Ludacris is no longer 'the man'
Published Sept. 29, 2006
To think that Ludacris probably won't be included in the discussion of this decade's preeminent rappers is kind of sad. It's past the halfway point, and his career is slowly declining. He used to be the most likeable rapper in the game — a wrecking ball of spitfire rhymes with a totally indelible personality.
He's responsible for maybe the two best consecutive singles in all of contemporary rap — "What's Your Fantasy?" and "Southern Hospitality" — both irresistibly nasty (in different ways) but instantly quotable. He seemed to be able to rattle off chart-toppers in his sleep.
The singles from his early albums are a roll call of some of the most inimitable singles of the decade: "Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)," "Rollout (My Business)," "Move Bitch" and "Stand Up." But at this point in his career, Ludacris is just a parody of himself.
Seeing Ludacris rap has been like watching a movie that you used to love five years ago. There are still glimmers of what used to be, but what you really used to love is gone and isn't coming back. Thankfully, Release Therapy, his fifth LP, is a return to form of sorts.
Ludacris has said that Release Therapy is a more "mature" record and that he wants to show people who "the real Chris Bridges is." In that sense, this album is a mild success. This is a much more stern and serious Ludacris, but I'm only half-buying it. It even seems that Luda doesn't believe it himself.
Case in point: The first single off the album is The Neptunes-produced, ass-grabber "Money Maker." The song is relatively unoffending, but it seems built off a checklist. Pharrell on the chorus? Check. Disgusting sexual come-ons ("Lemme give you some swimming lessons on the penis")? Check. Minimalist beat? Check. One ultimately forgettable single? Yup.
Thankfully, the Luda of old is still around for some of these songs, the best of which, "Grew Up a Screw Up," is a Young Jeezy assisted, monstrous boom-bap of thick Houston story-telling. 'Cris is at his most ridiculous best: "Oh my gosh even the Osh-Kosh was picked out/ I slipped in, even my baby stroller was tricked out." Jeezy's verse is a throwaway, but Ludacris sounds commanding and triumphant over the ground-ratting kick drum/hand clap beat. The chopped and screwed Notorious B.I.G. chorus is the best hook on the album.
It's when this album ventures into "Splash Waterfalls" style sex-jams that things start to get kind of revolting. The biggest offender is the five-minute long "Woozy," in which R. Kelly utters maybe the most disgusting line of the year: "I always wanted to go down on a girl that reminded me of me."
Luda has the ability to write top-shelf sexual songs (see "Freaky Thangs"), but those usually distance themselves from the typical "for the ladies" tracks found on most rap albums. None of the three songs here do that.
When Luda ventures into the "mature" side of Release Therapy, the album picks up. "Tell It Like Is" is a step-by-step How To Make It in the Rap Game for Dummies, and "War With God" tears down the kings of the contemporary South ("I never sold cocaine in my life but I'm still the fuckin' man.").
The makings for an out-and-out comeback are here and so are the laugh-out-loud lines, the self-aggrandizing and a brand new look. But the threats on Release Therapy are empty. Ludacris isn't the "fuckin' man" anymore. And sadly, Release Therapy is Exhibit A.
Artist: Ludacris
Album: Release Therapy
Genre: Rap
Record Label: Disturbing Tha Peace
Release Date: Sept. 26
Most Listenworhty Track: 'Grew Up a Screw Up'
Reviewer's Rating: 3 out of 5 Ms