Atlanta MC Ludacris‘s 2004 studio album Red Light District calls on a lavish roster of producers headed up by Timbaland, Organized Noise, and Polow Da Don, for its varied tracks. But it all has one thing in common: A punchline master that takes obvious delight in rattling off a seemingly endless supply of boasts. It begins at the beginning. On the gnarly Timbaland-crafted “Intro,” Luda swiftly moves from bragging about cashing checks from four different record labels and selling more records than Elvis to claiming he’s carrying Def Jam on his again. Because the minute-and-a-half opening salvo involves a halt, Ludacris indicators off with the kind of informal aptitude that units the tone for the album’s relentlessly entertaining lyrical one-upmanship: “I’m the best and I ain’t really gotta say that s–t.”
Hearken to Ludacris’s Purple Gentle District now.
Up subsequent, the DJ Inexperienced Lantern-crafted “Number One Spot” runs with a slinky pattern of Quincy Jones’s 1962 brassy huge band outing “Soul Bossa Nova” that sees Luda nod to the Austin Powers film and take photographs at conservative TV host Invoice O’Reilly; “Get Back” prompts the MC to vent at anybody working their mouth at him over an aggressive synth-propelled battle membership backdrop (produced by The Drugs Males and Tic Toc); and “Put Your Money” is a cash-centric tirade that launches Luda on a playing spree that climaxes with the MC feasting on cheesecakes with P Diddy. (The cheesecake, after all, refers back to the notorious Making The Band 2 episode by which Diddy despatched his nascent group throughout the Brooklyn Bridge to deliver him dessert.)
Purple Gentle District‘s expansive checklist of producers – together with DJ Toomp, Salaam Remi, and Needlz – is mirrored by equally high-grade friends. DMX provides a contact of raspy menace to the aforementioned “Put Your Money,” hookmaker-for-hire Nate Dogg blesses the guitar-infused “Child Of The Night,” and Compton icon DJ Quik brings a funk-centric bounce to “Spur Of The Moment.”
Ending Purple Gentle District is “Virgo.” At first, the team-up of golden period beatboxing party-starter Doug E Recent and Queensbridge poet par excellence Nas appears a bit random. It instantly turns into clear, nonetheless, that they’re conceptually united by their star signal standing. Over a Salaam Remi backdrop that exudes old-school panache, the trio regale amorous pursuits. “Now I was so fresh and so fly in diamonds/ When I stepped up in the club even my eyes was shining,” recounts Luda, earlier than weaving in references to Recent and Slick Rick‘s 1985 anthem “La Di Da Di.” It all comes off seamlessly, positioning Luda’s ceaseless bragging and boasting as fully in sync with hip-hop’s heritage.
Hearken to Ludacris’s Purple Gentle District now.
