A wild ride with Ludacris: versatile Dirty South rapper ups his game with producing, acting

CHRISTOPHER BRIDGES wants a motorcycle. Sounds simple enough. Grown man. $$$. Free will. Motorcycle. But when your "game" name is Ludacris, life tends to get a little more complicated. "Nobody will let me motorcycle because they don't want me to get into an accident," Ludacris says from his home in Atlanta.

And that's probably one of the rare time recently that anyone has said 'no' to the versatile performer who is having one of those career years others only dream bout. Not only did he have another chart-topping CD hit the streets, but he also had star time in Crash and Hustle & Flow, two of the year's best-reviewed films.

"This year definitely exceeded my expectations," Ludacris, 28, says. "I feel like this year, I got my respect as an actor. And dropping my fourth album took me to a higher plateau. So many artists don't make it to their second album, let alone their fourth, so I'm extremely blessed and so happy with everything that went on this year. And I just want to try to top it next year."

When that fourth disc, Red Light District, dropped in December and skyrocketed to No. 1, the world of hip-hop, it seemed, finally had to give Luda his due. And although CDs from two acts on his Disturbing Tha Peace label (with co-CEO Chaka Zulu) came and went, Ludacris is basking in the success of Bobby Valentino, and is looking forward to a fifth disc. He also upped his profile by appearing with R&B songstress Ciara on her chart-topping single, "Oh."

"His work ethic is crazy," Ciara says of the artist. "He's definitely not the typical rapper. I can also say that he's one of the most underrated rappers out there. People don't know him for what he really does. He's so creative and so freakin' talented ... He's in the studio 24/7, going hard at it. He never stops thinking."

Hip-hop has always been a thinking man's game, and Ludacris is no exception. Born in Illinois and raised in Atlanta, Ludacris grew up as an only child in a time and place where there were a "lot of negative things going on." Ludacris says he "kept his head" and "never gave in to selling drugs and things of that nature."

"It was going on around me 100 percent," Ludacris says now. "But I was always that guy who wanted to, loved to, rap. I was always into music, always went to talent shows and open mics. That's how all this stuff came about."

Ludacris parlayed that love of R&B and hip-hop into a gig at one of Atlanta's top radio stations, and he appeared on a 1998 track with Timbaland. Instead of signing with a major label at that time, Ludacris recorded an independent album, Incognegro, in 1999. Def Jam signed him in 2000 and--believing that they could tap into the Southern-flied hip-hop flava--created Def Jam South around him. His major label debut, Back for the First Time, dropped that same year, and heralded the rise of the Dirty South. In 2003, Ludacris made mainstream headlines when a TV talk show host berated Pepsi for signing the star to an endorsement deal. While he lost the deal, Ludacris was able to keep the money and the increased exposure, which didn't hurt his career at all.

In addition to the almost never-ending studio work, Ludacris' breakout roles in two of this year's hottest films, Crash and Hustle & Flow, have Hollywood insiders talking. He more than held his own with heavyweights Don Cheadle and Larenz Tate in Crash, and he convincingly tried to jack Terrence Howard's redemption in Hustle & Flow. Although Ludacris says he is reluctant to discuss any film projects that may be in the works, he admits that acting has become a passion--another arena for him to express his creativity. And he likes the fact that he has another medium for his fans to embrace.

"I'm just happy that everything came out the way it did," Ludacris says." I was always interested in acting; I just didn't know it would come so soon ... It is exciting going through a process that can take months or years and finally seeing time finished product and how people react to it. The same way music makes a difference, movies can make a difference in people's lives."

Making a difference is at the top of Ludacris' list of priorities. And he's most rewardingly been able to do that through the Ludacris Foundation, which was founded in 2001. His mother, Roberta Shields, is the president of the foundation, which has the tagline "helping youth help themselves."

"Being able to give back to the community in extremely large ways, that makes me happy," says Ludacris, who enjoys swimming, movies, basketball and riding four-wheelers in his rare spare time. "That's what I'm put on earth to do, give back--not only musically, but definitely in the community."

Ludacris says he is also proud of giving back to his family and friends, employing many of them. He has cultivated a strong sense of family, purpose and privacy. He refuses to talk about his romantic relationship, saying, "We'll keep that under wraps"; but he has a toddler daughter named Karma.