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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Butlet cav show where we got a special guest in here.
It's not very often that we get somebody I could
say is a living legend. This is the case today, Man, Ludacris, I.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Want to come to the syndicated people. Man, I want
to come to the people that's in one hundred million
different markets.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Man, that's who I want to do interviews with.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You know what's crazy, Luda is a little unknown story.
I used to be on the radio at a place
in Vegas called KVG, and I had made the plan
to quit, but we had an interview scheduled labor day
weekend in twenty twelve, and I hung onto the job
for like an extra two weeks just to get the Ludacris.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Interview over the finish line.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
And that day we did the interview, and then I
went on the radio that Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And quit on the radio. I love it. You never
told me this story. That's a dope story. And he
was in Phoenix too, because I Phoenix. Yeah, pimping all
over the world area.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Codes as you would say, Yeah, you see what.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
We did there?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Pro anyway, Man, I'm welcome, dude. I'm glad this here.
I feel like I get excited when you have the music.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Bug. Man, thank you man, you have so much going on. Yeah, Like,
I feel like you gotta love it, man, Like humbly speaking,
ten albums, and it feels crazy to even say that, right,
and it's just being real. There's so many people in
the game that you get over the sophomore jinks, even
if you get to the sophomore jinks. But to honestly,
it be twenty five years in the game, right to
(01:25):
have ten albums. You can hear it in my voice, man.
Sometimes been in the game that long, you kind of
got to take a break and you really got to
become a fan again, because this industry will mess you
up with all the you know, the business behind the
scenes and how people act and the craziness. It's like
I need one of them little men in black, like
you know the thing and where they flash you so
(01:46):
you could just go back. And all I'm saying is
that sometimes you take a break in order to kind
of revitalize yourself and really understand what you got in
it for as opposed to just putting out music.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And so I'm back at that point. Man.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I'm loving I'm loving music. Loving the video aspect. I
don't know if you saw.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's just vintage MTV.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm like, this is why we like.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I remember you were like you, and obviously before you
a bit was missy, but you were the guy who
came in the game and busted two man and just
went crazy, and we have all these iconic moments.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know, we think. I appreciate that. So that's partly
why I wanted to do that pull over video the
way that I did it. Man, it's give that nostalgia
and you know, give you some real, real funny, crazy,
ludicrous wild visuals to go along with the brand.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It's right on brand.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I gotta ask you.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So I bought Timberland's solo album, Tim's Bio as a kid,
and Fat Rabbit was on that album.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
That was the first commercial success I had.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That ended up being on your first album too. But
that was the first song. It's like time I had
ever even heard you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I was like, yo, this guy's and it wasn't even
a single like it was on his album Cut, but
it was my first time being on an album. I
basically pulled it off and promoted it myself. Yeah, so
that was this crazy that you say that because that
was and that was from me working at the radio station.
Timberland came to the radio station in Atlanta and was like,
who is this kid? I heard rapping on the radio
(03:05):
and Shako was the manager at the time because he
was the music director, and I was able to give
Timberland my demo and from there that's how me getting
on this album happened. I'll tell you a crazy story
that I haven't really told anybody. I was working at
the station. I was not signed to a contract, so
they could have fired me any day. I was the
youngest person at the radio station, like eighteen seventeen, eighteen
(03:25):
years old. In order to go Timberland was like, I
want you to come to Virginia. This is where I'm
recording this album. But I need you to come like
on random Thursday. I was like, in my mind, I'm like, bro,
there's no way I could take off from this station.
They'll fire me miss the show. I'm gonna miss the show.
So I had to tell them and God bless rest
in peace. My grandmother said, my grandmother just died. I
(03:49):
have to go to the funeral in New York. I
used my grandmother to go record Fat Rabbit with Timberland
in Virginia and I got off.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I can't even tell you the amount of times I've
used my grandma. Once she had actually died.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I was like, okay, oh man, I.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Was like, I could you I could apply this her
dying to a lot of like citr ibo.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Man, grandma's not doing well. My grandmother would forgive me.
But I'm telling you, man, that's exactly what I did.
My rest is history. That is fire.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So you go to Virginia, you work with Tim. Was
there anybody else in the studio at the time? Was
it like, because that that was a star studded album,
like Jaz was on that album, like.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
No, no, no, no no. I think this was like
one of the last ones he was doing for this song.
So it was me and him engineer, you know, Jimmy Douglass.
This is world right now. Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And I was just so excited.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Man. It was my first time. Timlin my favorite producer
till this day.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah. Man.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And then next thing, you know, organized noise I did
game got switched with him. I was the first rapper
on Madden two thousands. Youer, main dupre put me on
a video game. It feels crazy because at the time.
I forget. We got to look that up. We're gonna
google that real quick. Madd in two thousand. It was
in two thousand. It was John Madden. It was there.
(05:04):
You go, yeah, that's crazy. It was before they started playing,
so history first rapper to rap on a video game
thanks to Jermaine Dupree.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
That is incredible. Man, did Tim try to sign you?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
He did try to sign me at the time, but
I forget what happened with the contract. There was like
so much going on at the time to where I
just decided to put the album out on my own independently.
But man, still, obviously I got loved for Tim Lee
went on to do roll Out. We did Potion together,
which I still perform to this day. One of the
hardest instrumentals of all time. Crazy, right, Jesus for to
(05:36):
like to stand the test of time, and people still
putting that.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Rap on that record too, Like it's still like a
go to, like yo put the Potion on.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
When you watched the jay Z documentary and saw that
he had passed on it, yep, what were your thoughts, Like,
I thank god he passed.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know, it's the thing with artists. You asked any
artist a hit song that's out and they're gonna say
they passed up on the beat, like it's it happens
with every single person. So I've done that before I
got to think of what I did that on. But
when I saw it, I was just like, that's dope,
Like I actually picked and that did a song that
was going to jay Z. Because we idolized jay Z
(06:13):
every time I was on Death Jam. You know, he
was number one on the call sheet, as they could say.
And so when people say, you know, we had the
the hardest era of music, you really think about that.
It was me, it was jay Z, it was DMX,
it was Eminem, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And it was like.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Multi platinum every single rap solo artist. And so I'm
in the category with these individuals for every award, and
I'm losing for the first five years. Every single time,
Eminem whooping my ass. Jay Z beat me in every category.
But I kept consistent and I stayed at it, and
eventually I started winning the damn Awards.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
I don't know if they were taking breaks.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
I don't know if I just got right, you know,
the right time in after year five or six.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
But after that, it was all the way up.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Do you remember a time like, do you remember any
records you passed on her hooks or anything where you
were like, oh.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Damn, you know what's crazy? Go girl, it's your birthday.
Open one man. Trey Songs, I think I was. I
was supposed to get on that record, and I don't
remember exactly what happened, but I messed that up for
some reason.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I don't know if I was too big.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Like that was the era where Trey Songs.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
There was like three or four artists that were just
doing hooksher records, and it was like Trey.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Songs was brutal mars that went on to be a
hit song, and it was supposed to happen like that.
Fabulous killed the verse. I'm one of those people like
I don't really resent or regret anything. It's more of
everything happens the way that they're supposed to. So salute
to Trey and Fabulous for making that a hit record. Man.
She immediately come in the game.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
You've already worked with timbaland, you already got the Timbo
Co sign. Your breakout first record on the debut album
of Southern Hospitality, which is a phar real beat which
is a Neptune's beat what like in the heyday of
the Neptunes era. That's pretty early in the Neptune.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
It was early. That was the last song that I
recorded for the album.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We had to turn the album in like in like
a day, and I remember going to Virginia again.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
We went to Virginia. It was me and Shaka.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Something the water out there by the way. Oh absolutely,
Pharrell put on that beat. I was like, I kind
of like it. I go, I go in the damn
car and I'll just write within like I'd say, forty
five minutes wrote all verses, go back in there, spit it,
and Shaka and Pharrell are going crazy, this is it.
This is the one. I'm just sitting there like it's cool,
Like Oden bowls in there.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
So I'm thinking it's cool.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So the answer to to towards that point, I did
not realize Southern Hospitality, the Throat and Bow's record was
the record that everyone realizes it is today. I did
not know it was a hit. I just thought it
was another album cut. Well that was that. I was
actually the second single, was it? What's Your Fantasy? Was
the first thing? Fantasy was the first. Yeah, crazy man. Yeah,
what a time, dude. Listen man, history, what is that?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
In two thousand, two.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Thousand, So incog Negro album came out in nineteen ninety nine,
I was and that was the end of record. I
was the independent record So technically I got ten albums
out now, but that was the independent one that I
sold on my own. I sold fifty thousand copies at
seven dollars a pop, so I had a three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars check before I was twenty one
years old.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
While you're on the radio, right, while I'm on the radio,
does your PD have any problems with you? Like I
always wondered, like the og radio stories like you're cracking
in the city.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, is your PD getting nervous that.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
You might leave?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Or is That was the thing? Man?
Speaker 2 (09:29):
The thing is that they never signed me to a contract.
They were at they were tripping when I left, but
they didn't know it was gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
So this song is blowing up.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
One of the greatest days of my life is signing
my deaf Jam contract knowing I'm about to get a
seven figure check. While I was on the air, while
commercials are playing, you got like a seven minute timeframe. Yep,
somebody brought me my contract. Got you know, my lawyer
had already read it over. I'm signing it and just
smiling to myself, like, Okay, after this shift, I'm gonna go,
and I'm gonna say I'm putting my two weeks in
(09:58):
and I'm out of here, and it's still all love
at the station. But to answer again towards your point,
they did not sign me to a contract, so they
have me every day feeling like I could get fired, right,
And I was naive, you know what I mean. I
didn't know the business like that. I was the youngest
person at the station. I was just happy to be there.
You get to be on the damn station. You get
to go do clubs. I'm getting cash I got. I'm
(10:20):
like wilding out here in these streets. Sure, I was
having a great time.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Was there any like once you left? Did the station
hold it against you a little? Did it take them
a while?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
No?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
They could embrace you.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
That's what I'm saying. They could not hold it against me.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Everyone at this station had a contract for at least
a year, right, but me, And they're like, well.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Chris left, so I don't know if we're gonna be
the first to play his.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Song now, Yeah, And it was the young thing. It
was me and Pooon Daddy, and like I said, we
were the youngest up at the station. So I think
they just they felt like I needed it, and then
they realized later that I didn't.
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Speaker 2 (12:22):
Man, Thank me later.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
So you're the first artist signed to deaf Jam South,
which Scarface is the president of. Yes, so there's like
this idea of deaf Jam South. It's like this new thing.
And back then you would hear like death Row East
or like yeah, you know what I mean? Was it
who was like the was it Scarface that initially reached out?
Like what was that whole process like getting in again?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, Kevin Lyles and Scarface reached out at the same time.
But that's another good question because as the as the
song is blowing up, I'm starting to get calls from
different all the different record companies. Literally I went to Electra,
I went to Atlantic, I went to Sown and that
just kind of you know, sitting me down, taking me
through the office. This is gonna be a CEO. This
(13:05):
is what we're gonna do for you that radio. And
then I went to death Jam. They weren't even offering
the most upfront money, but it was just something about
death Jam with Kevin Lyles, with scar especially at that
time that time. But here's the thing, though, I was
the first artist from the South signed to Death Jam.
They had nothing but a whole bunch of mostly New
York artists. So there was a time where we were like,
(13:27):
is this going to work? Should we even do this?
Because do they know how to work a Southern artist?
So yeah, it looks good now because it eventually worked out,
but at the time we were still risk. I took
a risk, but my heart and my spirit told me
that's where I needed to be. Plus ll Cool Jay
is my hero. He's kind of who inspired me want
to rap in the first place. He was the first
(13:47):
rap artist signed to.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
We're like, Yo, I'm gonna be the first Southern artist.
That's what make it happen.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And I don't know if you saw, but twenty five
year anniversary, we just did a show in Atlanta called
One Music Fest. My management surprised me and had LL
cool J come out. I got the rap with LL
cool J on stage.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Oh, that was the first rapper I ever met as
a kid or super nice.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah. It was a jewelry store in Arizona. It was cool.
I had all world.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I had him sign it. I mean the greatest. Yeah,
shout out to l So he was cool though, Yeah,
super cool.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah man, that's that's just how he is. Man.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
You gotta love it.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I always wonder when you are in the studio making
the song, like, ho, this is one of my favorite songs.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It's such a brilliant song.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Then somebody else just as this.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Go ahead, go ahead, but just like what is the
like like like what is the inspiration behind you writing
the song?
Speaker 2 (14:36):
And like what is the vibe?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Because no one has written the whole like you really
broke down that term right in a very crazy like way, great,
great question.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Like I was telling you, I was at the radio
station at that time, even when I wrote that record,
So I was wild in the studio at the station
sometimes doing that sometimes too, but just just living it
and knowing about, you know, being promiscuous in these streets.
But I also am a fan of comedy. I'm a
fan of We were just talking about like silly television,
so silly ass movies. You know. Coming to America is
(15:08):
one of my favorite movies. And this is the end.
It's crazy stupid shit like that. When you incorporate comedy
and stand up comedy, and you incorporate me being a
hip hop fan, and you incorporate all of these things together.
To answer your question about how I come up with
that stuff? Where us a whole, It's just combining all
of those elements. That's what makes Ludacris Ludacris.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
What is Scarface's reaction to hearing Hope for the first time?
I just got to I wonder what he's like. Does
he got any notice?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Psyche? So Scarface is one of the greatest rappers of
our time in terms of storytelling, he is one of
those So when he heard that record, you could tell
that he knew I had a little bit of ghetto
boys in Scarface DNA, but I just added my Ludacris
element to it. So I think that he was proud.
(15:57):
He was a proud man. It's just proud because he
sees me doing something than unique and doing it of
my own. And by the way, I come from a
background of loving like Red Man was was one of
the artists that I really loved, and he kind of
had that kind of comedic element. So you think about that,
I am the summation of a lot, all of it,
of all of it. Yeah, common common Sense is one
(16:17):
of my favorites. Red Man, one of my favorites. Snoop
Dogg of course, who I got to work with. I
got to work with all of my heroes.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Man, you you kind of spike the whole sophomore slump
thing out of the park with Word of Mouth.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Is you know a classic album? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Also the first album I could remember that had a
hidden track where you had to get through block on
lockdown at the because at the end of it was
like the one to Atlanta remix, but it was like
two minutes of silence before it kicked in.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
He just reminded me about that we gotta bring well,
I guess we can't bring that back. Yeah, Like if
you play stream a song and it's at the end
of that song, but there was all.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
The silence at the end, So like I remember, I
would have my CD player and I'd be having a
fast far fucker to get to the Walk by the Ways,
one of my favorite records that is Block on Lockdown.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
That's my shit.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Man, You're gonna make me go back and listen to it,
but no, like for you, man, Like I just remember
like Rollout coming out in the video, and it just
felt like as much as like your first album was
like you arriving, it felt like, oh, this motherfucker's start coming.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Out another great story. This is how you know bouleg
kV is good at what he does. He asks questions
that invoke memories that I don't even know that nobody
else asked. So roll Out video before picture it without
the big head like without the post effects. We at
death Jam in my disturbing the piece. We shot this
video and we could not figure out what made it special.
(17:40):
Everybody was like this videos trash, it's nothing. It's literally
nothing going on here. When we decided to add the
element of the big head. It took it from we're
about to trash this video too. This is one of
the best videos that's gonna last and stay ever in
people's brains forever. Yeah, so I just had to bring you,
just brought back that memory that before we had the
(18:00):
big Heir roll out video, was he was gonna trash it. Yeah,
it was bad, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It was nothing. It was nothing.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
It was it to and who did it?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Because that's that's something like ahead of the time of
editing there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I don't know what I want to say. I don't
I don't remember the director. We gotta look that up,
but I just remember like the storyline and none of this,
none of it made any sense. And he was just
like I said, it's big ass head to it and
all of a sudden it make because it's Ludacris.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Oh, that album has area codes, it's got Saturdays on it,
it's got move Bitch on it, yeap, move Bitch all time,
Caucasian rap song, whatever wedding you're at, whatever fucking it
could be fifty five year old white people.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
They play move Bitch and they sing that ship when
I perform that record, it's a it's a crime because
I hold the mic out to the crowd. They paid
to see me. I don't have to do a damn thing.
I it's a crime.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, that was the era too, where songs would get
banned in the club.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Will You'd be like, like, yo, there'd.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Be records you could like, you couldn't play in the club.
It'd be like knuck if you buck, that's right, move
like I feel like. Move Bitch was kind of one
of those.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Records people will get killed. Bro, You're a thousand percent right.
You gotta be careful about where you perform it too,
because fights breakout. Obviously. It was one of those. It
still is one of those. It's a beautiful thing. Man.
Thank you to all the fans for ingraining all of
these songs in the culture for the last two decades.
Let's keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
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Speaker 2 (20:00):
Had to pull up. Get right, this.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Nice little one on one Hardean jersey.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
These are not available, all right?
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Shot to them, man, all right, salute to the family.
Follow him on Instagram. Hardean Underscore Las Vegas. Sorry, let's
get back to the podcast. What was like for you man?
Like DTP has this historical roster of artists. I mean,
you're you're part of so many people's careers. Back then,
it felt like the like rapper owning a label thing
could go one of two ways, Like you could have
(20:27):
a label and just sign your homies and like hope
for the best. But I feel like you and Shaka
were signing artist and like the goal was like for
them to be bigger than you. You wouldn't mind that
because I remember CHENI was on Dog Got the Double
XL with Chini on the cover.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Over there on the table. Jingy sold more records than
me on that Jackpie record on the album I think
it was called Jackpot and I had chicken and beer out.
I sold like three million, he had like three and
a half. Yeah, he went crazy. It was always the
goal to sign artists that were gonna be bigger than me.
You know, Bobby v you know, went platinum, Shauna had,
Shauna had a record, so it's like, like, man, come on, man,
(21:01):
like that was the goal. We had artists, and all
of these artists performed with me on the twenty five year.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Can you tell me I'm a kid from Phoenix?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Yeah? What do you think went wrong with the Willy
north Pole project? The Connect?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Because I bought like ten copies of that shit?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Man, I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
I don't know. I'd answer that question because I.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Love Willie north Pole, great guy, phenomenal, no album, you
know what.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
He had the Hood Dreaming record with Bob, but it
was damn near like nine months too early before Bob,
like really.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Cracky, and some of that might be timing, and some
of it might be we believe in the artist is
disturbing the piece, but ultimately deaf Jam has to distribute
it and they have to put the money behind it
as well. And so sometimes what our vision is deaf
Jam doesn't match the vision of what we're trying to do.
So I would probably say it was a combination of
those things.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Can you tell me what's Nate Dog like?
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Man?
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You know, obviously Nate's one of those guys who.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
The chillest man, the coolest dude on earth. May he
rest in peace. I'm the biggest Nate dog fan. I'm
so glad I got a chance to work with him
numerous times. But I'll tell you, man just laid back
all about his work. Smoke, get high as hell, write
the verse, you know, write the right his.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Hooks, lay it down and go chill. Some more like us.
He just chill.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Do you give him the concept for area codes? And
does he come up with the hook or I think I.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Think we did.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Me and Jazzy Fay did that, and we was exactly
because of the verses were already done, so we knew
it was gonna be called area codes. But the way
that he broke it down. It was just like he
accentuated it.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Are you guys in with him? Or is it something
he sent over?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Like, because no, he was in there with him. I
brought I came here to La and worked with him,
and then I got on a record of his where
I had one of my favorite rap lines. I said
something about you got a frog in your throat like
miss Piggy given head or something like that. Crazy, but
it was on his record. But yeah, man, fun times,
all fun times. Did anybody feel like you left it? Like?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
What was the area code you felt like you left out?
The Mostly you would get feedback from the fans.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
I got a lot of feedback.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I want to say Hawaii was mad as hell. I
don't know if I said anyway, but it was definitely
a couple of area codes that were extremely.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Pissed that I left him out.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Can you tell me? Like I was, Like, I was like,
I'm sorry I didn't have ose there at the time,
Like I can be mad at me. The songs called
hose in different area codes. For sure, I need ose there, Okay,
Like when do.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
You kind of know it's time? Like like obviously we
talked earlier, like when you get the itch to kind
of like like I guess, kind of get remotivated, but
it feels like you're really like super locked in. Is
when did when? When is it time for you to
be like, Okay, are you putting movie stuff to the
side while you're in music mode or you're still trying
to do both?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Can you do both?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Good question?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
John Singleton may have me try out for Too Fast,
Too Furious. I was on tour with eminem at the time. Man,
I had to disturbing the Peace tour. Yeah, exactly, that was.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
What Anger management.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I went to that tour. I think was Papa Roach
on that tour, I think, so, yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I went great memory, I snuck backstage. Exhibit was on
that tour, so it was King t and uh No
Sofa Sofia was on the tour.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So anyway, I was backstage and I had to put
these lines on tape to uh to send to John
Singleton and I got the part. And it's crazy that
you say that because I was always in the not
like I'm not trying to do both at the same time.
Because if I if I'm acting, I want to put
one hundred percent into the acting. If I'm doing music.
I want to put one hundred percent into it. I'm
not trying to convolute this and water it down. So
(24:15):
as long as you use your time wisely when you're shooting,
you shooting. As soon as you've done with that, man,
you go right back to the music. And that's what
I did for years, yeah, and still doing. At this point,
we're supposed to shoot one more fast you know, the finale, finale,
because the last one was open ended. So I've been
in seven Fast and Furious movies, believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So is the next one for sure the final one?
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You think final one? I feel like yes for us.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I feel like, just like Jurassic Park, I don't think
they'll ever get rid of.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I just feel like, eventually you guys are gonna end
up in a time machine and they'll be a fastening
Furious in the twenties and you guys are gonna be
racing fucking buggies and like, yeah, I just feel like, yo, motherfucker's.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Been to space.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yeh, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
I'm waiting for, like like a Michael Myers Jason Voorh
He's like introduction it, like yo, look in the next
Fast and furious. We're merging a bunch of different univers.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And all of that is like the original cast, or
can I say the cast over these last ten we've
had a hell of a run. For sure. I feel
like they'll bring it back and it'll probably be a new,
younger cast at some.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Point, almost like I reset the whole ship.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I think they're going to reset it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
I think I think too fast my favorite one, really,
I stopped watching listen five. I gotta be honest with you.
Five is the last one I've.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Watched five and five is not your favorite, the one
with the rock in something.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
About the Tyres introduction. I just liked it. I don't know,
I just it still felt realistic.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I love that you say that. I mean, I'm in
that one. So as long as you didn't pick one
that I wasn't in, I'm cool. Get too fast.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I just feel like after five, I was like, I
don't know, I don't know what's.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Going on here anymore. There you go see.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And then I saw a clip it was like, there's
like some shit y'all did in space. I saw on
Twitter and I was just like, what.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
We went into space? Man, I've been there. I've been
in space and back. What can I say?
Speaker 1 (25:51):
What do you think is your most slept On album?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Slept On released not released Therapy. My last album, which
was Ship was the Day Universal. I think Louli versas
slept On. I think Theater of the Mind.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
I feel like you was going.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Crazy on that Theater of the Mind one I won
Grammy for that was released there.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
That was the ship that had to do it for
hip hop.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I'll give you that. I'll give you that. I'm with
you on that. I would say, Floyd there, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
I like rock skit. It's between Theater of the Mind
and and Louli versal for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
When you do the record, I do it for hip
hop and Nas and jay Z, Like, do you know
Nas and jay Z are getting on the song?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Absolutely because I got Nas on there first and jay
Z was the president of Death Jam at the time,
and I asked to get on there and he was like,
he kept it for a little while, he didn't say
yes right away, and then he just sent me to verse.
I was like, I got one, were you like?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I couldn't believe it for that time.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
And yo crazy, that's like I think that's only the
second time they because I think did the Black Republican
record on.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
The NAS album absolutely and it was a DJ Premier beat,
So I kind of knew it's hard for them to
turn down the DJ Premiere, but they both work with
Premiere numerous times. What better way to get NAS and
jay Z on a song than to get the DJ
Premiere to produce it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
You have been known to hop on other people's songs
and steal the show. What is the time someone's hopped
on one of your records where you feel like they
got the better of you?
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Man? I always tell people this, man Shauna as an artist, like,
I always had to watch myself, Like I knew she
was gonna get on the records, like spitting fast and
like and having lyrics and annunciation. I always was like,
I gotta watch Shawna. So I feel like I can't.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I got to think of a specific record, but Shawna
just femail wise one of the.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I always say she's one of those left on rappers
ever crazy.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
But I got to think about it.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
I got to think about when somebody came on my
record and absolutely annihilated it or annihilated me. I feel
like it's arguable if somebody, I feel like it. I
feel like you've done that a lot were you like
you steal the show. I appreciate that for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
When you end up on this Justin Bieber baby song,
obviously Justin Bieber hughes at the time, but he's not,
but like well like on you like there was like
a buzz on YouTube like street folks like, but this
is the song that like breaks him for show like
baby is the first joint. Yeah, And you're like, like,
how does that because because at that time, you're kind
(28:14):
of you're you're kind of in the Hollywood space a
little like.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
A little bit, but still you still have people wondering
why I would do a song with like a thirteen
year old kid, right, So, you know, I got a
lot of backlash. And it's funny because right after I
didn't embrace them, the entire hip hop community has embraced
Justin Bieber and the then you know, next thing, you know,
he continues to ascend and he's he has this community
(28:38):
and has this community, and he all of.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
A sudden has everyone.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah. So I was like, I never went off of
someone's age or you know, like someone's race. I always
go off of when I listen to the song if
I feel it in my heart. And now when I
listen to that song, I knew it was a hit record.
And I just stepped on there and just talked from
my point of view of when I was that age
and next thing, you know, the rest is history.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Do you feel like that, like like I feel like
when you get on certain like records in of that
big do you feel the difference, like, oh, ship, there's
a lot more little kids who like.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Oh my god, bro, Like, I got two names in
these streets. I'm Ludacris and that's the that's the dude
that's on the song with Justin Bieber. Right. I mean
that to say that there's a whole other generation of
kids that know me from being on that song. Some
people will be like, Yo, that's Test from Fast and Furious.
Oh that's Ludacris. Oh that's a that's that's that's lude
he was on Justin Bieber's song.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
That's how huge that damn song was.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
You've done conceptual albums throughout your career, obviously Battle the
Sexes we talked about Theater.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Of the Mind.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
The first time I met but let kV.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
He was in Phoenix, he was like, I just want
to start off and say I don't like your oving
battle of the sexist. I was like, okay, but I'm
a fan. Did I say that, No, it's something to
that effect.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
I met you in Vegas first of one of these.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I think we was in. I think we was in. Yeah,
maybe it was.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I didn't love it.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I love I mean, look, look my chicad was cool.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I said it to tell you that I appreciated your honesty.
I still got a gold plaque from this damn album.
I didn't feel a certain way about it. You got
a big record.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I'm not mad at you, bro. Sometimes you got to
speak your mind.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
You know how many radio individuals are scared to speak
they mind.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
You gave your opinion. Yeah, everyone has an opinion.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I remember the first time, the first time I met Common,
I told comm and I'm like, yo, you got my
six favorite album of all time?
Speaker 3 (30:24):
What did he say?
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And he was like six And I was like, yeah, yeah, Resurrection,
it's like six seven for me up by the way,
before the six he just looked at me like I
was crazy.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Like yeah, thanks, yeah, yeah, that's Bootleg Cat, this is
Bootleg cab Ladies and gentlemen. That's how he gets down.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
What is the vibe for this new project, because it
feels like you are like very much dialed in the
new Glorilla records dropping Friday.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Hell yeah, he had the luxury of listening to these
records early. But man, just that hunger back. Wait till
you hear some of these these sixteens and these metaphors
and the things that people really want from me, rapping fast,
rapping slow, the versatility. I feel like when it all
goes down, I want to be remembered as the one
of the ones that had the multi faceted it approach,
(31:10):
like I could do anything. MVP that was another record
I did. Most Valuable Player means when you talk about
hit records, you want to talk about verses, You want
to talk about lyrics, you want to talk about features,
you want to talk about.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Anything hip hop.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
When you put all of those things together, the summation
of all Ludacris, all categories, that's what this is. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Do you feel like because I feel like you're one
of the greats of all time?
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
But do you feel like because you're ludicrous and you
are you have so much personality? I feel like it
happens sometimes with Buster and Rymes. Buster and Rhymes is
one of the greatest of all time. Yeah, but I
feel like sometimes when you have so much personality on records,
like I feel like you overlook you get overlooked in
those conversations.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Thousand percent, and it's like kind of an underdog. But
I'm gonna be honest with you, man, I wouldn't have
any the other way, because that's also what makes me
unique and makes me stand out, is having that type
of personality. And it always has me keeping that I
have something to prove, and I like the essence of
always having something to prove. I'm not gonna lie to you.
(32:14):
That's what keeps me going. So that competitive nature is
I love it. I love it, and like I feel
like it's just you've had this run as like as
a person.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Like you, I don't know how I feel like. You've
hosted iHeart Awards and you've been at the iHeart Words
two years straight doing some shit.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Man.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Bro Like that's what I'm saying. I'm so curious of
a person. I just love trying different things. And when
I was in radio, that's what might have even gave
me the bug to say, let me try and go
host this, or let me go try and be on
this show, or let me do this because the opportunity
presents itself. I'm gonna make sure everybody knows that I'm
capable of doing it all when it comes to this
(32:50):
entertainment business. And I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Shout out to Raffi Lag Group our family. Yes, it's
been so dope to partner with, you know, such a
name and brand and somebody who I am. Actually I'm
a customer of. Shot out to Raffi Law Group, man
Arizona's premier personal injury law firm. And I don't just
put my name on anybody. When we do this stuff
on the Bootleg cap podcast and you see us partnering
(33:12):
with brands, We're very selective about who we connect with.
And Raffi is someone who's actually helped my family, helped
my wife get a settlement all right, has helped over
seventy thousand people in Arizona. No matter what happens, man,
car accident, crash, injury, you maybe get bit by a dog,
I don't know, whatever it is, Raffi Law Group makes
(33:34):
the process less stressful. They put money in your pocket.
Yes the name you can trust. You already know, man,
Raffi Law Group. Save the number just in case, because hey,
you get into a car accident tomorrow, you gotta call
Raffi six two three three eight eight four three three
three And want to wish a big happy birthday to
Raffi's just celebrated his fortieth birthday. We had a good
(33:55):
time in Vegas. Fifty cent was there, pauly d was there,
mad Rich was there. E c Rock was there. It
was a movie, all right, Secretary of State was there.
We were just hanging out, man show.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Look.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Shout out to Brandon Raffi. Don't forget Raffi Law Group.
The only calling you to make if you're an AZ
and you get into an accident, or you get into
any sort of injury situation, they'll take care you immediately
call Raffi.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Baby. Let's get back to the podcast.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
So Yo, I remember the first movie that I saw
you in was Crash, which is a fucking crazy movie.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
They won an Oscar Man Wild Movies.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
That was that your first first movie?
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Or was it Too Fast?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Was the first movie? I was in the wash before that?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Shout out to DJ Pooh Wash, Yeah, I made an
appearance a great yeah with doctor Dre Shout So then
Too Fast, Too Perious, and then Crash was the was
the third one, and everybody did that movie. You see
all those A list actors, We all took like less
pay because it was an independent album. The cast was
insane and there was no budget for the movie, so
everybody agreed to take money on the back end and
(34:55):
it ended up winning an Oscar. So everybody made the
right decision. And that's where I met Lorenz Tate, that's
one of my best friends. Crazy.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yeah, do you feel like do you feel like that?
That was like the movie that kind of like really
because that's a serious movie. That's like that's when I
think Motherfuckers was like, Yo, Ludacris could act.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
That's what. That's literally what made me kind of cross
over because at that time, if you will remember, it
was a lot of actors pissed that anybody in the
music industry or rappers got an opportunity just because they
were rappers to get a roll. So we were beating
out a lot of actors that have done this for
all their lives and getting rolls. And so when I
did Crash, it was like Okay, I'm accepted into this
(35:32):
acting community. They're not mad that I just was a
rapper that got an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I always wonder because you're one of the guys we
always hear we're in La. You know, there's all this
conversation about like when La hip hop ran shit, which
was the nineties with Snoop and Dre and Tupac, and
then you know, obviously the East Coast had it before then,
but there's this like Atlanta run that has been happening
for the last twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
It hasn't stopped.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
It hasn't stopped. But you're kind of like you're like
the first in the first.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Batch outcast man.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
No, no, I'm talking about outcast was like outcast was
a thing obviously.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Yeah, well solo artists absolutely, But I mean just.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
In terms of like I think of like you guys
running ship kind of sonically, it was like kind of
the beginning was like welcome to Atlanta, and then that
moved into like Little John and the crunk era, and
then the ship just hasn't stopped obviously the future.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
But like you, honestly just you just messed me up
right there because I'm so humble. I try not to
take credit before me. You had Outcasts, you had Goodie Mob,
you had Parento with Yeah, I mean I got a
Quimini right there.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
I mean, that's my my third favorite album of all
time in terms.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Of solo artist.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
After Outcasts, it wasn't many solo artists like what I'm saying,
man were making waves. Man, thank you for making me
realize this.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Yo, I appreciate. I know I came here for.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
When you're started with. Like I mean, obviously shots are
Socio Deaf and JD, but.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Absolutely Man, he had Chris Kross and he had other artists,
but yeah, solo, I had.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
To think, like you kicked off. The twenty five year run.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Of anything has come from this interview.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
We have just two thousand, right to two thousand's your first.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Album thousand, nineteen ninety nine to be complete that that
was incog Negro back for the first time was two thousand.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
So if you think about it.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Bootleg keV has just made a revelation.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Wow, when you get the idea from JD to do
Welcome to Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
Yeah, you know we basically strong arm that record and
said we're gonna put this on my word of Mouth
album at the end, Yeah, exactly because it was hidden track, right,
And so now this is the anthem for all things Atlanta,
which we greatly appreciate. There are a bunch of other
Atlanta anthems, but this is one of them. World Cup
coming obviously, we're gonna be a part of all of that.
(37:46):
So yeah, man, I just thank JD for that.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
He was on one.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
You you're obviously the guy who kind of kicks the door,
and I feel like for like this new wave of
Atlanta artists. And then it kind of pivots into like
the Trap era, which is like obviously Tip and Gez
and all that was what was it like kind of
coexisting in the city where there's like this BM but
you're like, Luda, I feel like I always got positive
vibes from you.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Let me tell you something. I never have negative vibes.
It's always somebody messing with me. Then I have to
respond it's I'm never but I am toy jealous of anyone,
never in my entire career.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
You're like this crazy force of like just superstardom. And
then at the same time, there's like kind of this
underground movement of like the Boys in the Hood album
comes out by the way, I was on bad Boy,
but Jeeze's your label mate on Death Jim, what's it
like that era being ludicris while the trap shit's bubbling?
Speaker 2 (38:38):
I mean the same time. Tell you something I've said
this before, like, uh, team one on one, like j
Z's first album. I know he had a bunch of mixtapes,
but I was such a fan. Yeah, so I'm I'm
loving it. To answer your question, I'm loving it. I was.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
I'm a JEZ fan.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Yeah, can you tell me.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Thug Motivation one on one? It's a classic album to me.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
I'm just saying it's de only one of the greatest
greatest albums the show.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Shout out to Geez.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
You guys never kicked the can around about doing just
like a fucking Transformers Voltron version of like a OG
like like you g Z T I just get together,
have JD's executive produce it.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I know, I know there's been conversations like but nothing
has ever come to fruition. I even remember I know
GZ and TI I think they were talking about doing
something together before. There's been conversations of you know, intot
like It's been a lot of that. It's just nothing's
ever come to fruition. Yeah, that'd be crazy. It would
be me Usher and Lil John and talking about trying
(39:37):
to make something happen. That'd be crazy.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
John and Luda got to do it again.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
You guys got Lovers and Friends?
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Man, come on, man, yeah, classics?
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Did you guys?
Speaker 1 (39:45):
Did you guys ever start?
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Oh? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (39:46):
You going yeah?
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Yeah, Yes, that's what I'm saying. These are too and
Lovers and Friends. There was never a video to that.
It still went number one. We never saw a video.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yes, probably, I mean I feel like, yeah, at a
certain point in time, was the biggest song ever.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
It's like number seventeen, biggest song of the century. That's
how that song and Jesus Christ crazy on Billboard. What
do you think is bigger that? Or Baby? That's actually
a good ask question. Baby is bigger on YouTube for sure.
I think it has over a billion views or something
like that. Matter of fact, Baby is diamond is yeah, diamond,
that's a good question. Better be fucking diamond. That's a
(40:18):
good question. Bro. Those them things are neck and neck.
Talk about publishing Jesus.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
And then like radio play, I know for a while,
there hadn't been another song that got played more on
the radio than Yeah, there was like held the record
for a sec.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
I don't know what it is now, but that song is. Yeah,
that's what I'm saying. That's why, that's why it's one
of them century songs. That's a century song. How often
do you get those? Not often? Yeah? No, Yeah. So
it's like when I do shows now, you gotta think
it's people that have been in the game for twenty
five years with me. But then you got people that
might not have been born when the first album came out,
(40:52):
and I'll do baby, and then a whole nother section
of the crowd is going crazy. Dude, you do have
all time Caucasian rap.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Songs, generation generational songs.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
I mean, we're talking about bar Mitzvah's fucking weddings, birthday parties, corporative. Yeah,
move bitch, something about this like move bitches, like a
It's forever.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
Live shows is listen.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
I will never stop doing live So it's like one
of the greatest It's the greatest thing of being an
artist in my opinion. Like, I love performing. Somebody paid
money to come see me. I'm giving you everything I
got on that stage. Man, how everything?
Speaker 1 (41:27):
How cool is it to have a roller coaster at Universal?
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Now? It's dope.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
It's supposed to open in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Right, because you guys have the like the other version
where you like go through and you sit in the
car and then you guys are on each side.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
But that was got the real joint. That wasn't as exciting.
It's right here is gonna be exciting?
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Are you gonna pull up?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
And I got to the only problem is every time
I get on a roller coaster nowadays, I get a headache.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
So I don't know what that's about. My equilibrium is off.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
You're just old man. I get to say, that's what
it is.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Yeah, yeah, thousand percent.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But I gotta do this one fast and furious ride
Universal Studios, Ladies and gentlemen, it's what he's talking about. Yeah, No,
they've been building. It looks crazy. I mean I think
it's finished.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
He has done it. That's what I said. In two weeks,
I believe they gonna debut that thing.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
What is uh?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
You know, when when can we expect this new album?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
New album before the end of the year?
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Yeah, hell yeah? Dropping singles we just we like to
call it getting back in the blood stream. It's been
a minute, so we we out here getting back in
the blacks stream. We heating up.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Is there anybody who you'd like to work with on
this new album or just some newer artists that you
are fans of? Obviously you're working with Glow on the
new single, but yeah, there are artists that you just
are just taking notes of, Like I like what this
person's doing.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Yeah, man, let me think about that. Who do I
love right now? Definitely love it. I mean I work
with Chris Brown before, but would love to work with
him again. I love what he's doing in the touring space. Man,
every every time he goes, it's just something totally crazy.
But like Don Tolliver, love Don Tolliver in Atlanta, I've
(42:52):
worked with. I've done a song with Future for him,
but I've never had Future on one of my songs
that would be dope. So yeah, just to name a few.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
It on a like a Conway the Machine record, like
scatter Brand.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Yeah, I think you guys might have did that on TV.
I think he did it on He did it on
one of the late night shows. I don't know if
you were there for it. But what what like that's
some underground boom back rap ship. What like what brings
Conway to the machine, to.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Your radar to do a record with?
Speaker 3 (43:19):
He hit me up. He hit me on it. Man.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
When I had a show one time in Buffalo, New York,
and I got to meet him and he was saying
how much of a fan he was, and I was like,
bro let's work. And he sent me that record and
the rest is history. And j I d Is another
one that I love. I've worked with him before too.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
I love.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Oh That's dope, extra dope. Yeah, yeah, I love he
was styling on records he's called and he deserved that nomination.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
You know, I wish you would have actually for the Grammy.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
He deserved that. Man.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
That album is insane. You're gonna make me go listen
to that when I leave you.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Great album, man.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Great album.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
Is DTP still, like are you still trying to sign
artists or is it? Are you guys kind of just
is are you the loan artist on DTP?
Speaker 3 (43:59):
Now we still have artists?
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Something that would be like we'll be announcing some stuff
soon and we're still working. Man, It's like we got
I got songs with Seanna and Chingey. We're gonna start
breaking some things out. So again, it's just bringing everything
full circle.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yeah, Chinky's been on the road's been moving around absolutely.
One night, I just I was at eleven and eleven
we booked Nelly, Chiney was hanging out.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Yeah, I was like, yo, you doing records.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Saint Louis. They love man, they got love for one
another at the end of the day. Yeah, it's all sure.
There might be a new Chiney album coming on.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
Cheeky's working on his album.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
He's not currently signed to DTP, but right now we're
working on songs together.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
That's fine still yeah, just because it's love. Yeah, we'll
listen new album hopefully before the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Hell yeah, pull over video and go stream that is
and go check out the video on YouTube. Me and
Golo Rilla for all the real hustlers twenty twenty six
that song, go stream.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
That crazy yeah, man, and one more video on the way.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
For this coming.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
We well, we'll let you know that it's in a second.
We might have even more records dropping.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
On is the fast Interferio has already filed. Nope, so
you still in.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Order for this to come out March twenty twenty eight,
Universal has it on their calendar. We got to be
shooting by top of next year. Oh so yeah, yeah,
so we shall see and do we think?
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Like, is everyone coming back together?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Is it gonna be? I haven't got the script yet, promise.
I wish I could tell you. I don't want to
tell you nothing wrong. I don't want to give you
false information.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Is Vin Diesel as cool as he seems?
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Too cool?
Speaker 3 (45:22):
The coolest?
Speaker 1 (45:22):
I met him at a Super Bowl party I was
DJ and at and like fuck, I don't even remember
what year was, but he was so cool.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Too cool. And by the way, in his off time
he'd be in the studio.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
This man probably got over one hundred songs and nobody
he sings, He raps, he does it all. Please convince
him to put it out.
Speaker 3 (45:37):
He has put some out.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
But what I mean by that is he's a true artist,
right Like he's behind the scenes making sure scripts and
stuff are right, getting his act and stuff right. And
just like when he's his mind constantly has to do art.
He's drawing, he's painting, like he is an artist.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Bro, you gotta love it.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Shout out to Vin diesel Man, what do you you
said your favorite fastest five?
Speaker 2 (46:00):
That's your favorite? Absolutely? Yeah, go back and look at that,
the way it flows, the screenplay, the dynamic of Dwayne Johnson,
and then together like everything comes for like that.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
That movie is the best.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
When like those two guys have like a civil war
going on behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Do you feel conflicted because you're cool with both of them,
we just don't get in it, like that's that's between
those two individuals.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Whenever the powerhouses in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Yeah, but everything is fine now, But when there was
that issue, you just let two men kind of you know,
dupe that out.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Last quick question, I twenty son is popping, destroy Lonely.
I love that he signed a Playboy CARDI he's a fucking.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
He's a beast popping man. I support. I support everything
he's doing. Man, I'm so happy to see that. And
never in a million years would you think that, like
one of my partners, his son would come and do
what he's doing right now, because I remember when he
was a young kid, and so I just love to
see that maturation.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I twenties got one of the greatest tones and voices
in hip hop history.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely shout out to Odd got songs with him too,
new shit, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Oh fire, Well listen, Luda. I appreciate you, man. There's
a lot of stuff going on. Go ride the fucking
roller coaster, Universal Studios.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
You gotta come with me, man, we both got to
get a headache.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
We're gonna get a headache together. New single with Glow.
If you're listening to this, it'll be out. And of
course pull Over is out. Videos, crazy crazy new album
on the way before the end of the year, sir.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Next time I do an interview, I'll tell you the name.
We'll figure out a name.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
I love to hear it. Man, it's been I see
the DTP twenty five. It's been twenty five years.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Twenty five years and counting. That is crazy, absolute full
circle moments. Man. I just want to say, I'm blessed
to be in the game this long and y'all have
kept these records alive.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
We're gonna continue to make you proud.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Just legendary run as a label too. Man, you guys
have had some incredible love.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Shaka Zulu in the building.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Chakazulu, the legend. It's in the building there, it is
my dog. Appreciate you Thank you bro.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yes, what up? Y'all were here at Ease you already know.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
If you're in La Southern cal Man, tap in, go
to the website right now, use that promo code boot.
You're gonna get thirty percent off Flower concentrates, whatever you're into,
they got it thirty percent off. Go to ease dot
com right now, it'll get.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
Delivered right to your door.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Or if you're in LA, pull up because we're here
right now.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Come on, messhout out to Ease
Butlet cav show where we got a special guest in here.
It's not very often that we get somebody I could
say is a living legend. This is the case today, Man, Ludacris, I.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Want to come to the syndicated people. Man, I want
to come to the people that's in one hundred million
different markets.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Man, that's who I want to do interviews with.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You know what's crazy, Luda is a little unknown story.
I used to be on the radio at a place
in Vegas called KVG, and I had made the plan
to quit, but we had an interview scheduled labor day
weekend in twenty twelve, and I hung onto the job
for like an extra two weeks just to get the Ludacris.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Interview over the finish line.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
And that day we did the interview, and then I
went on the radio that Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And quit on the radio. I love it. You never
told me this story. That's a dope story. And he
was in Phoenix too, because I Phoenix. Yeah, pimping all
over the world area.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Codes as you would say, Yeah, you see what.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
We did there?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Pro anyway, Man, I'm welcome, dude. I'm glad this here.
I feel like I get excited when you have the music.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Bug. Man, thank you man, you have so much going on. Yeah, Like,
I feel like you gotta love it, man, Like humbly speaking,
ten albums, and it feels crazy to even say that, right,
and it's just being real. There's so many people in
the game that you get over the sophomore jinks, even
if you get to the sophomore jinks. But to honestly,
it be twenty five years in the game, right to
(01:25):
have ten albums. You can hear it in my voice, man.
Sometimes been in the game that long, you kind of
got to take a break and you really got to
become a fan again, because this industry will mess you
up with all the you know, the business behind the
scenes and how people act and the craziness. It's like
I need one of them little men in black, like
you know the thing and where they flash you so
(01:46):
you could just go back. And all I'm saying is
that sometimes you take a break in order to kind
of revitalize yourself and really understand what you got in
it for as opposed to just putting out music.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
And so I'm back at that point. Man.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I'm loving I'm loving music. Loving the video aspect. I
don't know if you saw.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's just vintage MTV.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm like, this is why we like.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I remember you were like you, and obviously before you
a bit was missy, but you were the guy who
came in the game and busted two man and just
went crazy, and we have all these iconic moments.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
You know, we think. I appreciate that. So that's partly
why I wanted to do that pull over video the
way that I did it. Man, it's give that nostalgia
and you know, give you some real, real funny, crazy,
ludicrous wild visuals to go along with the brand.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
It's right on brand.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I gotta ask you.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So I bought Timberland's solo album, Tim's Bio as a kid,
and Fat Rabbit was on that album.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
That was the first commercial success I had.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That ended up being on your first album too. But
that was the first song. It's like time I had
ever even heard you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I was like, yo, this guy's and it wasn't even
a single like it was on his album Cut, but
it was my first time being on an album. I
basically pulled it off and promoted it myself. Yeah, so
that was this crazy that you say that because that
was and that was from me working at the radio station.
Timberland came to the radio station in Atlanta and was like,
who is this kid? I heard rapping on the radio
(03:05):
and Shako was the manager at the time because he
was the music director, and I was able to give
Timberland my demo and from there that's how me getting
on this album happened. I'll tell you a crazy story
that I haven't really told anybody. I was working at
the station. I was not signed to a contract, so
they could have fired me any day. I was the
youngest person at the radio station, like eighteen seventeen, eighteen
(03:25):
years old. In order to go Timberland was like, I
want you to come to Virginia. This is where I'm
recording this album. But I need you to come like
on random Thursday. I was like, in my mind, I'm like, bro,
there's no way I could take off from this station.
They'll fire me miss the show. I'm gonna miss the show.
So I had to tell them and God bless rest
in peace. My grandmother said, my grandmother just died. I
(03:49):
have to go to the funeral in New York. I
used my grandmother to go record Fat Rabbit with Timberland
in Virginia and I got off.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I can't even tell you the amount of times I've
used my grandma. Once she had actually died.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I was like, okay, oh man, I.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Was like, I could you I could apply this her
dying to a lot of like citr ibo.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Man, grandma's not doing well. My grandmother would forgive me.
But I'm telling you, man, that's exactly what I did.
My rest is history. That is fire.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So you go to Virginia, you work with Tim. Was
there anybody else in the studio at the time? Was
it like, because that that was a star studded album,
like Jaz was on that album, like.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
No, no, no, no no. I think this was like
one of the last ones he was doing for this song.
So it was me and him engineer, you know, Jimmy Douglass.
This is world right now. Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And I was just so excited.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Man. It was my first time. Timlin my favorite producer
till this day.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah. Man.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And then next thing, you know, organized noise I did
game got switched with him. I was the first rapper
on Madden two thousands. Youer, main dupre put me on
a video game. It feels crazy because at the time.
I forget. We got to look that up. We're gonna
google that real quick. Madd in two thousand. It was
in two thousand. It was John Madden. It was there.
(05:04):
You go, yeah, that's crazy. It was before they started playing,
so history first rapper to rap on a video game
thanks to Jermaine Dupree.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
That is incredible. Man, did Tim try to sign you?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
He did try to sign me at the time, but
I forget what happened with the contract. There was like
so much going on at the time to where I
just decided to put the album out on my own independently.
But man, still, obviously I got loved for Tim Lee
went on to do roll Out. We did Potion together,
which I still perform to this day. One of the
hardest instrumentals of all time. Crazy, right, Jesus for to
(05:36):
like to stand the test of time, and people still
putting that.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Rap on that record too, Like it's still like a
go to, like yo put the Potion on.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
When you watched the jay Z documentary and saw that
he had passed on it, yep, what were your thoughts, Like,
I thank god he passed.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know, it's the thing with artists. You asked any
artist a hit song that's out and they're gonna say
they passed up on the beat, like it's it happens
with every single person. So I've done that before I
got to think of what I did that on. But
when I saw it, I was just like, that's dope,
Like I actually picked and that did a song that
was going to jay Z. Because we idolized jay Z
(06:13):
every time I was on Death Jam. You know, he
was number one on the call sheet, as they could say.
And so when people say, you know, we had the
the hardest era of music, you really think about that.
It was me, it was jay Z, it was DMX,
it was Eminem, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And it was like.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Multi platinum every single rap solo artist. And so I'm
in the category with these individuals for every award, and
I'm losing for the first five years. Every single time,
Eminem whooping my ass. Jay Z beat me in every category.
But I kept consistent and I stayed at it, and
eventually I started winning the damn Awards.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
I don't know if they were taking breaks.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
I don't know if I just got right, you know,
the right time in after year five or six.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
But after that, it was all the way up.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Do you remember a time like, do you remember any
records you passed on her hooks or anything where you
were like, oh.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Damn, you know what's crazy? Go girl, it's your birthday.
Open one man. Trey Songs, I think I was. I
was supposed to get on that record, and I don't
remember exactly what happened, but I messed that up for
some reason.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I don't know if I was too big.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Like that was the era where Trey Songs.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
There was like three or four artists that were just
doing hooksher records, and it was like Trey.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Songs was brutal mars that went on to be a
hit song, and it was supposed to happen like that.
Fabulous killed the verse. I'm one of those people like
I don't really resent or regret anything. It's more of
everything happens the way that they're supposed to. So salute
to Trey and Fabulous for making that a hit record. Man.
She immediately come in the game.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
You've already worked with timbaland, you already got the Timbo
Co sign. Your breakout first record on the debut album
of Southern Hospitality, which is a phar real beat which
is a Neptune's beat what like in the heyday of
the Neptunes era. That's pretty early in the Neptune.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
It was early. That was the last song that I
recorded for the album.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
We had to turn the album in like in like
a day, and I remember going to Virginia again.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
We went to Virginia. It was me and Shaka.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Something the water out there by the way. Oh absolutely,
Pharrell put on that beat. I was like, I kind
of like it. I go, I go in the damn
car and I'll just write within like I'd say, forty
five minutes wrote all verses, go back in there, spit it,
and Shaka and Pharrell are going crazy, this is it.
This is the one. I'm just sitting there like it's cool,
Like Oden bowls in there.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
So I'm thinking it's cool.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So the answer to to towards that point, I did
not realize Southern Hospitality, the Throat and Bow's record was
the record that everyone realizes it is today. I did
not know it was a hit. I just thought it
was another album cut. Well that was that. I was
actually the second single, was it? What's Your Fantasy? Was
the first thing? Fantasy was the first. Yeah, crazy man. Yeah,
what a time, dude. Listen man, history, what is that?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
In two thousand, two.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Thousand, So incog Negro album came out in nineteen ninety nine,
I was and that was the end of record. I
was the independent record So technically I got ten albums
out now, but that was the independent one that I
sold on my own. I sold fifty thousand copies at
seven dollars a pop, so I had a three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars check before I was twenty one
years old.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
While you're on the radio, right, while I'm on the radio,
does your PD have any problems with you? Like I
always wondered, like the og radio stories like you're cracking
in the city.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, is your PD getting nervous that.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
You might leave?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Or is That was the thing? Man?
Speaker 2 (09:29):
The thing is that they never signed me to a contract.
They were at they were tripping when I left, but
they didn't know it was gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
So this song is blowing up.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
One of the greatest days of my life is signing
my deaf Jam contract knowing I'm about to get a
seven figure check. While I was on the air, while
commercials are playing, you got like a seven minute timeframe. Yep,
somebody brought me my contract. Got you know, my lawyer
had already read it over. I'm signing it and just
smiling to myself, like, Okay, after this shift, I'm gonna go,
and I'm gonna say I'm putting my two weeks in
(09:58):
and I'm out of here, and it's still all love
at the station. But to answer again towards your point,
they did not sign me to a contract, so they
have me every day feeling like I could get fired, right,
And I was naive, you know what I mean. I
didn't know the business like that. I was the youngest
person at the station. I was just happy to be there.
You get to be on the damn station. You get
to go do clubs. I'm getting cash I got. I'm
(10:20):
like wilding out here in these streets. Sure, I was
having a great time.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Was there any like once you left? Did the station
hold it against you a little? Did it take them
a while?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
No?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
They could embrace you.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
That's what I'm saying. They could not hold it against me.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Everyone at this station had a contract for at least
a year, right, but me, And they're like, well.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Chris left, so I don't know if we're gonna be
the first to play his.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Song now, Yeah, And it was the young thing. It
was me and Pooon Daddy, and like I said, we
were the youngest up at the station. So I think
they just they felt like I needed it, and then
they realized later that I didn't.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
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They got all kind of flavors for y'all. And of
course the vintage you know, odd Socks, man, they got
the licensing game on Smash shot out to them because
they just did an incredible job with their odd Socks
(11:41):
pop up in Tampa.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Whatever you're into man.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Of course, they got the Budweiser, they got the Michelo,
they got that. They even got fucking liquid death socks.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
What are we doing here?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Shot out to odd Socks. Go to odd socksoficial dot com.
Use the promo code boot leg right now, save twenty
percent off your order, get you some basics. Thank me later. Hey,
can we show a little footage from the odd socks
pop up that they did. They made their very own
like liquor store, corner store, and all of the products
were odd socks. Yes, cut to the footage. It looks great.
(12:14):
Shout out to odd Socks. Use that promo code. Support
our family, all right, odd socksofficial dot com promo code
bootleg and save some money and get some socks.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Man, Thank me later.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
So you're the first artist signed to deaf Jam South,
which Scarface is the president of. Yes, so there's like
this idea of deaf Jam South. It's like this new thing.
And back then you would hear like death Row East
or like yeah, you know what I mean? Was it
who was like the was it Scarface that initially reached out?
Like what was that whole process like getting in again?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, Kevin Lyles and Scarface reached out at the same time.
But that's another good question because as the as the
song is blowing up, I'm starting to get calls from
different all the different record companies. Literally I went to Electra,
I went to Atlantic, I went to Sown and that
just kind of you know, sitting me down, taking me
through the office. This is gonna be a CEO. This
(13:05):
is what we're gonna do for you that radio. And
then I went to death Jam. They weren't even offering
the most upfront money, but it was just something about
death Jam with Kevin Lyles, with scar especially at that
time that time. But here's the thing, though, I was
the first artist from the South signed to Death Jam.
They had nothing but a whole bunch of mostly New
York artists. So there was a time where we were like,
(13:27):
is this going to work? Should we even do this?
Because do they know how to work a Southern artist?
So yeah, it looks good now because it eventually worked out,
but at the time we were still risk. I took
a risk, but my heart and my spirit told me
that's where I needed to be. Plus ll Cool Jay
is my hero. He's kind of who inspired me want
to rap in the first place. He was the first
(13:47):
rap artist signed to.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
We're like, Yo, I'm gonna be the first Southern artist.
That's what make it happen.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And I don't know if you saw, but twenty five
year anniversary, we just did a show in Atlanta called
One Music Fest. My management surprised me and had LL
cool J come out. I got the rap with LL
cool J on stage.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Oh, that was the first rapper I ever met as
a kid or super nice.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah. It was a jewelry store in Arizona. It was cool.
I had all world.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I had him sign it. I mean the greatest. Yeah,
shout out to l So he was cool though, Yeah,
super cool.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah man, that's that's just how he is. Man.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
You gotta love it.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I always wonder when you are in the studio making
the song, like, ho, this is one of my favorite songs.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It's such a brilliant song.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Then somebody else just as this.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Go ahead, go ahead, but just like what is the
like like like what is the inspiration behind you writing
the song?
Speaker 2 (14:36):
And like what is the vibe?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Because no one has written the whole like you really
broke down that term right in a very crazy like way, great,
great question.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Like I was telling you, I was at the radio
station at that time, even when I wrote that record,
So I was wild in the studio at the station
sometimes doing that sometimes too, but just just living it
and knowing about, you know, being promiscuous in these streets.
But I also am a fan of comedy. I'm a
fan of We were just talking about like silly television,
so silly ass movies. You know. Coming to America is
(15:08):
one of my favorite movies. And this is the end.
It's crazy stupid shit like that. When you incorporate comedy
and stand up comedy, and you incorporate me being a
hip hop fan, and you incorporate all of these things together.
To answer your question about how I come up with
that stuff? Where us a whole, It's just combining all
of those elements. That's what makes Ludacris Ludacris.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
What is Scarface's reaction to hearing Hope for the first time?
I just got to I wonder what he's like. Does
he got any notice?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Psyche? So Scarface is one of the greatest rappers of
our time in terms of storytelling, he is one of
those So when he heard that record, you could tell
that he knew I had a little bit of ghetto
boys in Scarface DNA, but I just added my Ludacris
element to it. So I think that he was proud.
(15:57):
He was a proud man. It's just proud because he
sees me doing something than unique and doing it of
my own. And by the way, I come from a
background of loving like Red Man was was one of
the artists that I really loved, and he kind of
had that kind of comedic element. So you think about that,
I am the summation of a lot, all of it,
of all of it. Yeah, common common Sense is one
(16:17):
of my favorites. Red Man, one of my favorites. Snoop
Dogg of course, who I got to work with. I
got to work with all of my heroes.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Man, you you kind of spike the whole sophomore slump
thing out of the park with Word of Mouth.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Is you know a classic album? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Also the first album I could remember that had a
hidden track where you had to get through block on
lockdown at the because at the end of it was
like the one to Atlanta remix, but it was like
two minutes of silence before it kicked in.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
He just reminded me about that we gotta bring well,
I guess we can't bring that back. Yeah, Like if
you play stream a song and it's at the end
of that song, but there was all.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
The silence at the end, So like I remember, I
would have my CD player and I'd be having a
fast far fucker to get to the Walk by the Ways,
one of my favorite records that is Block on Lockdown.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
That's my shit.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Man, You're gonna make me go back and listen to it,
but no, like for you, man, Like I just remember
like Rollout coming out in the video, and it just
felt like as much as like your first album was
like you arriving, it felt like, oh, this motherfucker's start coming.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Out another great story. This is how you know bouleg
kV is good at what he does. He asks questions
that invoke memories that I don't even know that nobody
else asked. So roll Out video before picture it without
the big head like without the post effects. We at
death Jam in my disturbing the piece. We shot this
video and we could not figure out what made it special.
(17:40):
Everybody was like this videos trash, it's nothing. It's literally
nothing going on here. When we decided to add the
element of the big head. It took it from we're
about to trash this video too. This is one of
the best videos that's gonna last and stay ever in
people's brains forever. Yeah, so I just had to bring you,
just brought back that memory that before we had the
(18:00):
big Heir roll out video, was he was gonna trash it. Yeah,
it was bad, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It was nothing. It was nothing.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
It was it to and who did it?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Because that's that's something like ahead of the time of
editing there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I don't know what I want to say. I don't
I don't remember the director. We gotta look that up,
but I just remember like the storyline and none of this,
none of it made any sense. And he was just
like I said, it's big ass head to it and
all of a sudden it make because it's Ludacris.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Oh, that album has area codes, it's got Saturdays on it,
it's got move Bitch on it, yeap, move Bitch all time,
Caucasian rap song, whatever wedding you're at, whatever fucking it
could be fifty five year old white people.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
They play move Bitch and they sing that ship when
I perform that record, it's a it's a crime because
I hold the mic out to the crowd. They paid
to see me. I don't have to do a damn thing.
I it's a crime.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, that was the era too, where songs would get
banned in the club.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Will You'd be like, like, yo, there'd.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Be records you could like, you couldn't play in the club.
It'd be like knuck if you buck, that's right, move
like I feel like. Move Bitch was kind of one
of those.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Records people will get killed. Bro, You're a thousand percent right.
You gotta be careful about where you perform it too,
because fights breakout. Obviously. It was one of those. It
still is one of those. It's a beautiful thing. Man.
Thank you to all the fans for ingraining all of
these songs in the culture for the last two decades.
Let's keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Shout out to our brothers a hard Dean man OTTs family.
Of course, they've been sponsoring the podcast for years now.
You've been seeing the mic flag for years now. Want
to give a shout out to our brothers. I just
was in Vegas. I had to pull up all right. Look,
it's the number one dispensary in the world. When I
tell you, you walk in that thing and the butt tenders
are great. They take care of you immediately. The selection
(19:45):
is great. So when you go to Vegas, you get
into that cab, you get into that uber immediately say
take me to Hardean.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Don't know what they're doing, all right?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
They go get you right, all right, the number one
premium cannabis dispensary in the world. They just got me right.
I was just in town for Raffi's birthday.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Had to pull up. Get right, this.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Nice little one on one Hardean jersey.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
These are not available, all right?
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Shot to them, man, all right, salute to the family.
Follow him on Instagram. Hardean Underscore Las Vegas. Sorry, let's
get back to the podcast. What was like for you man?
Like DTP has this historical roster of artists. I mean,
you're you're part of so many people's careers. Back then,
it felt like the like rapper owning a label thing
could go one of two ways, Like you could have
(20:27):
a label and just sign your homies and like hope
for the best. But I feel like you and Shaka
were signing artist and like the goal was like for
them to be bigger than you. You wouldn't mind that
because I remember CHENI was on Dog Got the Double
XL with Chini on the cover.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Over there on the table. Jingy sold more records than
me on that Jackpie record on the album I think
it was called Jackpot and I had chicken and beer out.
I sold like three million, he had like three and
a half. Yeah, he went crazy. It was always the
goal to sign artists that were gonna be bigger than me.
You know, Bobby v you know, went platinum, Shauna had,
Shauna had a record, so it's like, like, man, come on, man,
(21:01):
like that was the goal. We had artists, and all
of these artists performed with me on the twenty five year.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Can you tell me I'm a kid from Phoenix?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Yeah? What do you think went wrong with the Willy
north Pole project? The Connect?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Because I bought like ten copies of that shit?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Man, I don't even know.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
I don't know. I'd answer that question because I.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Love Willie north Pole, great guy, phenomenal, no album, you
know what.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
He had the Hood Dreaming record with Bob, but it
was damn near like nine months too early before Bob,
like really.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Cracky, and some of that might be timing, and some
of it might be we believe in the artist is
disturbing the piece, but ultimately deaf Jam has to distribute
it and they have to put the money behind it
as well. And so sometimes what our vision is deaf
Jam doesn't match the vision of what we're trying to do.
So I would probably say it was a combination of
those things.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Can you tell me what's Nate Dog like?
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Man?
Speaker 1 (21:46):
You know, obviously Nate's one of those guys who.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
The chillest man, the coolest dude on earth. May he
rest in peace. I'm the biggest Nate dog fan. I'm
so glad I got a chance to work with him
numerous times. But I'll tell you, man just laid back
all about his work. Smoke, get high as hell, write
the verse, you know, write the right his.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Hooks, lay it down and go chill. Some more like us.
He just chill.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Do you give him the concept for area codes? And
does he come up with the hook or I think I.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Think we did.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Me and Jazzy Fay did that, and we was exactly
because of the verses were already done, so we knew
it was gonna be called area codes. But the way
that he broke it down. It was just like he
accentuated it.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Are you guys in with him? Or is it something
he sent over?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Like, because no, he was in there with him. I
brought I came here to La and worked with him,
and then I got on a record of his where
I had one of my favorite rap lines. I said
something about you got a frog in your throat like
miss Piggy given head or something like that. Crazy, but
it was on his record. But yeah, man, fun times,
all fun times. Did anybody feel like you left it? Like?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
What was the area code you felt like you left out?
The Mostly you would get feedback from the fans.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
I got a lot of feedback.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I want to say Hawaii was mad as hell. I
don't know if I said anyway, but it was definitely
a couple of area codes that were extremely.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Pissed that I left him out.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Can you tell me? Like I was, Like, I was like,
I'm sorry I didn't have ose there at the time,
Like I can be mad at me. The songs called
hose in different area codes. For sure, I need ose there, Okay,
Like when do.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
You kind of know it's time? Like like obviously we
talked earlier, like when you get the itch to kind
of like like I guess, kind of get remotivated, but
it feels like you're really like super locked in. Is
when did when? When is it time for you to
be like, Okay, are you putting movie stuff to the
side while you're in music mode or you're still trying
to do both?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Can you do both?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Good question?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
John Singleton may have me try out for Too Fast,
Too Furious. I was on tour with eminem at the time. Man,
I had to disturbing the Peace tour. Yeah, exactly, that was.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
What Anger management.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I went to that tour. I think was Papa Roach
on that tour, I think, so, yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I went great memory, I snuck backstage. Exhibit was on
that tour, so it was King t and uh No
Sofa Sofia was on the tour.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So anyway, I was backstage and I had to put
these lines on tape to uh to send to John
Singleton and I got the part. And it's crazy that
you say that because I was always in the not
like I'm not trying to do both at the same time.
Because if I if I'm acting, I want to put
one hundred percent into the acting. If I'm doing music.
I want to put one hundred percent into it. I'm
not trying to convolute this and water it down. So
(24:15):
as long as you use your time wisely when you're shooting,
you shooting. As soon as you've done with that, man,
you go right back to the music. And that's what
I did for years, yeah, and still doing. At this point,
we're supposed to shoot one more fast you know, the finale, finale,
because the last one was open ended. So I've been
in seven Fast and Furious movies, believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
So is the next one for sure the final one?
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You think final one? I feel like yes for us.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I feel like, just like Jurassic Park, I don't think
they'll ever get rid of.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
I just feel like, eventually you guys are gonna end
up in a time machine and they'll be a fastening
Furious in the twenties and you guys are gonna be
racing fucking buggies and like, yeah, I just feel like, yo, motherfucker's.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Been to space.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Yeh, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
I'm waiting for, like like a Michael Myers Jason Voorh
He's like introduction it, like yo, look in the next
Fast and furious. We're merging a bunch of different univers.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And all of that is like the original cast, or
can I say the cast over these last ten we've
had a hell of a run. For sure. I feel
like they'll bring it back and it'll probably be a new,
younger cast at some.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Point, almost like I reset the whole ship.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I think they're going to reset it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
I think I think too fast my favorite one, really,
I stopped watching listen five. I gotta be honest with you.
Five is the last one I've.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Watched five and five is not your favorite, the one
with the rock in something.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
About the Tyres introduction. I just liked it. I don't know,
I just it still felt realistic.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I love that you say that. I mean, I'm in
that one. So as long as you didn't pick one
that I wasn't in, I'm cool. Get too fast.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
I just feel like after five, I was like, I
don't know, I don't know what's.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Going on here anymore. There you go see.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
And then I saw a clip it was like, there's
like some shit y'all did in space. I saw on
Twitter and I was just like, what.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
We went into space? Man, I've been there. I've been
in space and back. What can I say?
Speaker 1 (25:51):
What do you think is your most slept On album?
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Slept On released not released Therapy. My last album, which
was Ship was the Day Universal. I think Louli versas
slept On. I think Theater of the Mind.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
I feel like you was going.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Crazy on that Theater of the Mind one I won
Grammy for that was released there.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
That was the ship that had to do it for
hip hop.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I'll give you that. I'll give you that. I'm with
you on that. I would say, Floyd there, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
I like rock skit. It's between Theater of the Mind
and and Louli versal for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
When you do the record, I do it for hip
hop and Nas and jay Z, Like, do you know
Nas and jay Z are getting on the song?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Absolutely because I got Nas on there first and jay
Z was the president of Death Jam at the time,
and I asked to get on there and he was like,
he kept it for a little while, he didn't say
yes right away, and then he just sent me to verse.
I was like, I got one, were you like?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I couldn't believe it for that time.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
And yo crazy, that's like I think that's only the
second time they because I think did the Black Republican
record on.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
The NAS album absolutely and it was a DJ Premier beat,
So I kind of knew it's hard for them to
turn down the DJ Premiere, but they both work with
Premiere numerous times. What better way to get NAS and
jay Z on a song than to get the DJ
Premiere to produce it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
You have been known to hop on other people's songs
and steal the show. What is the time someone's hopped
on one of your records where you feel like they
got the better of you?
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Man? I always tell people this, man Shauna as an artist, like,
I always had to watch myself, Like I knew she
was gonna get on the records, like spitting fast and
like and having lyrics and annunciation. I always was like,
I gotta watch Shawna. So I feel like I can't.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
I got to think of a specific record, but Shawna
just femail wise one of the.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I always say she's one of those left on rappers
ever crazy.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
But I got to think about it.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
I got to think about when somebody came on my
record and absolutely annihilated it or annihilated me. I feel
like it's arguable if somebody, I feel like it. I
feel like you've done that a lot were you like
you steal the show. I appreciate that for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
When you end up on this Justin Bieber baby song,
obviously Justin Bieber hughes at the time, but he's not,
but like well like on you like there was like
a buzz on YouTube like street folks like, but this
is the song that like breaks him for show like
baby is the first joint. Yeah, And you're like, like,
how does that because because at that time, you're kind
(28:14):
of you're you're kind of in the Hollywood space a
little like.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
A little bit, but still you still have people wondering
why I would do a song with like a thirteen
year old kid, right, So, you know, I got a
lot of backlash. And it's funny because right after I
didn't embrace them, the entire hip hop community has embraced
Justin Bieber and the then you know, next thing, you know,
he continues to ascend and he's he has this community
(28:38):
and has this community, and he all of.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
A sudden has everyone.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah. So I was like, I never went off of
someone's age or you know, like someone's race. I always
go off of when I listen to the song if
I feel it in my heart. And now when I
listen to that song, I knew it was a hit record.
And I just stepped on there and just talked from
my point of view of when I was that age
and next thing, you know, the rest is history.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Do you feel like that, like like I feel like
when you get on certain like records in of that
big do you feel the difference, like, oh, ship, there's
a lot more little kids who like.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Oh my god, bro, Like, I got two names in
these streets. I'm Ludacris and that's the that's the dude
that's on the song with Justin Bieber. Right. I mean
that to say that there's a whole other generation of
kids that know me from being on that song. Some
people will be like, Yo, that's Test from Fast and Furious.
Oh that's Ludacris. Oh that's a that's that's that's lude
he was on Justin Bieber's song.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
That's how huge that damn song was.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
You've done conceptual albums throughout your career, obviously Battle the
Sexes we talked about Theater.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Of the Mind.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
The first time I met but let kV.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
He was in Phoenix, he was like, I just want
to start off and say I don't like your oving
battle of the sexist. I was like, okay, but I'm
a fan. Did I say that, No, it's something to
that effect.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
I met you in Vegas first of one of these.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I think we was in. I think we was in. Yeah,
maybe it was.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I didn't love it.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I love I mean, look, look my chicad was cool.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I said it to tell you that I appreciated your honesty.
I still got a gold plaque from this damn album.
I didn't feel a certain way about it. You got
a big record.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
I'm not mad at you, bro. Sometimes you got to
speak your mind.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
You know how many radio individuals are scared to speak
they mind.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
You gave your opinion. Yeah, everyone has an opinion.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I remember the first time, the first time I met Common,
I told comm and I'm like, yo, you got my
six favorite album of all time?
Speaker 3 (30:24):
What did he say?
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And he was like six And I was like, yeah, yeah, Resurrection,
it's like six seven for me up by the way,
before the six he just looked at me like I
was crazy.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Like yeah, thanks, yeah, yeah, that's Bootleg Cat, this is
Bootleg cab Ladies and gentlemen. That's how he gets down.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
What is the vibe for this new project, because it
feels like you are like very much dialed in the
new Glorilla records dropping Friday.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Hell yeah, he had the luxury of listening to these
records early. But man, just that hunger back. Wait till
you hear some of these these sixteens and these metaphors
and the things that people really want from me, rapping fast,
rapping slow, the versatility. I feel like when it all
goes down, I want to be remembered as the one
of the ones that had the multi faceted it approach,
(31:10):
like I could do anything. MVP that was another record
I did. Most Valuable Player means when you talk about
hit records, you want to talk about verses, You want
to talk about lyrics, you want to talk about features,
you want to talk about.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Anything hip hop.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
When you put all of those things together, the summation
of all Ludacris, all categories, that's what this is. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Do you feel like because I feel like you're one
of the greats of all time?
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:36):
But do you feel like because you're ludicrous and you
are you have so much personality? I feel like it
happens sometimes with Buster and Rymes. Buster and Rhymes is
one of the greatest of all time. Yeah, but I
feel like sometimes when you have so much personality on records,
like I feel like you overlook you get overlooked in
those conversations.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Thousand percent, and it's like kind of an underdog. But
I'm gonna be honest with you, man, I wouldn't have
any the other way, because that's also what makes me
unique and makes me stand out, is having that type
of personality. And it always has me keeping that I
have something to prove, and I like the essence of
always having something to prove. I'm not gonna lie to you.
(32:14):
That's what keeps me going. So that competitive nature is
I love it. I love it, and like I feel
like it's just you've had this run as like as
a person.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Like you, I don't know how I feel like. You've
hosted iHeart Awards and you've been at the iHeart Words
two years straight doing some shit.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Man.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Bro Like that's what I'm saying. I'm so curious of
a person. I just love trying different things. And when
I was in radio, that's what might have even gave
me the bug to say, let me try and go
host this, or let me go try and be on
this show, or let me do this because the opportunity
presents itself. I'm gonna make sure everybody knows that I'm
capable of doing it all when it comes to this
(32:50):
entertainment business. And I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Shout out to Raffi Lag Group our family. Yes, it's
been so dope to partner with, you know, such a
name and brand and somebody who I am. Actually I'm
a customer of. Shot out to Raffi Law Group, man
Arizona's premier personal injury law firm. And I don't just
put my name on anybody. When we do this stuff
on the Bootleg cap podcast and you see us partnering
(33:12):
with brands, We're very selective about who we connect with.
And Raffi is someone who's actually helped my family, helped
my wife get a settlement all right, has helped over
seventy thousand people in Arizona. No matter what happens, man,
car accident, crash, injury, you maybe get bit by a dog,
I don't know, whatever it is, Raffi Law Group makes
(33:34):
the process less stressful. They put money in your pocket.
Yes the name you can trust. You already know, man,
Raffi Law Group. Save the number just in case, because hey,
you get into a car accident tomorrow, you gotta call
Raffi six two three three eight eight four three three
three And want to wish a big happy birthday to
Raffi's just celebrated his fortieth birthday. We had a good
(33:55):
time in Vegas. Fifty cent was there, pauly d was there,
mad Rich was there. E c Rock was there. It
was a movie, all right, Secretary of State was there.
We were just hanging out, man show.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Look.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Shout out to Brandon Raffi. Don't forget Raffi Law Group.
The only calling you to make if you're an AZ
and you get into an accident, or you get into
any sort of injury situation, they'll take care you immediately
call Raffi.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Baby. Let's get back to the podcast.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
So Yo, I remember the first movie that I saw
you in was Crash, which is a fucking crazy movie.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
They won an Oscar Man Wild Movies.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
That was that your first first movie?
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Or was it Too Fast?
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Was the first movie? I was in the wash before that?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Shout out to DJ Pooh Wash, Yeah, I made an
appearance a great yeah with doctor Dre Shout So then
Too Fast, Too Perious, and then Crash was the was
the third one, and everybody did that movie. You see
all those A list actors, We all took like less
pay because it was an independent album. The cast was
insane and there was no budget for the movie, so
everybody agreed to take money on the back end and
(34:55):
it ended up winning an Oscar. So everybody made the
right decision. And that's where I met Lorenz Tate, that's
one of my best friends. Crazy.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yeah, do you feel like do you feel like that?
That was like the movie that kind of like really
because that's a serious movie. That's like that's when I
think Motherfuckers was like, Yo, Ludacris could act.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
That's what. That's literally what made me kind of cross
over because at that time, if you will remember, it
was a lot of actors pissed that anybody in the
music industry or rappers got an opportunity just because they
were rappers to get a roll. So we were beating
out a lot of actors that have done this for
all their lives and getting rolls. And so when I
did Crash, it was like Okay, I'm accepted into this
(35:32):
acting community. They're not mad that I just was a
rapper that got an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I always wonder because you're one of the guys we
always hear we're in La. You know, there's all this
conversation about like when La hip hop ran shit, which
was the nineties with Snoop and Dre and Tupac, and
then you know, obviously the East Coast had it before then,
but there's this like Atlanta run that has been happening
for the last twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
It hasn't stopped.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
It hasn't stopped. But you're kind of like you're like
the first in the first.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Batch outcast man.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
No, no, I'm talking about outcast was like outcast was
a thing obviously.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Yeah, well solo artists absolutely, But I mean just.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
In terms of like I think of like you guys
running ship kind of sonically, it was like kind of
the beginning was like welcome to Atlanta, and then that
moved into like Little John and the crunk era, and
then the ship just hasn't stopped obviously the future.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
But like you, honestly just you just messed me up
right there because I'm so humble. I try not to
take credit before me. You had Outcasts, you had Goodie Mob,
you had Parento with Yeah, I mean I got a
Quimini right there.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
I mean, that's my my third favorite album of all
time in terms.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Of solo artist.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
After Outcasts, it wasn't many solo artists like what I'm saying,
man were making waves. Man, thank you for making me
realize this.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Yo, I appreciate. I know I came here for.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
When you're started with. Like I mean, obviously shots are
Socio Deaf and JD, but.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Absolutely Man, he had Chris Kross and he had other artists,
but yeah, solo, I had.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
To think, like you kicked off. The twenty five year run.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Of anything has come from this interview.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
We have just two thousand, right to two thousand's your first.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Album thousand, nineteen ninety nine to be complete that that
was incog Negro back for the first time was two thousand.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
So if you think about it.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Bootleg keV has just made a revelation.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Wow, when you get the idea from JD to do
Welcome to Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
Yeah, you know we basically strong arm that record and
said we're gonna put this on my word of Mouth
album at the end, Yeah, exactly because it was hidden track, right,
And so now this is the anthem for all things Atlanta,
which we greatly appreciate. There are a bunch of other
Atlanta anthems, but this is one of them. World Cup
coming obviously, we're gonna be a part of all of that.
(37:46):
So yeah, man, I just thank JD for that.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
He was on one.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
You you're obviously the guy who kind of kicks the door,
and I feel like for like this new wave of
Atlanta artists. And then it kind of pivots into like
the Trap era, which is like obviously Tip and Gez
and all that was what was it like kind of
coexisting in the city where there's like this BM but
you're like, Luda, I feel like I always got positive
vibes from you.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Let me tell you something. I never have negative vibes.
It's always somebody messing with me. Then I have to
respond it's I'm never but I am toy jealous of anyone,
never in my entire career.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
You're like this crazy force of like just superstardom. And
then at the same time, there's like kind of this
underground movement of like the Boys in the Hood album
comes out by the way, I was on bad Boy,
but Jeeze's your label mate on Death Jim, what's it
like that era being ludicris while the trap shit's bubbling?
Speaker 2 (38:38):
I mean the same time. Tell you something I've said
this before, like, uh, team one on one, like j
Z's first album. I know he had a bunch of mixtapes,
but I was such a fan. Yeah, so I'm I'm
loving it. To answer your question, I'm loving it. I was.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
I'm a JEZ fan.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Yeah, can you tell me.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Thug Motivation one on one? It's a classic album to me.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
I'm just saying it's de only one of the greatest
greatest albums the show.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Shout out to Geez.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
You guys never kicked the can around about doing just
like a fucking Transformers Voltron version of like a OG
like like you g Z T I just get together,
have JD's executive produce it.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
I know, I know there's been conversations like but nothing
has ever come to fruition. I even remember I know
GZ and TI I think they were talking about doing
something together before. There's been conversations of you know, intot
like It's been a lot of that. It's just nothing's
ever come to fruition. Yeah, that'd be crazy. It would
be me Usher and Lil John and talking about trying
(39:37):
to make something happen. That'd be crazy.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
John and Luda got to do it again.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
You guys got Lovers and Friends?
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Man, come on, man, yeah, classics?
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Did you guys?
Speaker 1 (39:45):
Did you guys ever start?
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Oh? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (39:46):
You going yeah?
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Yeah, Yes, that's what I'm saying. These are too and
Lovers and Friends. There was never a video to that.
It still went number one. We never saw a video.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Yes, probably, I mean I feel like, yeah, at a
certain point in time, was the biggest song ever.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
It's like number seventeen, biggest song of the century. That's
how that song and Jesus Christ crazy on Billboard. What
do you think is bigger that? Or Baby? That's actually
a good ask question. Baby is bigger on YouTube for sure.
I think it has over a billion views or something
like that. Matter of fact, Baby is diamond is yeah, diamond,
that's a good question. Better be fucking diamond. That's a
(40:18):
good question. Bro. Those them things are neck and neck.
Talk about publishing Jesus.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
And then like radio play, I know for a while,
there hadn't been another song that got played more on
the radio than Yeah, there was like held the record
for a sec.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
I don't know what it is now, but that song is. Yeah,
that's what I'm saying. That's why, that's why it's one
of them century songs. That's a century song. How often
do you get those? Not often? Yeah? No, Yeah. So
it's like when I do shows now, you gotta think
it's people that have been in the game for twenty
five years with me. But then you got people that
might not have been born when the first album came out,
(40:52):
and I'll do baby, and then a whole nother section
of the crowd is going crazy. Dude, you do have
all time Caucasian rap.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Songs, generation generational songs.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
I mean, we're talking about bar Mitzvah's fucking weddings, birthday parties, corporative. Yeah,
move bitch, something about this like move bitches, like a
It's forever.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
Live shows is listen.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
I will never stop doing live So it's like one
of the greatest It's the greatest thing of being an
artist in my opinion. Like, I love performing. Somebody paid
money to come see me. I'm giving you everything I
got on that stage. Man, how everything?
Speaker 1 (41:27):
How cool is it to have a roller coaster at Universal?
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Now? It's dope.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
It's supposed to open in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Right, because you guys have the like the other version
where you like go through and you sit in the
car and then you guys are on each side.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
But that was got the real joint. That wasn't as exciting.
It's right here is gonna be exciting?
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Are you gonna pull up?
Speaker 2 (41:42):
And I got to the only problem is every time
I get on a roller coaster nowadays, I get a headache.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
So I don't know what that's about. My equilibrium is off.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
You're just old man. I get to say, that's what
it is.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Yeah, yeah, thousand percent.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But I gotta do this one fast and furious ride
Universal Studios, Ladies and gentlemen, it's what he's talking about. Yeah, No,
they've been building. It looks crazy. I mean I think
it's finished.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
He has done it. That's what I said. In two weeks,
I believe they gonna debut that thing.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
What is uh?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
You know, when when can we expect this new album?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
New album before the end of the year?
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Yeah, hell yeah? Dropping singles we just we like to
call it getting back in the blood stream. It's been
a minute, so we we out here getting back in
the blacks stream. We heating up.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Is there anybody who you'd like to work with on
this new album or just some newer artists that you
are fans of? Obviously you're working with Glow on the
new single, but yeah, there are artists that you just
are just taking notes of, Like I like what this
person's doing.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
Yeah, man, let me think about that. Who do I
love right now? Definitely love it. I mean I work
with Chris Brown before, but would love to work with
him again. I love what he's doing in the touring space. Man,
every every time he goes, it's just something totally crazy.
But like Don Tolliver, love Don Tolliver in Atlanta, I've
(42:52):
worked with. I've done a song with Future for him,
but I've never had Future on one of my songs
that would be dope. So yeah, just to name a few.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
It on a like a Conway the Machine record, like
scatter Brand.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Yeah, I think you guys might have did that on TV.
I think he did it on He did it on
one of the late night shows. I don't know if
you were there for it. But what what like that's
some underground boom back rap ship. What like what brings
Conway to the machine, to.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Your radar to do a record with?
Speaker 3 (43:19):
He hit me up. He hit me on it. Man.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
When I had a show one time in Buffalo, New York,
and I got to meet him and he was saying
how much of a fan he was, and I was like,
bro let's work. And he sent me that record and
the rest is history. And j I d Is another
one that I love. I've worked with him before too.
Speaker 3 (43:34):
I love.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Oh That's dope, extra dope. Yeah, yeah, I love he
was styling on records he's called and he deserved that nomination.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
You know, I wish you would have actually for the Grammy.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
He deserved that. Man.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
That album is insane. You're gonna make me go listen
to that when I leave you.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Great album, man.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Great album.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
Is DTP still, like are you still trying to sign
artists or is it? Are you guys kind of just
is are you the loan artist on DTP?
Speaker 3 (43:59):
Now we still have artists?
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Something that would be like we'll be announcing some stuff
soon and we're still working. Man, It's like we got
I got songs with Seanna and Chingey. We're gonna start
breaking some things out. So again, it's just bringing everything
full circle.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yeah, Chinky's been on the road's been moving around absolutely.
One night, I just I was at eleven and eleven
we booked Nelly, Chiney was hanging out.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Yeah, I was like, yo, you doing records.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
Saint Louis. They love man, they got love for one
another at the end of the day. Yeah, it's all sure.
There might be a new Chiney album coming on.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
Cheeky's working on his album.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
He's not currently signed to DTP, but right now we're
working on songs together.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
That's fine still yeah, just because it's love. Yeah, we'll
listen new album hopefully before the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Hell yeah, pull over video and go stream that is
and go check out the video on YouTube. Me and
Golo Rilla for all the real hustlers twenty twenty six
that song, go stream.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
That crazy yeah, man, and one more video on the way.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
For this coming.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
We well, we'll let you know that it's in a second.
We might have even more records dropping.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
On is the fast Interferio has already filed. Nope, so
you still in.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Order for this to come out March twenty twenty eight,
Universal has it on their calendar. We got to be
shooting by top of next year. Oh so yeah, yeah,
so we shall see and do we think?
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Like, is everyone coming back together?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Is it gonna be? I haven't got the script yet, promise.
I wish I could tell you. I don't want to
tell you nothing wrong. I don't want to give you
false information.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
Is Vin Diesel as cool as he seems?
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Too cool?
Speaker 3 (45:22):
The coolest?
Speaker 1 (45:22):
I met him at a Super Bowl party I was
DJ and at and like fuck, I don't even remember
what year was, but he was so cool.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Too cool. And by the way, in his off time
he'd be in the studio.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
This man probably got over one hundred songs and nobody
he sings, He raps, he does it all. Please convince
him to put it out.
Speaker 3 (45:37):
He has put some out.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
But what I mean by that is he's a true artist,
right Like he's behind the scenes making sure scripts and
stuff are right, getting his act and stuff right. And
just like when he's his mind constantly has to do art.
He's drawing, he's painting, like he is an artist.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Bro, you gotta love it.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Shout out to Vin diesel Man, what do you you
said your favorite fastest five?
Speaker 2 (46:00):
That's your favorite? Absolutely? Yeah, go back and look at that,
the way it flows, the screenplay, the dynamic of Dwayne Johnson,
and then together like everything comes for like that.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
That movie is the best.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
When like those two guys have like a civil war
going on behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Do you feel conflicted because you're cool with both of them,
we just don't get in it, like that's that's between
those two individuals.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Whenever the powerhouses in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (46:25):
Yeah, but everything is fine now, But when there was
that issue, you just let two men kind of you know,
dupe that out.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
Last quick question, I twenty son is popping, destroy Lonely.
I love that he signed a Playboy CARDI he's a fucking.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
He's a beast popping man. I support. I support everything
he's doing. Man, I'm so happy to see that. And
never in a million years would you think that, like
one of my partners, his son would come and do
what he's doing right now, because I remember when he
was a young kid, and so I just love to
see that maturation.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I twenties got one of the greatest tones and voices
in hip hop history.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
Absolutely shout out to Odd got songs with him too,
new shit, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Oh fire, Well listen, Luda. I appreciate you, man. There's
a lot of stuff going on. Go ride the fucking
roller coaster, Universal Studios.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
You gotta come with me, man, we both got to
get a headache.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
We're gonna get a headache together. New single with Glow.
If you're listening to this, it'll be out. And of
course pull Over is out. Videos, crazy crazy new album
on the way before the end of the year, sir.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Next time I do an interview, I'll tell you the name.
We'll figure out a name.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
I love to hear it. Man, it's been I see
the DTP twenty five. It's been twenty five years.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Twenty five years and counting. That is crazy, absolute full
circle moments. Man. I just want to say, I'm blessed
to be in the game this long and y'all have
kept these records alive.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
We're gonna continue to make you proud.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Just legendary run as a label too. Man, you guys
have had some incredible love.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Shaka Zulu in the building.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Chakazulu, the legend. It's in the building there, it is
my dog. Appreciate you Thank you bro.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yes, what up? Y'all were here at Ease you already know.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
If you're in La Southern cal Man, tap in, go
to the website right now, use that promo code boot.
You're gonna get thirty percent off Flower concentrates, whatever you're into,
they got it thirty percent off. Go to ease dot
com right now, it'll get.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
Delivered right to your door.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Or if you're in LA, pull up because we're here
right now.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Come on, messhout out to Ease
Hosts And Creators
James Andre Jefferson Jr.
Bootleg Kev
Brian Baumgartner
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