Defsounds — Think Different — Ludacris, "Why Not Top Ten?"

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Ludacris, "Why Not Top Ten?"

by Klassic on January 1st, 2008

While having a discussion about the current state of hip-hop and who the elite artists are with friends, many names were brought up.

Of course mentioned were; Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, T.I. and 50 Cent, who are considered the elite based on mainstream popularity.

Even the artists that aren't overly popular but are still respected as the elite were included such as: Common,Lupe, Talib, Little Brother,Black Thought and Mos Def. But strangely the one person who went unmentioned on both list was Ludacris.

Really, what more could you ask for?

Unique style, slick lyrics, flow, chart-topping singles, fan appeal all this is present in Luda's repertoire. He has six albums with none selling worst than Gold (his debut album "Incognegro")a platinum album ("Release Therapy"), two 2x's platinum albums ("Chicken and Beer", "The Red Light District") and two 3x's platinum albums ("Back for the First Time" and "Word of Mouf") making him one of the most successful hip-hop artist in music sales the past 7 years. Add to that a seventh album "Theater of the Mind" which he proclaims as "the most mature album yet" set to drop in the summer of "08". It seems Ludacris is definitely staking claim as one of the best MC's in the game, so why isn't he getting the credit or recognition?

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Its simple, people don't take Luda seriously as an MC and most of his songs are either "too" sexually orientated, comedic, and degrading to women. Album after album spews the same pimp theory that women are hoes, add a few good-humored songs with nice hooks, slick wordplay with a nice flow, and there you have a typical Luda album. Every album Ludacris has created, the one common denominator besides lucrative earnings, is the "Uncle Luke" style club songs and comedy based tracks. He's known for outlandish persona which he reinforces in extremely humorous-themed tracks such as: "Southern Hospitality”, "Act a Fool”. "It’s Saturday”, and "Move Bitch". songs that are played to exhaustion on the radio and TV then die after a couple months. Then in addition to that, the countless tracks and skits smothered with overly sexual themes and topics. There's no denying Luda's lyrical skill, his style and flow is unparalleled but he doesn't make use of them on relevant tracks. For example, "Chicken-n-Beer" arguably Luda's best album from a lyrical standpoint is flawless. He begins the album with a barrage of relentless lyricism in his "Southern Fried Intro" and keeps that paste throughout the c.d. His only problem was that he spent too much time being boycotted for tracks like "Splash Waterfalls", "P-Poppin", and "Hoes in my room” than receiving kudos on them. While Luda's abilities may be unmatched right now he doesn't present much consistency in his content, he'll go from a Bet Uncut-style song like "P-Poppin" to a meaningful song like "Runaway Love". His music seems more appealing to southerners, where as the elite can hit different people with totally opposite backgrounds and cultures. Most of Luda's material embraces catchy lyrics and hooks, but doesn't deliver tracks that'll be remembered positively ten years down the road.

Regardless, Luda's future in music is definitely bright and he's even branched into several successful movie roles, "2 Fast, 2 Furious, Crash, Hustle n Flow, and Fred Clause" His most recent album "Release Therapy" last year was a huge step up from some of his earlier work, and he is definitely deserving of a slot as 10 ten in the game. But until he improves his musical content, he will never be taken serious nor considered amongst hip-hop’s elite.

Comments Comments

diddypopdiddy — about 1 year ago

mad hype like a crack baby

| -8 props | prop Prop

| trash Trash

Ludacris, "Why Not Top Ten?"

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