

Ludacris

rode the

early-2000s Dirty South explosion to widespread popularity, as his songs enjoyed an enormous embrace, mainly by urban media
outlets but also MTV and pop radio. The Atlanta-based rapper went from local sensation to household name after Def Jam signed
him to its Def Jam South subsidiary in 2000. In addition to connecting him with super-producers like Timbaland, the Neptunes,
and Organized Noize, Def Jam gave Ludacris remarkable marketing push. Ludacris thus quickly became one of the rap industry's
most in-demand rappers, guesting on hits for everyone from Missy Elliott ("One Minute Man") to Jermaine Dupri ("Welcome to
Atlanta") when he wasn't dominating the urban market with his own hits, most notably "What's Your Fantasy?," "Southern Hospitality,"
"Area Codes," and "Rollout (My Business)."
Before he became the Dirty South's most successful rapper, Ludacris DJed at an Atlanta radio station. He used the opportunity
to hone his craft on the mic, learn about the industry, and make a name for himself throughout the Atlanta area, which had
become the South's rap mecca starting in the mid-'90s. Eventually, he began aspiring toward a career as a rapper rather than
as a radio jock, and after working with Timbaland -- appearing on the super-producer's Tim's Bio album (the original version
of "Fat Rabbit") in 1998 -- Ludacris began taking his rap career seriously. He recorded an album, Incognegro (2000), and released
it on his independently released Disturbing tha Peace label. Ludacris primarily worked with producer Shondrae for the album,
though also with Organized Noize to a lesser extent. Incognegro sold impressively in Atlanta, where Ludacris was well known
for his radio work.
Soon after Incognegro became the talk of Atlanta and "What's Your Fantasy?" became a regional hit, Scarface came knocking.
Def Jam had given the veteran rapper the go-ahead to scout for talent in the South, since the Dirty South movement was gaining
steam at the time and Def Jam wanted to start a Def Jam South subsidiary. Ludacris became Scarface's first signing, and Def
Jam re-packaged the tracks from Incognegro, along with a few new productions: a U.G.K. collaboration ("Stick 'Em Up"), a Neptunes
production ("Southern Hospitality"), and a remix of his previously released song with Timbaland (retitled "Phat Rabbit").
Def Jam then gave the resulting album, Back for the First Time (2000), substantial marketing push, choosing "What's Your Fantasy?"
(an explicit duet about sexual fantasies from both the male and female perspective) as the first single. Though some radio
stations were hesitant to air such a provocative song, "What's Your Fantasy?" became an enormous success -- as did, to a lesser
extent, its even more provocative remix featuring Foxy Brown and Trina -- opening the door for countless other truly "dirty"
Dirty South songs that would soon become the norm rather than the exception.
Following his initial breakthrough with "What's Your Fantasy?," Ludacris remained ubiquitous. He toured the States with
OutKast and released a flurry of successive hit singles: the Neptunes-produced "Southern Hospitality," the Timbaland-produced
"Phat Rabbit," the Nate Dogg collabo "Area Codes," the Timbaland-produced "Rollout (My Business)," the Organized Noize-produced
"Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)," the KLC-produced "Move Bitch." His second album for Def Jam, Word of Mouf (2001), peaked at number
three on the Billboard album chart in October and hovered at the top of the charts for a long time. Furthermore, he contributed
to hits for other artists during this same time, most notably Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man" and Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome
to Atlanta," and also released another album, Golden Grain (2002), which featured his Disturbing tha Peace posse. The proper
Ludacris follow-up, Chicken -N- Beer, was released in October 2003. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
The following Ludacris Fan Sites links will take you off of my site. |
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Ludacris official site of the rapper. |
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Ludacris World includes articels, lyrics, pics, audio, and more for the rap star. |
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MTV.com: Ludacris includes biography, news, album info, and more. |
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Rock On The Net: Ludacris includes news updates, biography, career timeline, and more. |
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RollingStone.com: Ludacris photos, news, reviews, chart information, and biography. |
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