Dirty son of the South Ludacris clearly has sex on the brain on his eighth LP, “Battle Of The Sexes”. “You’re a superstar, with an ass like that,” he cheers on the uproarious Top 10 smash “How Low”, and he extols the female form via adroit rhymes and thrilling beats on tracks such as “I Do It All Night”, “Sex Room” and “Hey Ho”. He even role-plays as Tiger Woods on the hidden bonus song, “Sexting”. A limited vocabulary and dubious grammar have never been so hot!
by Mark Emge
Originally due in ‘09, “Battle Of The Sexes” was tagged as a collaboration album between Ludacris, the best-selling Southern rapper ever, and label-mate Shawnna, blues legend Buddy Guy’s daughter and a dirty girl in her own right. A promotional single titled “Everybody Drunk As F*ck” was released last April, but Shawnna reportedly split from Cris’ Disturbing Tha Peace under less than friendly circumstances, and the project became a Ludacris’ solo album. Saying he wanted to maintain the concept of “different view points from males and females”, Luda tracked with Lil’ Kim, Eve, Trina, Ciara, and, on “My Chick Bad,” raunchy replacement Nicki Minaj.
by Mark Emge
British contemporary R&B singer/producer Taio Cruz established himself as a songwriter by co-penning Will Young’s BRIT Award-winning “Your Game” and Rihanna’s cross-Atlantic chart-topper “Umbrella” before embarking on a performance career of his own. Cruz was Born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere to a Nigerian father and Brazilian mother, who introduced her son to soul music at a young age. In ‘06 Taio made his solo debut with “I Just Wanna Know”, a Top 30 UK hit. The album “Departure” followed in ‘08 whilst Cruz continued working behind the scenes with acts like JLS, Daniel Merriweather and Sugababes. “Break Your Heart” is from his latest solo collection, “Rokstarr”, although it didn’t start that way. “I wrote a couple of songs for Cheryl Cole, and [it] was one of them,” Cruz recalls. “We didn’t hear from them, so I took it back.”
by Mark Emge
Within a couple years, Canadian teenager Justin Bieber went from covering Usher on YouTube to working with Usher himself. Justin was still only 15 when he released last year’s “My World”, the purported first “half” of his debut album. Four of the disc’s seven tracks, including “One Less Lonely Girl”, were hits, Justin-fying Island’s release of “Part II”. Bieber easily sings as well as Michael Jackson at the same age, and the lyrics to the sequel’s “Baby” are pitched perfectly for puppy-love ears, Ludacris taking a break from the beer ‘n’ chicken for a pop-rap safer than the minors it targets.
by Mark Emge and Marijke van Niekerk
When the US Dirty South hip-hop movement broke at the turn of the century, Ludacris rode it to immediate success, becoming arguably the most commercially successful Southern rapper of his day. Shawnna (b. Rashawnna Guy) was the first female signed to Def Jam (through Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace Records) and the adult-themed rapper is also the daughter of legendary blues musician Buddy Guy. The pair have worked together often (”Stand Up”, “Shake Dat Sh*t”), but the upcoming “Battle Of The Sexes”–which shows just “How Low” they’ll go–is their first album-length hook-up.
by Mark Emge
The son of jazz cellist Abdul Wadud, R&B vocalist Raheem DeVaughn kicked his career into gear by initiating a series of independent recordings funded from talent-contest earnings. Calling himself an “R&B hippie neo-soul rock star” on sophomore Jive disc “Love Behind The Melody” was DeVaughn’s way of alerting mainstream audiences who missed his ‘05 debut that someone needed to take the Isley Brothers formula and update it, and it was damn well going to be him. Its fem-forward anthem “Woman” was nominated for a Grammy in case you still didn’t get the memo. “Bulletproof” is from the upcoming “The Love & War MasterPeace”.
by Mark Emge
Crunk practitioner Lil Scrappy was born Darryl Richards in the ATL. Discovered by BME Recordings and Lil Jon, Scrap built his rep throughout the Southeast US before breaking nationally in 2003 with the hit “Head Bussa”. A split EP with fellow BME artists Trillville followed in February ‘04, spinning off the single “No Problem”. Crunk was never the same. “Addicted To Money”, off the upcoming “The Gristle”, features fellow ATLlien Ludacris.
by Mark Emge
The-Dream calls his upcoming ‘09 collection, “Love Vs. Money”, “like the first album”–last year’s “Love Hate” blockbuster–”on crack.” Indeed, “Rockin’ That Thang” is a cheap, addictive, dangerous high. This loquacious rap remix is a summit of rhyming talent, the mic passing from Fabolous to Juelz Santana to Rick Ross and finally Ludacris. East Coast reprazentin’!
by Mark Emge
Talk about an all-star lineup… Ludacris has teamed up with fellow rap heavyweights Nas and Jay-Z for the new single “I Do It For Hip-Hop” off his freshly-released “Theater Of The Mind” album. Says Luda: “I wanted an album where you could listen to it from beginning to end and it would put you in an imaginative state.” The CD is the sixth major label album from the self-proclaimed “MVP of rap”. He adds: “When you put everything together in rap as far as lyrics, visuals, record sales, personality, conceptual songs, I feel like I’m the summation of all. I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do.” Take one listen to the album, or watch any of Ludacris’ TV or film appearances, and you’ll probably have to agree.
by Marijke van Niekerk
Jennifer Hudson rose to the top of the entertainment world after a disappointing “American Idol” finish by winning an Oscar for her portrayal of Effie in the film adaptation of “Dreamgirls” and belting out the film’s showstopper, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. According to The Boston Globe, “Hudson’s debut [album] comes on much like her ‘Dreamgirls’ character, with admirable self-assurance and real-girl sensuality.” On her new single, she seems ably poised to brush of sad-sack suitors, threatening to smack ‘em with her “Pocketbook.” Ludacris, being Ludacris, doesn’t take the hint: “With two hams in your pants, girl, I think you’s a crook,” he raps.
by Mark Emge
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