Behind schedule and strapped for time, Chris Bridges, a.k.a., Ludacris, wants to try something different.
"Hold on, brother."
The phone goes silent.
Sound returns.
He fiddles with some buttons.
More silence.
"You there?"
"I'm here."
"Damn. You there?"
"It's me, Damon, with the Weekly."
"Damn. You there?"
"I'm here."
"Aight."
Before I can ask my first question, hip hop's reigning mouth of the Dirty South—his Back for the 1st Time debut sold 4 million; the follow-up, Word of Mouf, shipped 3.5 mil; current offering, Chicken–N–Beer, is already platinum—is prattling on for another reporter:
Influenced by break-dancing movies, inspired to rap by the Fat Boys, Geto Boys and LL Cool J; mother made him write down his goals at the beginning of the year and tracked his progress; schoolmates loved his raps; he worked as an Atlanta deejay before his big break; recently did a movie, Crash, with Sandra Bullock, Larenz Tate and Don Cheadle about blacks carjacking whites in Los Angeles; agrees, to a point, with Samuel L. Jackson's assessment that rappers have bastardized the acting profession; the Bill O'Reilly-Pepsi incident pissed him off (Fox News host goaded Pepsi into dropping him as a pitchman).
Eight minutes later and the Grammy-nominated rapper-actor-budding-philanthropist is ready to talk.
"Sorry about that, brother. I hope I answered some questions you might ask."
Not really, I say to myself.
The name of your next album is Red Light District. Did you know that Mayor Oscar Goodman has held discussions about legalizing prostitution Downtown? Would it work here?
I didn't know about that. It'd probably work, man. Anything goes in Vegas. Hell, that's part of why I love Vegas. It's hot year-round, a place where you can do a lot of things that are illegal in the rest the country. It's probably coming soon.
What's your gambling limit?
I don't really have a limit. I'm not really a compulsive gambler. I hit the crap tables and play blackjack, that's it.
You've said you want to be the most versatile performer in rap and you're on your way, with movies (The Wash, Skip Day, 2 Fast 2 Furious), video games (Def Jam Vendetta) and a cartoon feature (Lil' Pimp). What music do you listen to outside of hip hop? Anyone you want to work with outside of hip hop?
Everything man … rock roll, Nickelback, Linkin Park, Staind, Coldplay. But just because I listen to them, don't mean I want to do records with them.
You got love for chicken and beer, as the title of your latest album attests. What other soul foods do you like? Okra? Catfish?
Okra, yeah, catfish, hell yeah. I like all soul food. You can't go wrong with it.
Shit, shit. The phone's about to go dead.
(Silence.)
You there? … Yeah.
Talk about being a CEO of your own label, Disturbing The Peace.
I've had to switch up modes. There are advantages and disadvantages. I can't be an artist and a CEO at the same time. The two can interfere. That's why I have a business partner [Chaka Zulu, Disturbing The Peace records], so that when I need to be an artist and make music, I can be free to do that. I also like finding new artists. Chingy is doing real well.
Battle-rhyming is in again. I read you used to battle rhyme. Do you still engage?
I may do it while playing around in the crew.
Ever been roasted?
Probably back in the day. I'm not going to say that I went undefeated, but I can't ever remember being completely taken advantage of.
What's coldest diss you've spit?
The coldest diss? Uh ….
The coldest you ever heard?
The coldest I ever heard? Uh ...
Mine was when Kool Moe Dee used the "ls" to diss LL Cool J.
Yeah, that was hot. That's probably it, man.
You used to deejay and do a little producing. Do you still dabble?
Not deejaying, producing though. I've been lazy recently.
Def Jam is to rap labels what the Strip is to gambling. Given all the stars the label has produced, from Run DMC, to LL Cool J to DMX, where do you fall on the Def scale?
I'm the only Southern artist on Def Jam. So I feel like I made history.
In terms of injecting humor into hip hop, Biz Markie ruled, then came Busta Rhymes. Many people think you now carry the mantle. Your assessment?
I see myself in hip hop as the most versatile emcee.
What works your nerves more: comparisons to Biz and Busta or questions about the Bill O'Reilly-Pepsi debacle?
None of it bothers me. Being asked the same questions over and over gets tiring … sometimes it drives me crazy. But if you ask me about it (the O'Reilly spat), I will tell you.
All right. OK.
Bill O'Reilly lit a fire up under my ass. And on my song "Blow It Out," I roast his ass.
Why did you create the Ludacris Foundation? How actively involved are you in it?
Everybody in the 'hood knows that once you get to a certain point, you have to get back. I wanted to help kids help themselves. We're trying to give out scholarships, especially to most improved students. I'm involved but my mom is the head of my foundation.
Your opinions on George Bush?
He's all right with me, especially after the war. I can't say too much bad about him after he caught Saddam.
What about John Kerry?
I've heard about him.
What have you heard about him?
Nothing really.