Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, 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, closing the decade with his debut album Incognegro (1999). The album was repackaged and re-released for his major label debut Back for the First Time (2000) upon signing with Def Jam Recordings. Its 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-topping Hot 100 singles as a guest performer with Usher's "Yeah!" in 2004, Fergie's "Glamorous" in 2007, and Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" in 2009. The following year, 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. According to Ludacris's family stories, one of his great-great-grandfathers was a white Jewish man who was said to be named Luther Smith. It is not clear if Ludacris's Jewish ancestry has been verified. He is a distant cousin of late comedian Richard Pryor. Ludacris wrote his first rap song at age nine when moving to Atlanta and joined an amateur rap group three years later.
Music career
1998–2000: Incognegro and Back for the First Time
Ludacris served as an intern and then a DJ at Atlanta's Hot 97.5 (now Hot 107.9) under the name "Chris Lova Lova". During his radio career, Ludacris met music producer Timbaland, whose album Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment would feature Ludacris on the track "Phat Rabbit" (credited as Ludichris).
Speaking with MTV's hip hop show Direct Effect in 2000, Ludacris explained his stage name was a play on the word "ludicrous".
In 1999, Ludacris released his debut album Incognegro through his independent label Disturbing tha Peace. Def Jam South would later repackage Incognegro with some new songs added into Ludacris's major label debut Back for the First Time in 2000. The album reached number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and included the singles "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna) and "Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell Williams), which respectively reached the nos. 21 and 23 spots on the Billboard Hot 100.