All Entries Tagged With: "Ludacris"

Flame Thrower: Ludacris

2010 Rank: #10

Collection: Battle of the Sexes

Previous Rankings: N/A

Ludacris has been in the game for more than a decade and, in that time, has amassed enough career highlights to fill more than a few Web pages. But 2010 actually marks the Atlanta rapper’s first time making MTV News’ Hottest MCs list.

Perhaps inspired in part by being routinely left off the list, in 2008, Luda crafted what was then his most conceptually high-minded LP, Theater of the Mind. He even defiantly rapped about being overlooked to Mixtape Daily: “I’m top five, dead or alive/ And MTV, y’all must be out yo’ muthaf—in’ mind.” Still, it wasn’t enough to get him on the 2009 list.

In March, Ludacris released his seventh album, Battle of the Sexes, and without seeming to try much at all, he made the case for why he should be a candidate for the 2010 Hottest MC in the Game.

Sexes tackles male/female dynamics and brings onboard some high-profile femcees, including Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim. The certified-gold record debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart and spawned three bona fide hits — “How Low,” “My Chick Bad” and “Sex Room” — that each broke the top 5 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.

Where Luda really shined this year, though, was in his collaborations. He was featured on Justin Bieber’s smash “Baby,” which gave the teenybopper some street cred while also giving Luda a huge look at Top 40 radio. The video for “Baby” is the most viewed in the history of YouTube. If that wasn’t enough, ‘Cris jumped on the U.S. version of Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart,” and turned what was already a smash in the U.K. into one of the biggest songs of the summer in the States. But Luda kept it hip-hop, too, jumping on DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win,” which had everybody’s hands going up, to the tune of more than a million singles sold.

Surprisingly, all of that success couldn’t get Ludacris into the top 10 without some contention. During the 2010 roundtable discussion, moderated by MTV News’ Sway, members of the Brain Trust pointed out that G-Unit MC Lloyd Banks also had a banner year and was a contender for the 10th spot. Banks saw renewed buzz stemming in large part from the success of his single “Beamer, Benz or Bentley,” an urban radio staple.

MTV News Senior Producer Rahman Dukes argued, “Banks has had one of the most successful years without putting an album out. He really set the pace where, at one point during this year, he was the hottest artist out of New York City, hands down.”

“Nothing against Banks, but on a proportional scale, Luda’s doing that to an even bigger scale,” countered Steven Roberts, an associate producer at MTV News. “[Banks] may have had the #1 record out of New York — Luda had the #1 album in the country.”

Yomi Desalu, the director of music programming at mtvU, said that having a successful album doesn’t necessarily mean an MC deserves a nod. Desalu echoed Dukes’ sentiment, citing Banks’ heavy presence on the mixtape circuit as a key factor for his consideration.

“It’s not just about the album because anyone can go out there and get special features or high-quality producers to produce an album,” he said. “When you’re talking about what the fans are feeling in the streets — five mixtapes, that’s hungry — that’s the hunger for more,” Desalu said, slyly dropping the title of Banks’ debut follow-up.

But Roberts was firmly in Luda’s corner. “T.I., Gucci, Young Jeezy, they had all ran this Atlanta scene. It was hard for Luda to come back out just to put his name back out there.”

Sean Lee, MTV News’ supervising producer, concurred. “For him to have three big records off that album, that’s an accomplishment as well,” he said of ‘Cris.

Also to be considered are the numerous business ventures Ludacris has launched beyond music, including Conjure, a cognac; Soul by Ludacris headphones; and a restaurant in ATL called Straits Atlanta. Oh yeah, there’s Hollywood, too, where he continues to make strides.

“Education is extremely important, especially in my business, the music business,” Luda insisted at a Get Schooled event on Friday, where Keri Hilson and MTV News’ Sway also schooled attendees on the value of education. “You hear a lot of the times that the music business is 90 percent business [and] 10 percent music. If you don’t have the right education and you don’t educate yourself, then you’re not gonna last in my business.”

The advice may be hard to hear for budding entertainers who want to simply belt some tunes or bust some moves to achieve to musical greatness. However, Luda maintained his tough words are just about tough love, as he’s aiming to empower other people with the chance to realize their dreams.

“I’m here today ’cause I’m one of those individuals that I dream my painting and then I paint my dream and I want to make sure I carry on that message to everybody,” Luda explained. “If I have the time to invest and make sure I give back — I have my own foundation — and I just love when a lot of different people come together for a positive energy ’cause there’s so many negative things going on out there. We gon’ send them a positive message today.”

This years birthday bash was one to remember, with headliners from all over who came to grace the stage at a sold out Phillips Arena. Without bias, the Birthday Bash 15 performance roster was filled with the industry’s forerunners. The show began as the sunset, with the winner of the new music contest sponsored by Wendy’s. The lucky artist, Flawless opened the show full of energy and crowd participation as his background dancers set the tone for what was to come.

Following the opening act was Atlanta native Rocko who woke up the audience with his late single “This Morning,” and ended his set with a newest banger “Maybe.” By then the crowd was ready for swag surfin with F.L.Y. as the whole arena swayed and dipped back and forth .

Another spectacular performer of the night was Monica who illustrates to her fans time and time again that she is “Still Standing.” She completely blew her followers away with an unforgettable performance that touched every listener. Monica took the crowd back to the beginning of her career as she began with her first hit “Don’t Take It Personal.”

One of the sponsors of the show was www. gytnow.org who spoke to Atlanta during a brief intermission about the importance of getting tested for HIV. Another sponsor was the Magnum condom contest winner who performed while promoting the “Live Large Project” again stressing the facts on how to live safe.

The second half of Birthday Bash was even more star-studded. Dressed in all white was Shawty Lo who formally introduced Atlanta to his newest single “Birds.” The energy created by each artist was felt throughout the arena and the excitement level was on high.

Fans were pleased to know Jeezy was in the building. Jeezy performed “Lose My Mind” with Plies as they gave everyone a taste of what they’ve been working on. The presence of Plies had the ladies in hysteria as he approached the set wearing nothing more than a bath robe.

Roscoe Dash had the audience turned up to the max with his back to back hits “Show Out” and “Sexy Girl Anthem.” The show ended magnificently with Gucci Mane who was recently released from jail after serving time for a parole violation. Gucci Mane, while incarcerated had one of the best selling albums in 2009 (State vs.Radric Davis), thus fans where in pure pandemonium when he hit the stage.

Gucci Mane mentioned in an interview that performing at Birthday Bash is like a holiday comparable to Christmas, with the opportunity to connect with his city. This performance was the most important to date since Gucci Mane’s release, and the entire “So Icey” squad was on stage including Waka Flocka, Gucci’s best addition yet. Waka went hard in the paint and had his fans “crunk,” shaking their heads as he performed “Oh Lets Do It.”

Radio One/Hot 107.9 gives artists the opportunity to be exposed at Birthday Bash in front of a large fraction of the city’s population, entertainers reach their target market by the thousands. Atlanta has an undeniable love for their own, and with a collective residency of nearly 5.7 million the influence Atlanta’s have on the Hip Hop industry speaks for itself.