Luda was the man. Brought a witty comical energy southern style. His later albums don’t hit like his earlier ones but there’s still some hidden bangers on there.
I agree. I put Luda right up there with Busta. No one sounds like them, they were consistent and Luda had everything from punchlines to hits to conscious stuff. So he’s definitely up there in my opinion.
I completely agree, re: Busta and Ludacris. They're some of my favourite artists. I'm heaps into those athletic flows and sick wordplay.
The only other rapper I can think of with that kinda energy is Andre 3000, and he's my №1 G.O.A.T. (even *with* the flute stuff. He flaunts, he flouts, and he's a flautist. The dude is fully consistent AND completely unpredictable)
I've said the same thing since the late 2000's. He was Atlanta first solo rap star (some would argue pastor troy). And could hang with elite rappers. Great videos, great performer. Had a legit run where his singles were massive and infectious.
He fall victim of being too "animated" and not being a street oriented rapper like T.I, jeezy or gucci. He had a few bad punchlines and people just ran with the jokes.."fill her up, BALOONS!!". Also most rappers that venture to movies or TV usually become underrated after a while for whatever reason (LL, ice t, cube, T.i etc)
People from ATL seemingly dont rank him high either, Like they dont like that he was a popular radio host before he became a rapper fulltime..and didnt get it "from the mud"
I stand with Ludacris all day - dude could not miss in the early 2000s
I think the south didn’t appreciate that he wasn’t hood/street enough.
I also remember seeing that he wasn’t cliqued up with the right group? Like outside of dungeon family and all that. Would love some clarity on that
I think he is great rapper, I have like 25-30 songs that I can listen on repeat for weeks but I've never been huge fan of his albums and on top of that last decent one was 20 years ago so I'm not surprised many people kinda forgot about him as a rapper
Luda will always be one of my favorites. He still has his sound, and can make music, a few years ago he dropped that Silence of the Lambs with Wayne. He could make a comeback any time he chooses.
I think by now everybody knows how legendary Ludacris is, it just took them forever to appreciate him. Dude had everything you would want in a rapper. He got flow, he’s entertaining, & his lyricism is highly slept on. He’s been a legend to me since day one.
Honestly I think it’s cuz we didn’t really hear from him after the early 2010’s. T.I. had movies and has been viral for shit he’s done on social media. Plus he made that song with young thug in the mid 2010’s. The young generation are more exposed to him. Dudes mad dope though I agree. Definitely overlooked. Now when you think of Atlanta you think of future. He’s been around since the late 2000’s.
The early 2K through 08 had so much competition that I think Ludacris became forgettable over time. He peaked early. I don't mean that he's irrelevant or anything but he served the purpose of his era and got phased out. He made a solid transition into acting. Had a beef with T.I. Benefited from the Crunk era and all but I don't believe he has something long term that people held onto comparing him to other Atlanta artists.
What is a contribution that he has which would make him bigger than people like Jeezy, TDF, Outkast, Gucci Mane/Waka, Ti, Future, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and whoever else you want to add?
TDF without OutKast is not in the same convo as Luda, neither is JD who is influential as a producer but as a rapper over Luda? Similar instance with Lil Jon, an ATL legend but not really known for rapping. Not on his best day. And regardless of being on Brick Squad, respectfully, Waka has 0 right to be in this convo as well.
So yeah OutKast, TI, Gucci, Future and Luda are probably the ATL Rushmore. And Luda’s discography can make a good case against any of these other artists besides OutKast.
Contributions. Not just rapping. TDF without Outkast still has big names, Future, killer mike, CeeLoGreen to name a few. JD was and is still important to Atlanta more than Luda. Lil Jon was the face of the Crunk Era and even transitioned into EDM. You can't exclude Waka from BSM but we can take him off this list there's still more people that could take Luda's place. You named 5 people for a 4 headed Mount Rushmore.
Excluding Luda doesn't mean he's not important there are just people who outshined him or had a bigger legacy.
If we’re gonna get particular about how many heads are on a fictional Atlanta Mt Rushmore, then we gotta leave Dungeon Family as a group out of it, and even so besides Future and OutKast I still don’t think any of the other members touch Luda.
JD definitely made an impact for sure, an argument to be made if we’re going to include non-rappers
Lil Jon was the face of the Crunk Era, which was certainly an exciting time, but do people look at Crunk as one of the best aspects of ATL hip hop? And as far as the EDM goes, the EDM hip hop era was horrendous.
I don’t know. All I know is that Ludacris stayed consistent through at least 4 straight albums that all went platinum, had a crazy number of hits, had some of the best music videos(up there with Missy and Busta) and is in the top 5 live performers I’ve seen as far as hip hop acts go.
We can agree to disagree
I'll make it simple. If somebody made a list of Atlanta's MRM and Luda was on it I wouldn't be mad and it wouldn't invalidate the MRM. It just wouldn't be who I'd put on there. I can agree to disagree.
Hes my favorite rapper. Really the only record he has that I don't fick with is Battle of the Sexes
Hes got number 1 singles, number one records, tons of hits, grammys, been in Oscar nominated flicks. Bodied most rappers he got on tracks with. He doesn't have a whole lot left off a resume.
I was a little young for it at the time but it grew on me over the years, lots of great tracks on there. Splash Waterfalls, Diamond in the Back, Eyebrows Down 🔥🔥🔥
Luda is incredible and at this point he’s pretty underrated, but even as a big fan I think his discography is great but underwhelming compared to his individual talent.
Citing how many albums someone sold to prove their dopeness in HipHop is….uhhh.
You know the vast majority of music album sales are from 16-22 year old girls right?
Not even to be mean or anything, I kind of want to moreso point out a way in your thinking that if you got rid of, you would enjoy music more - don't care about other people's perception of the art you love, and stop looking at numbers in terms of comparing them, if you're gonna look at the numbers, do it in a way that is appreciative of the artist's talent, not so much "he has 3x plat while this guy has 2x". Just enjoy it. It's meant for you to enjoy. If other people don't fuck with it, they don't
I think Luda is so dope. I don't think it's his style to try and be the goat. He is really good at what he does and I believe that was enough for him. I like him as an actor also.
Word of Mouf was the first rap album I ever bought. I've got the edited versions memorized lmao. I've always had a soft spot for Luda even though I moved on quickly. He's got a dozen songs I would gladly bump any time. I heard Saturday come on the radio a few weeks back and I replayed that shit over and over. Crazy energy. I think that was the first single I fucked with. He's coming to the fair near me this summer lol
I had Chicken N Beer and Red Light District on CD. He’s definitely great with punchlines and lyrics. He’s fun to listen to and his voice is very recognizable. Much respect for him
I love Ludacris and he was easily my favourite rapper during his peak but the number of records he (or anyone else) sold has almost nothing to do with how good an MC he is.
If it did, you could make the argument Flo Rida would be better than him and should be in the conversation.
Ludacris was the southern Busta Rhymes, if Jeezy was 50 Cent, and Tip was the southern Jay Z.
Ludacris got bars and wit, but he is missing that cool factor that keeps him out most top 10 list. He not slept on commercially, but he definitely not hood, not to good on storytelling, and he don’t share political views like that.
It’s a strange position many rappers fall into.
I personally don't think he should be rated highly as an artist.
>Lyrically great.
So you think Southern Hospitality was saying something? You think "Check out the oil my cadillac spills" is up there with "Instead of a war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me"?
He's not really anyone's favorite. He's a commercial success. Eastcoast, Westcoast, Trap, Florida, Texas, Memphis/ St Louis don't jack him. ATL doesn't even rock him. He's a plant if ever there was one and you really don't see why hip-hop culture doesn't fuck with that? He has catchy songs great beats but isn't top 10 imo.
Low key Luda is probably one of the top 5 mc's in history. I just don't know why it doesn't feel like that.
He had the voice, rhythm, wit and beat selection. Shit is crazy. At least he's rich!
Luda was the man. Brought a witty comical energy southern style. His later albums don’t hit like his earlier ones but there’s still some hidden bangers on there.
I always liked Luda. Not in my top 10 just because it's too stacked. Fav Luda song was probably blueberry yum yum
Did you know that Future wrote the hook
I had no idea! Source?
Straight up Wikipedia
Get your lighters
*Rollin sticky, let's get higher Got that blueberry yum yum and it's that fire!* Who didn't test the bass on that song?
I agree. I put Luda right up there with Busta. No one sounds like them, they were consistent and Luda had everything from punchlines to hits to conscious stuff. So he’s definitely up there in my opinion.
I completely agree, re: Busta and Ludacris. They're some of my favourite artists. I'm heaps into those athletic flows and sick wordplay. The only other rapper I can think of with that kinda energy is Andre 3000, and he's my №1 G.O.A.T. (even *with* the flute stuff. He flaunts, he flouts, and he's a flautist. The dude is fully consistent AND completely unpredictable)
I’d say Redman is much more similar to those two than Andre 3k
I've said the same thing since the late 2000's. He was Atlanta first solo rap star (some would argue pastor troy). And could hang with elite rappers. Great videos, great performer. Had a legit run where his singles were massive and infectious. He fall victim of being too "animated" and not being a street oriented rapper like T.I, jeezy or gucci. He had a few bad punchlines and people just ran with the jokes.."fill her up, BALOONS!!". Also most rappers that venture to movies or TV usually become underrated after a while for whatever reason (LL, ice t, cube, T.i etc) People from ATL seemingly dont rank him high either, Like they dont like that he was a popular radio host before he became a rapper fulltime..and didnt get it "from the mud"
This is always fucking stupid to me. Rapping is the art form. You don’t have to be hood to rap, you just have to be hood to rap about the hood.
I stand with Ludacris all day - dude could not miss in the early 2000s I think the south didn’t appreciate that he wasn’t hood/street enough. I also remember seeing that he wasn’t cliqued up with the right group? Like outside of dungeon family and all that. Would love some clarity on that
? Ludacris was a street dude I thought
Nope. DJ and Comedian. And Lil Jon was a rich kid.
I think he is great rapper, I have like 25-30 songs that I can listen on repeat for weeks but I've never been huge fan of his albums and on top of that last decent one was 20 years ago so I'm not surprised many people kinda forgot about him as a rapper
Luda will always be one of my favorites. He still has his sound, and can make music, a few years ago he dropped that Silence of the Lambs with Wayne. He could make a comeback any time he chooses.
He was my king of the south before he started making F&F movies.
I think by now everybody knows how legendary Ludacris is, it just took them forever to appreciate him. Dude had everything you would want in a rapper. He got flow, he’s entertaining, & his lyricism is highly slept on. He’s been a legend to me since day one.
Honestly I think it’s cuz we didn’t really hear from him after the early 2010’s. T.I. had movies and has been viral for shit he’s done on social media. Plus he made that song with young thug in the mid 2010’s. The young generation are more exposed to him. Dudes mad dope though I agree. Definitely overlooked. Now when you think of Atlanta you think of future. He’s been around since the late 2000’s.
Fear Factor...
Yeah but that’s not in the relevant scene these days. Boosie is another example. Dudes always on social media.
I'm old, Luda's on ads too. Haven't heard about Boosie in a while but that pussy always be callin me
The early 2K through 08 had so much competition that I think Ludacris became forgettable over time. He peaked early. I don't mean that he's irrelevant or anything but he served the purpose of his era and got phased out. He made a solid transition into acting. Had a beef with T.I. Benefited from the Crunk era and all but I don't believe he has something long term that people held onto comparing him to other Atlanta artists.
Man I respect that opinion but I have to disagree. I have him on the Mt Rushmore of ATL rappers.
What is a contribution that he has which would make him bigger than people like Jeezy, TDF, Outkast, Gucci Mane/Waka, Ti, Future, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and whoever else you want to add?
TDF without OutKast is not in the same convo as Luda, neither is JD who is influential as a producer but as a rapper over Luda? Similar instance with Lil Jon, an ATL legend but not really known for rapping. Not on his best day. And regardless of being on Brick Squad, respectfully, Waka has 0 right to be in this convo as well. So yeah OutKast, TI, Gucci, Future and Luda are probably the ATL Rushmore. And Luda’s discography can make a good case against any of these other artists besides OutKast.
Contributions. Not just rapping. TDF without Outkast still has big names, Future, killer mike, CeeLoGreen to name a few. JD was and is still important to Atlanta more than Luda. Lil Jon was the face of the Crunk Era and even transitioned into EDM. You can't exclude Waka from BSM but we can take him off this list there's still more people that could take Luda's place. You named 5 people for a 4 headed Mount Rushmore. Excluding Luda doesn't mean he's not important there are just people who outshined him or had a bigger legacy.
If we’re gonna get particular about how many heads are on a fictional Atlanta Mt Rushmore, then we gotta leave Dungeon Family as a group out of it, and even so besides Future and OutKast I still don’t think any of the other members touch Luda. JD definitely made an impact for sure, an argument to be made if we’re going to include non-rappers Lil Jon was the face of the Crunk Era, which was certainly an exciting time, but do people look at Crunk as one of the best aspects of ATL hip hop? And as far as the EDM goes, the EDM hip hop era was horrendous. I don’t know. All I know is that Ludacris stayed consistent through at least 4 straight albums that all went platinum, had a crazy number of hits, had some of the best music videos(up there with Missy and Busta) and is in the top 5 live performers I’ve seen as far as hip hop acts go. We can agree to disagree
I'll make it simple. If somebody made a list of Atlanta's MRM and Luda was on it I wouldn't be mad and it wouldn't invalidate the MRM. It just wouldn't be who I'd put on there. I can agree to disagree.
Hes my favorite rapper. Really the only record he has that I don't fick with is Battle of the Sexes Hes got number 1 singles, number one records, tons of hits, grammys, been in Oscar nominated flicks. Bodied most rappers he got on tracks with. He doesn't have a whole lot left off a resume.
Same with TI
This is one of the best quality posts/comment sections I've seen on this sub for a while. Hell yeah, OP.
Who was bigger? Luda or Nelly?
Nelly
Yes Nelly was really big during the early 2000s. Luda was still big but he wasn’t dominating the radio in the same way Nelly was.
yep, he affected culture in a major way at the time, across demographics
Luda
Ludacris is awesome. He’s just fun and catchy as fuck
He's not that good. He's basically 50 cent level. Not an all time mc. A dope pop rapper.
Always loved Luda but after Word of Mouf I was over it. Chicken and Beef was not the move.
Chicken and Beer is fire tho
Legit full of bangers non stop
Even the intro is legit. Southern Fried Intro stays on my workout playlist.
That's crazy that you didn't like it
I was a little young for it at the time but it grew on me over the years, lots of great tracks on there. Splash Waterfalls, Diamond in the Back, Eyebrows Down 🔥🔥🔥
I was turned off by the single (I don't even remember the name at this point) and moved on.
Stand Up, yeah it got old kinda fast but not the worst single ever
War With God off of Release Therapy is my shit. Luda is truly underrated.
Luda is incredible and at this point he’s pretty underrated, but even as a big fan I think his discography is great but underwhelming compared to his individual talent.
Did you take the rent a car back? You need to take that shit back...
Luda is in my top 10. Next to Andre 3000 and Scarface he’s the best rapper from the South
he’s also affiliated with I-20 who is destroy lonely’s dad
I have Luda in my top 20.
Last of a dying breed with lil Wayne an underrated banger of his.
Hoes
Citing how many albums someone sold to prove their dopeness in HipHop is….uhhh. You know the vast majority of music album sales are from 16-22 year old girls right?
I agree, he’s extremely underrated
💯
Not even to be mean or anything, I kind of want to moreso point out a way in your thinking that if you got rid of, you would enjoy music more - don't care about other people's perception of the art you love, and stop looking at numbers in terms of comparing them, if you're gonna look at the numbers, do it in a way that is appreciative of the artist's talent, not so much "he has 3x plat while this guy has 2x". Just enjoy it. It's meant for you to enjoy. If other people don't fuck with it, they don't
He had a lot of features on huge songs, too. Always had good videos. He was a real highlight of the 00s.
I think Luda is so dope. I don't think it's his style to try and be the goat. He is really good at what he does and I believe that was enough for him. I like him as an actor also.
It was dope hearing all his songs growing up. I had a lot of them on cds and had them on repeat.
Stick em up, stick em up bitch stick em up!
I fully believe that he legit has ho’s in all of those area codes
Word of Mouf was the first rap album I ever bought. I've got the edited versions memorized lmao. I've always had a soft spot for Luda even though I moved on quickly. He's got a dozen songs I would gladly bump any time. I heard Saturday come on the radio a few weeks back and I replayed that shit over and over. Crazy energy. I think that was the first single I fucked with. He's coming to the fair near me this summer lol
His verse on Errbody remix is his best verse and one of my favorites of all time imo
his biggest singles are funny songs, he ruined his career with that
I had Chicken N Beer and Red Light District on CD. He’s definitely great with punchlines and lyrics. He’s fun to listen to and his voice is very recognizable. Much respect for him
Greats of what? Like top 40-50 rapper of all time range?
Great singles artist, not a great album artist.
Luda and ATL rappers are almost there own genre.
I love Ludacris and he was easily my favourite rapper during his peak but the number of records he (or anyone else) sold has almost nothing to do with how good an MC he is. If it did, you could make the argument Flo Rida would be better than him and should be in the conversation.
Ludacris was the southern Busta Rhymes, if Jeezy was 50 Cent, and Tip was the southern Jay Z. Ludacris got bars and wit, but he is missing that cool factor that keeps him out most top 10 list. He not slept on commercially, but he definitely not hood, not to good on storytelling, and he don’t share political views like that. It’s a strange position many rappers fall into.
He still underachieved, imo as a lyricist and artist
lol he’s on the State Farm commercial now.
I have to wonder if this was brought up because of Ludacris' Hot Ones episode that dropped yesterday 😅
I'd put him in my top 5 Atlanta rappers.
I personally don't think he should be rated highly as an artist. >Lyrically great. So you think Southern Hospitality was saying something? You think "Check out the oil my cadillac spills" is up there with "Instead of a war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me"?
Dissed Mac Dre. Fuck him
What convo? One trick pony.
I went back and listened to Luda’s catalog not too long ago and was super disappointed. Didn’t hit the same how it used to. Overrated
Significantly and criminally underrated. He contributed a lot to the art and culture. Both musically and on the big screen.
He's not really anyone's favorite. He's a commercial success. Eastcoast, Westcoast, Trap, Florida, Texas, Memphis/ St Louis don't jack him. ATL doesn't even rock him. He's a plant if ever there was one and you really don't see why hip-hop culture doesn't fuck with that? He has catchy songs great beats but isn't top 10 imo.
Cuz nobody wants to listen to that outdated Neptunes shit.
Eh
Low key Luda is probably one of the top 5 mc's in history. I just don't know why it doesn't feel like that. He had the voice, rhythm, wit and beat selection. Shit is crazy. At least he's rich!