Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (/ˈluːdəkrɪs/, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine where he first began rapping. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s, and his first album *Incognegro* (1999). The album was repackaged and re-released for his major label debut *Back for the First Time*, after he signed with Def Jam Recordings. The singles "Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell) and "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna), became top 40 hits on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart.

In the following years, Ludacris released the albums *Word of Mouf* (2001), *Chicken-n-Beer* (2003) and *The Red Light District* (2004), all of which were certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His next two albums *Release Therapy* (2006) and *Theater of the Mind* (2008), explored more serious content than its predecessors. His seventh album, *Battle of the Sexes* (2010), featured a return to the more lighthearted tone of his previous albums. Throughout his career, Ludacris scored two number-one singles on the *Billboard* Hot 100 as a lead artist, "Stand Up" (featuring Shawnna) and "Money Maker" (featuring Pharrell), in addition to three chart-toppers as a featuring act, on Usher's "Yeah!", Fergie's "Glamorous" and Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart". In 2010, he was featured on Justin Bieber's single "Baby", which became one of the highest-certified singles of all time in the US and a defining song in modern-day popular music.

As an actor, Ludacris is best known for his role as Tej Parker in the *Fast and Furious* film series, with his first appearance in the franchise coming in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). His other notable roles include *Crash* (2004), *Gamer* (2009), and *New Year's Eve* (2011). In 2021, Bridges created his own children's musical television series for Netflix known as *Karma's World*, in which he also served as a voice actor. Ludacris is also a private pilot.

He is often cited as one of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success in the 21st century, with several commercially and critically successful studio albums. Throughout his career, Ludacris has won three Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critic's Choice Award and an MTV Video Music Award.

### Early Life

Born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Oak Park as a teenager. After attending Oak Park River Forest High School in ninth grade, Ludacris moved to Centreville, Virginia and attended Centreville High School for one year. He attended Banneker High School in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated in 1995. From 1998 to 1999, he studied music management at Georgia State University. Ludacris' parents are both African American, and he also has more distant English and Native American ancestry. He is a distant cousin of late comedian Richard Pryor. Ludacris wrote his first rap song at age nine when moving to Atlanta, Georgia, and joined an amateur rap group three years later.