|
 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)."
Ludacris Links
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. |
