A&E

Ludacris talks music, movies and why he loves the views at Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas

Image
Ludacris
Zouk Nightlife / Courtesy

Ludacris has never gone very long without a return trip to Las Vegas. In recent years, the rapper and actor has been bouncing between venues for different club gigs at Light, Drai’s and the new Tao Beach Dayclub.

“I guess I’m one of those guys who likes to satisfy my curiosities, and I’ve been able to do that at different spots,” he tells the Weekly from Hawaii, where he just touched down for a secret, private show. “Also, I’m a foodie, so anytime I perform in a different casino I get to check out all the restaurants they have. I’m half-joking.”

Now Luda might be settling in at Resorts World, where he takes the stage for the second time at Zouk Nightclub on December 10. He hasn’t officially signed on as a resident artist, but he’s digging the environments at the Strip’s newest casino destination, particularly the dynamic feeling from the stage at Zouk.

“The way the room is set up is perfect, this big square, and all I can see from the stage is people, no seats or tables,” he says. “It’s dope to play to a crowd when you have that 180-degree peripheral thing going on. They did a good job of making the nightclub feel like more of a performance venue.”

And he would know. Although his last proper album was 2015’s Ludaversal, he continues to tour when he has time, hitting major clubs in other cities and mixing in major festival sets. Ludacris was one of the top-billed names at this past spring’s Lovers & Friends Festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

While he’s been tinkering with new sounds and is planning to release something in 2023, it’s no secret that music has taken a back seat lately. Ludacris will resume his best-known film role as Tej Parker in Fast X, rejoining Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and the gang for the landmark 10th installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, due in theaters in May.

The 45-year-old artist is also in post-production on Dashing Through the Snow, a Christmas movie that you’ll have to wait to catch during the next holiday season. Directed by Tim Story and co-starring Lil Rel Howery as “the first Black Santa Claus,” Luda says, the story follows the rapper’s character as a somewhat Grinchy divorced dad through a Christmas Eve adventure with his child.

It’s definitely a different role for Ludacris.

“I like to do the opposite of what people expect me to do, and I love doing that and continuing to grow and expand my acting résumé,” he says, adding that he doesn’t have some grand plan to morph into a dramatic actor as other musicians have attempted. “It’s more of taking one step at a time and making smart decisions. When you come into it as a rapper, people have a certain idea about you in the first place, so you have to go hard to not be looked at as some form of your regular everyday character.”

He’s taking the same approach to his music, which he’s excited about coming back to in a bigger way in 2023. What will an updated Ludacris sound like?

“That remains to be seen,” he says. “I think it has to be a little of both in order to continue to reinvent yourself. There has to be a little evolution and progression, but you have to give the people the thing they fell in love with.”

LUDACRIS December 10, 10 p.m., $20-$30+. Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com.

Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!

Share
Photo of Brock Radke

Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

Get more Brock Radke
Top of Story