Revisiting Review Nov 2022: When this dropped I remember liking it more than my original review states. I think I had it at 3/5 after my early listens. A few songs in, I can see why. The production is actually pretty likeable with some catchy hooks as well. After checking the whole project out, it is quite up and down though. It begins with 4 southern hip hop/crunk influenced songs that toe the line nicely between harder hip hop and pop rap. From 'I Do It All Night' the pop rap gets more prominent and some of it is good-great. 'Sex Room' has an excellently sung hook by Trey Songz that makes it stand out. Monica and Ludacris trade lines on 'Can't Live With You' that has fine production with catchy vocals. 'Feelin' So Sexy' and 'Tell me a Secret' are a level below the previously two mentioned songs but are worth repeating. None of the more straight up hip hop feeling songs live up to anything near the best of Ludacris. 'My Chick Bad' is probably the best of them with 'Everybody Drunk' having some Hypnotize Minds like production and being enjoyable as well. 'I Know You Got a Man' sounds so late '00s. A real mixed bag without enough to go back to. Ludacris makes this better than it would be with another rapper, but it's the lowest point of his discography. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Intro, Everybody Drunk, Sex Room, Can't Live With You, Feelin' So Sexy, Tell Me A Secret, My Chick Bad Remix Songs ordered (best-worst): I Can't Live Without You ★★★★☆ Sex Room ★★★★ Feelin' So Sexy ★★★☆ Tell Me a Secret ★★★☆ My Chick Bad (Remix) ★★★☆ My Chick Bad ★★★☆ Everybody Drunk ★★★☆ Intro ★★★☆ How Low ★★★☆ Hey Ho ★★★ How Low (Remix) ★★★ B.O.T.S. Radio ★★☆ Rollercoaster ★★☆ I Know You Got a Man ★★☆ Sexting ★★ I Do It All Night ★★ Party No Mo' ★☆ ---------------------------- Original Review: I think you have to take this album for what it is, a collection of songs about sex. It's not meant to be deep and I don't think Luda thought he was on a five mic project here - particularly when Shawnna dropped out of the project which changed what this album was originally going to be. Being all about sex, as you would expect, there is some generic product here, as it has been done a million times it's hard not to be, but there are a couple of instances of some originality. For example, the bonus track 'Sexting' is a take on Tiger Woods at a sex rehab clinic and 'Hey Ho''is a track which talks about the double standards of gender when it comes to playing around. With the production, it's a similar story. Nothing really stands out too much, but most are reasonably good radio friendly beats if you don't hate pop rap. Overall, this ain't great, but Ludacris is a skilled fun rapper, and if anyone was going to be on these kind of tracks I couldn't name many before I said Luda. And really, he has generally struggled in my opinion to make a cohesive album despite his presence on the mic. It's nothing special, but I like some of the songs enough to not give this a terrible rating. Best Tracks: Intro, Sex Room, Can't Live With You, Feelin' So Sexy, My Chick Bad Remix

Revisiting Review Nov 2022: As I've been revisiting Ludacris' discography over the last week or two, the phrase 'his best song' has been used a few times, but I think this album has it. Produced by Wyldfyer, 'Last of a Dying Breed' is amazing. I love the high-energy, epic feeling of the production. The rapping from Ludacris is dope, and even Wayne, who I think has ruined more songs than he has improved, gives us an enjoyable rapping performance without the cringe he is accustomed to providing. The following 'MVP' is great, with the next 'I Do It for Hip Hop' also being in the conversation for best Ludacris song. None of my opinions have changed on how much I like these songs and I still think Jay-Z is disappointing. Nas and Luda bring energy, and Jay does not. 'Call Up the Homies' sees Game and Luda trading bars, that we don't see enough on collaborations, and the production is another winner. The tracks I've talked about have been given many replays over the years. Now to the rest. The 'Intro' is your usual blazing brag-rap opening that every Luda album has attempted to have. It doesn't match most of his intros. 'Undisputed' is a decent near-banger. The rapping isn't Luda's engaging best and the verses are just broken up with Floyd Mayweather's motivational talking. T.I. and Ludacris get back together after their feud for 'Wish You Would' that's another near banger and the best of the first few songs. 'Southern Gangsta' is similar, again with no real hook, but the production is hard to dislike. There is more pop-rap and chick oriented songs than we've had before. 'Nasty Girl', 'One More Drink', 'What Them Girls Like' and 'Contagious' all fit into those categories. They are all okay. The hook to 'One More Drink' is kind of catchy but I don't miss the autotune T-Pain voice too much from the era this album is from. 'Contagious' is the most boring song on the album. The standard edition finishes with 'Do the Right Thang' that has parallels to the movie, 'Do the Right Thing', and it's better than I remember. Enjoyable jazzy production by 9th Wonder with a catchy hook. The expanded edition, that I don't know if I heard, has two extra songs. 'Let's Stay Together' sees Ludacris discuss the end of relationships including beefs in hip hop that broke up partners like The Dogg Pound, Game and 50, to basketball with Kobe and Shaq. And then the creative 'Press the Start Button' has Luda bragging with many video game related figurative language being used - "Holdin a Soul Calibur, or shoot you like Galaga / And my Creed Assassins ya, so clear the room / Before the shotgun helps you meet your Ultimate Doom, boyyyyy". I like some songs more than I remembered, but my opinion of this album hasn't changed too much. After coming from his most consistent album, 'Release Therapy', this is one of his least consistent, with the main issues being the pop rap songs that don't work, but the high points are dope. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Last of a Dying Breed, MVP, I Do It for Hip-Hop, Call Up the Homies, Do the Right Thang, Let's Stay Together Songs ordered (best-worst): Last of a Dying Breed ★★★★★ I Do It for Hip Hop ★★★★★ Call Up the Homies ★★★★☆ MVP ★★★★☆ Do the Right Thang ★★★★ Let's Stay Together ★★★★ Wish You Would ★★★☆ Intro ★★★ Southern Gangsta ★★★ Undisputed ★★★ Press the Start Button ★★★ Everybody Hates Chris ★★★ One More Drink ★★☆ What Them Girls Like ★★☆ Contagious ★★ Nasty Girl ★★ ------------------------------------------ Original Review: Theater of the Mind is full of many okay tracks. 'Last of a Dying Breed' at track 11 was the first to really catch my attention, with it's epic feeling beat and enjoyable rapping from Wayne, and then the album finishes pretty well with 'MVP' and 'I Do it for Hip-Hop'. On the latter track, Luda and Nas put in some good verses, Jay-Z sounds like he phoned it in and has by far the worst verse which easily noticeable. Overall though, the album is quite disappointing. There are too many featuring artists that I don't think Ludacris needs. Vocally he can carry tracks as he often shows when he appears on other artists tracks and he has showed on his past albums. I think he has some of the best mic presence in the genre. Like his last album this is something a tad different, but I'm not feeling the whole supposed concept of every song sounding like a scene from a movie either. I may have to pay closer attention...A rare backloaded album. Best Tracks: Last of a Dying Breed, MVP, I Do It for Hip-Hop, Call Up the Homies

There are lots of amped up, fuck you, bangin', crunk songs with some terrible advice on the lyrics - "If you sell drugs my nigga, then sell drugs" - and you'll probably be singing along to the hooks after one listen, but apart from 'No Problem', that is the album's highlight, nothing sets itself apart from so much similar music. Lil Jon produces all of these songs except 'Diamonds in My Pinky Ring' from a time when he was everywhere in the genre. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Head Bussa, No Problem, Be Real

Revisiting Review Nov 2022: Firstly, I forgot how good the rapping performance on 'Girls Gone Wild' is. As I've been revisiting these albums, I remember thinking I heard some Eminem influence on his debut album, and on the aforementioned song, I definitely hear it more so. I know Ludacris rates Em highly, but I can't say for sure that he was influenced by him. As all Ludacris albums do, this again starts off fiery with the 'Intro'. 'Grew Up a Screw Up' somewhat matches the intro for energy but I think Jeezy's different delivery hurts the song. Ludacris rapping every verse or getting a different type of rapper would've fitted the song better. Next is the Neptunes produced 'Money Maker' that is overrated given it won a Grammy for best rap song, but it's still entertaining, and the album doesn't let the listener down across the first four songs. 'Ultimate Satisfaction', sampling Benny Benassi's 'Satisfaction', goes for something very different though and is easily the worst song here. I don't like the production, the hook is boring, and the rapping doesn't save it. From 'Mouths to Feed', for the most part the content gets more serious, and it's easily the most grown up Ludacris had been on an album up until this point in his career. 'End of the Night', and the better 'Woozy' with R. Kelly, give us some pop rap/R&B in the middle of the album, but then there is a song about prisoners keeping their head up on 'Do Your Time', responsibilities on 'Mouths to Feed', a storytelling track about three different young girls in trouble with 'Runaway Love, feeling a little like Luda's version of 'Brenda's Got a Baby', and life's struggles on 'War with God' and 'Slap'. The production is never amazing, but it holds up well, and while perhaps less fun in parts, the content is more interesting from Luda, and there's only one skip. Some of his previous albums have higher highs, but this album wins for consistency with most of the album being 4/5 songs. It's his first album without stupid skits that is a bonus too when playing the album through. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: Warning (Intro), Girls Gone Wild, Mouths to Feed, Woozy, Slap, Runaway Love Songs ordered (best-worst): Girls Gone Wild ★★★★☆ Mouths to Feed ★★★★☆ War with God ★★★★☆ Slap ★★★★ Tell It Like It Is ★★★★ Runaway Love ★★★★ Grew Up a Screw Up ★★★★ Warning (Intro) ★★★★ Woozy ★★★★ Do Your Time ★★★☆ Money Maker ★★★☆ End of the Night ★★★ Freedom of Preach ★★★ Ultimate Satisfaction ★★ ------------------------------------------ Original Review: The dreads are off and we have a more serious Ludacris I reviewed this when it came out but have decided to edit it having heard Luda's other albums since (the rating is the same though). Firstly to the artist himself and Luda is one of the better rappers going around these days, particularly that you hear on the radio. He always sounds like he enjoys what he does, puts effort into it and is distinctive - put Luda over a good beat and he is probably in the top 10 of the voices I'd wanna hear. As far as this album goes, having now heard his others, I think this is comfortably my favourite one. On the whole, the beats are the most to my liking, there ain't many, if any, really 'poor/skippable' tracks like his other albums, and Luda has more to say and a larger variety of subject matter which makes it my fav. Track for track RT begins with an intro titled, ‘Warning’, for which the beat matches the title, begins the LP well and gets you into the mood. Track two, ‘Grew Up a Screw Up’, which features a Biggie sample as its hook is a fairly good track with some catchy bars that are mostly brag rap. Other tracks in this 'fairly good' vain are ‘End of The Night’, ‘Do Your Time’, ‘Freedom of Preach’ and ‘Money Maker’ which are all solid tracks but no world beaters. Oddly all of those mentioned are songs with featuring artists while the best tracks ‘Girls Gone Wild’, ‘War With God’, Tell It Like It Is' and ‘Slap’ are all just Luda himself. 'Girls Gone Wild' has a beat that I probably normally wouldn't find interesting but Luda raps excellently making the track great. I said on his '08 album, 'Theater of the Mind', that that had too many features and he really doesn't need to have many. Luda can carry tracks himself if he has something to say. However, honourable mentions are given to ‘Woozy’ and ‘Runaway Love’ which feature the legends R. Kelly and Mary J. Blige respectably. Overall, while RT is nothing brilliant it's more of what a Ludacris album should be like. I find his previous albums fairly hard to get through largely being hit or miss. This has a few too many tracks that I don't like quite enough for RT to get an excellent score but I enjoy enough. Best Tracks: Warning (Intro), Girls Gone Wild, Mouths to Feed, Woozy, Slap, Runaway Love

I'm revisiting Ludacris' discography from his first project. Overall this is more consistent than I remembered with some original production, reminding me a touch of what Juvenile used to rap over, and Luda rapping with his signature mic presence and dope voice as he has his whole career. The weakness here for me is the topics on hand. Sex, brag rap, repping yo' city, etc. There is nothing that exciting. Ludacris presents it all in an entertaining enough way. Choruses like 'Ho' is one example of some creativity with a tired topic, but after a number of playthroughs, you won't be leaving with anything to think about or remember. The worst moments are 'What's Your Fantasy' and the remix. I don't like the production much. 'Get Off Me' is okay. 'Mouthing Off' is Luda and 4-Ize over beatboxing that has some humorous lines but isn't one I'll rush back to. The final song on some versions, 'Phat Rabbit', originally found on Timbaland's 'Tim’s Bio: Life from da Bassment', is one of the weaker songs too. Everything else is decent-good, but a lot of the songs probably just have too much of a similar vibe to them to help the songs find more of their own lane in amongst the album. 'Catch' Up is my favourite from this, with 'Southern Hospitality' probably next in line, but the album doesn't have an amazing song either stopping it from receiving a higher rating. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Game Got Switched, 1st & 10, Hood Stuck, Ho, Catch Up, Southern Hospitality Songs ordered (best-worst): Southern Hospitality ★★★★ Catch Up ★★★★ Game Got Switched ★★★☆ Hood Stuck ★★★☆ 1st & 10 ★★★☆ Ho ★★★☆ U Got a Problem? ★★★ Stick 'Em Up ★★★ Mouthing Off ★★★ Get Off Me ★★☆ Phat Rabbit ★★☆ What's Your Fantasy ★★☆ What's Your Fantasy (Remix) ★★☆ Tickets Sold Out (Skit) Come on Over (Skit) Ho (Skit)