Ludacris, the American rapper and actor was born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois. Though his name is Christopher Bridges and once known as Chris Lova Lova, he is best known as Ludacris. He eventually moved to Atlanta and made a name for himself as one of the most popular Dirty South rappers of the new millennium.
Ludacris started off his music career as a radio DJ personality taking the name ‘Chris Lova Lova’, on Hot 97.5 (an urban radio station in Atlanta, Georgia). "Phat Rabbit", a track from Timbaland's 1998 album was his recording debut. Though both Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri wished signing with Ludacris, Ludacris released the album Incognegro, independently in 1999, and it sold over 50,000 copies. Next year, Def Jam Records signed Ludacris, creating a new imprint, Def Jam South.
"What's Your Fantasy," based on an ex-girlfriend Katie Dabies from his Back For The First Time album, was Ludacris' major-label debut single. In 2001, "Southern Hospitality" turned an even bigger urban radio and video hit. It achieved a great MTV2 airplay and moderate MTV airplay. “Ho”, the third single from the ‘Back For The First Time’ drew controversy over its lyrics. The song or video was banned or restricted on many radio stations and MTV Networks channels (MTV, MTV2, BET), but it could be downloaded online at ‘Launch’ for some time. During the summer of 2001, Ludacris associated with singer Nate Dogg. A single from the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack called "Area Codes" was released around that period. More or less as in the case of "Ho", the song and video had to undergo censoring.
At the end of 2001, Ludacris promptly completed and released his next album, Word Of Mouf. Its lead single, "Rollout (My Business)", gave Ludacris acquaintance with a minor mainstream crossover, and the song was often played on urban radio. Its next two singles, "Saturday (Oooh, Oooh)" and "Move Bitch", also was hits during the year 2002. All the three songs were treated deservedly by MTV, BET, and MTV2, though the lyrics and title were muted or modified to suit situations. Though surrounded by controversies, the video was nominated for a 2003 VMA. In 2002, following the release of their sophomore album lovehatetragedy, Ludacris went on a tour with Papa Roach.
In 2003, Pespsi came under scathing verbal attack from Bill O'Reilly for using Ludacris and music from his controversial "Move Bitch" for the company’s commercial. But Russell Simmons stood for Ludcris’ cause, arguing that it was unfair for Pepsi to fire Ludacris, taking them to be violent, vulgar, and profane and employ the Osbournes at the same time, since the former and latter almost had the same image in the society. However, Ludacris was happy because he did not have to return the money paid to him by Pepsi.
After a brief hiatus, Ludacris entered the music scene during the spring of 2003 with his new single, "Act A Fool" from the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. The lead single "P-Poppin'" from his upcoming album, Chicken & Beer, was also released during this time. Both the new singles failed to be hit the charts and without a popular single the album Chicken & Beer was hardly a success. However, in the fall of 2003, Ludacris made a comeback with his next single, "Stand Up", which became his biggest mainstream hit till date. The single appeared on both Chicken & Beer and also on the soundtrack for the teen hip-hop/dance movie, Honey. It was a topper on the Billboard Hot 100 and received heavy airplay.
The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", released in the beginning of 2004, is Ludacris' most sexual video till then. The next release was "Blow It Out", which was a huge departure from the colorful, sensual, R&B leanings delineated in "Splash Waterfalls. "Blow It Out" was a tit-for-tat for Ludacris' critic, namely Bill O'Reilly. In, The Red Light District, his 5th studio album, Ludacris had taken a more mature approach. Ludacris has recently filmed and recorded the single "Get Back", where he appeared as a muscle-bounded hulk, annoyed by the media and warning critics to leave him alone. The Austin Powers-inspired single "The Number One Spot" was the next one to follow.
The rapper has recently started an organization to train school students in creative arts. The organization namely ‘The Ludacris Foundation’ has a co-founder Chaka Zulu. Ludacris, who is a Super Bowl participant and a Boost Mobile spokesman, also has a daughter by the name Karma.
