2 after ‘Release.’ There’s LL Cool J working on album No. “I felt like I reincarnated myself as a rapper,” says Ludacris. The album earned him his first Grammy Award for best rap album in 2007. Club jams (“Money Maker”) shared equal time with more emotional and introspective tracks (“Runaway Love” featuring Mary J. It’s a music-and-more balancing act that jump-started in earnest with his last album, 2006’s “Release Therapy.”įollowing critical and popular acclaim for his acting roles in “Crash,” “Hustle & Flow” and TV’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Ludacris cut his trademark braids and adopted a more serious demeanour for his fifth album. These personas are in keeping with Ludacris’ and Zulu’s concerted efforts to transition the artist beyond the short career spans most contemporary rappers encounter. And prefacing the rapper’s upcoming album are his guest stints on several other projects, including the song “Chopped & Screwed,” recently chosen as the second single from T-Pain’s third album, “Thr33 Ringz,” slated for October 28. There’s also his co-hosting stint with Motley Crue rocker Tommy Lee on environmental reality show “Battleground Earth,” which ends its run on cable channel TLC in September.Īmid these forays into film and new media, Ludacris and co-manager Chaka Zulu are busy restructuring their Def Jam-based label, Disturbing Tha Peace.

On the heels of that opening, he launched two Web sites, and. Ludacris opened his first restaurant, Straits Atlanta, almost six months ago. That’s not counting his earlier at-bats this year. He is completing the final tracks for his sixth album, “Theater of the Mind.” Bookending the album’s October 21 release are his co-starring roles in “Max Payne” (October 17), adapted from the popular “Rockstar” videogame, and Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla” (October 31). October, Major League Baseball’s clutch hitter Reggie Jackson, Ludacris is positioning himself to hit several home runs out of the ballpark this fall. October is my new nickname,” the rapper says with a laugh. “I have a new album and two movies coming out within two weeks of each other, so Mr. Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges attends the HFPA Installation Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California July 30, 2008.

Ludacris first album