A lot of rappers in the game work really hard to get where they are. One of the most hurting things considering your efforts must be when the people underestimate you even though you spent a lot of time on your project. Ludacris, the Atlanta representative, might be one of them: His last album (“Word Of Mouf”) wasn’t appreciated as well as it should have been, not as far as the numbers are concerned, but people don’t give that man the credits he deserves yet. His current release, “Chicken’n’Beer”, however, is lucky to make numbers – it just climbed to the top slot of the billboard charts – and should be able to put Luda’s lyrics on the map. Sixshot spoke to the Disturbing tha Peace frontman on a couple of things.

SIXSHOT: Ludacris, can you hear me loud and clearly?

Ludacris: Yeah.

SIXSHOT: How is it going?

Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. ="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">Ludacris: I’m very happy, you know, my album just became #1, and I am very happy with that.

SIXSHOT: Let’s talk about that record. “Chicken ‘n’ Beer”, what’s that for you? Your leisure?

Ludacris: Naw, that’s just me, man, I mean I eat a lot of chicken and I drink a lot of alcoholic beverages, so this is just what the album’s name had to be man.

SIXSHOT: How do you feel about the record on the whole? It’s making numbers right now, but how do you feel about it musically?

Ludacris: I love it, I love it from the start to the end.

SIXSHOT: It kinda sounds different in comparison to your last album (“Word of Mouf”). Is this like the album you always wanted to make?

Ludacris: Definitely man, I just love it.

SIXSHOT: Do you love it as an album or do you feel like there is a favorite track?

Ludacris: Man, every song is different, I don’t have a favorite track in that type of sense, I mean, every song is just different, you know, I’m a perfectionist, I try to make every song perfect in its own way, every song is different moods and different things, so I love it from the beginning to the end.

SIXSHOT: That’s great if someone can say that about his own album.

Ludacris: Definitely, man, I mean, you always gotta be your number one fan.

SIXSHOT: That probably has a great impact on your work ethic.

Ludacris: Yeah, man, you gotta be number fan and number one critic.

SIXSHOT: Let’s change subjects, Luda: Your bio says that you really care about your lyrics. Now a lot of rappers say that, but in the end, that’s just rap about cars, money, jewels, girls…

Ludacris: The way I feel about the rap scene, man, I mean, each his own, man, I don’t really criticize rappers, they talk about what they wanna talk about, I just try to be the best I can be and just try to stay damn sharp. As far as the state of hip hop is concerned, it changes every day, people just talk about what they see in their ‘hood and in their life, and each one raps about it in his own words. It’s like, if one guy sees one thing in his hood, he talks about it his own way.

SIXSHOT: But still, you seem to be keen on getting a message into your listeners’s ears… 

Ludacris: Yeah, of course, but each one’s got his own message. But you should have one, and you should try to bring that message across in each and every aspect of your album.

SIXSHOT: So, basically, “Chicken’n’Beer” is just the latest chapter of your message?

Ludacris: Yeah, the album will be.

SIXSHOT: Let’s change subjects once again: Keyword Bill O’Reilly. Tell it from the start.

Ludacris: Basically, this guy Bill O’Reilly has a talk show in the United States. He fought for a boycott against me [and other rappers] because he said that people shouldn’t be listening to a rapper like myself because of my rude lyrics and the cusswords. So Pepsi got me out of that ad campaign [Pepsi and I had then] because the pressure became too big [Pepsi had an ad campaign going on featuring Luda;the author] and they had to sell a good image. Personally, I think this man is a racist. You know, he’s gone after other rappers like Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z and said bad things about them. So, that’s what it came down to, man, you know, I talk about it on my new album man, I say his name. Pepsi, in the way they thought about things, they just made a donation to my Ludacris Foundation, you know, my charity foundation.

SIXSHOT: That’s what was going to be my next question anyway. You don’t seem to be the one rapper that doesn’t care about his environment and kids and stuff.

Ludacris: Yeah, man, I love the kids, man, so basically, what we do is help the kids gon’ help out themselves, that’s what we do. 

SIXSHOT: What does that mean in concrete examples?

Ludacris: Different projects, different things, man. Helping them to have a great thanksgiving, then other projects around x-mas, you know, just like the usual stuff, you know, feeding the homeless and so on.

SIXSHOT: Is this a thing that you always wanted to achieve in your career? I mean, you the foundation founder?

Ludacris: Naw, man, the thing I always wanted to achieve in my career is that people regard me as the most criticized rapper in the game. I wanna be considered at least one of the top five MCs.

SIXSHOT: Don’t you feel like being underestimated? “Word of Mouf” was dope, but people didn’t really feel it as the project it was. I thought of that album being so dope, man. Doesn’t that hurt somehow?

Ludacris: Oh well, three million people heard it like you heard it, man, and that’s enough. I mean, you can’t have all the love on this planet (laughing). To be real with you, yes, it does hurt, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt. When they don’t name me amongst the top five MCs, that’s okay, they don’t have to do that yet. You gotta get up there over time, you know what I’m saying? And if people like this album, it’s gonna make them go back and listen to the old album, I just think that in this game, it takes people a lot of time to really recognize.

SIXSHOT: Last question: Do you feel like being one of the alpha animals of the Dirty South? I mean, you had a strong impact on that one regarding Disturbing tha Peace, Chingy…

Ludacris: Yeah, man, I just don’t brag about myself a lot, I just know that.

Thanks for your time, Luda. Take care.

*Disclaimer: Exclusive Ludacris interview and text was conducted by Mario Waelti of SixShot.com.  No part of this interview may be duplicated without written permission from SixShot.com.  The interview content or text layout may not be altered in any shape or form.