this talk just fed more fuel to the fire behind Ludacris's latest record, Theater of the Mind, released on November 24th, 2008.

Theater of the Mind has a theatrical sound, and several of the songs were intended to remind the audience of movie scenes. Song titles referencing film and television include "Do The Right Thang", "Southern Gangsta", and "Everybody Hates Chris". His choice of guest stars also reinforces the album's cinematic theme. The album features cameos from actors Jamie Foxx, Ving Rhames, and Chris Rock, along with an appearance by director Spike Lee.

Ever the prolific artist, Luda has stated that he is currently working on two new records: Battle of the Sexes with Shawnna and a sequel to Theater of the Mind. He plans to release at least one of the albums in 2009. As an MC, Ludacris has consistently spat clever lyrics, and has kept his hard-hitting flow fast and fresh. As an actor, he has been convincing in roles, and has retained his on-screen charm throughout all projects. No matter which medium he appears in, fans can always expect a stellar performance from ATL's #1 hit-maker.