Revisiting November 2022 Review: As is always the case for a Ludacris album, it kicks off with some aggressive bars over a hard beat. The Austin Powers themed 'Number One Spot' is still entertaining. How tough is it not to scream the "Get back motherfucker/You don't know me like that!" refrain in the chorus of 'Get Back' that feels like a cousin of 'Stand Up'? Impossible is the answer! Given that it features another icon in DMX, 'Put Your Money' is the first disappointing moment and isn't one I've felt like repeating. X is only on the repetitive hook... Why have him and not have a verse? I don't know either. 'Blueberry Yum Yum' is the obligatory weed song and isn't a badly put together one with somewhat of a fresh sound. 'Child of the Night' has always been one of, if not my favourite, Ludacris song. Nate Dogg joins forces again but this time it's better than 'Area Codes'. The chorus, production, verses. All dope! ' 'Potion', that is Timbaland staying very much in his lane, isn't his best but isn't bad to hear as you play through the album. 'Pass Out' continues with somewhat of an electro feel and is about the same quality. Then 'Spur of the Moment' hits that is one of Luda's best tracks, and while it features DJ Quik, and sounds so much like a Quik beat, it's credited to LT Moe. You can't listen to this uplifting track and not feel good. It feels a bit like Pac's 'Heartz of Men'. 'Who Not Me' is a decent, hard-hitting 'fuck you' kind of song. And then 'Large Amounts', that samples 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two' from 'Oliver', sees Ludacris spit about getting rich and those after his money. This is a common theme on rappers' albums once they get big, but he does it in a way that is still interesting. 'Pimpin All Over the World' is another okay pop-rap Luda and Bobby V collaboration, but the best of them comes on Bobby's solo albums. Perhaps motivated by his part in the Fast & Furious franchise, 'Two Miles an Hour' is another I missed talking about in my previous listens. I recently heard the remix, that just adds some featuring artists, on 'Ludacris Presents...Disturbing Tha Peace', label album and it was one of my favourites there. It loses nothing by just having Luda on it. Based on the lack of plays this has on Spotify, many are missing out on this catchy track. 'Hopeless' is also one worth playing again with more of a social/conscious message. I like how the lyrics don't just state "whitey bad" and look at it from more than one dimension that many rappers don't do. I've never loved the Nas and Doug E. Fresh assisted 'Virgo' and the rock remix of 'Get Back' doesn't do anything for me to finish the album. Like 'Chicken - N - Beer' this is one I enjoy more than my rating from many years ago suggests and have increased it. It follows on from the aforementioned album by again having a more diverse sound than his first couple and also having more high moments to add to a best of Ludacris playlist. I think the weaker few here are poorer than the ones on 'Chicken - N - Beer' though. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Number One Spot, Get Back, Child of the Night, Spur of the Moment, Two Miles an Hour, Hopeless Songs ordered (best-worst): Child of the Night ★★★★★ Spur of the Moment ★★★★★ Get Back ★★★★☆ Two Miles an Hour ★★★★ Number One Spot ★★★★ Hopeless ★★★☆ Intro ★★★☆ Large Amounts ★★★☆ The Potion ★★★ Virgo ★★★ Pimpin' All Over the World ★★★ Blueberry Yum Yum ★★★ Who Not Me ★★★ Pass Out ★★☆ Put Your Money ★★ Get Back (Rock Version) ★☆ Skit (N/A) -------------------------- Original review: Like most Ludacris albums, this features a couple of really good tracks but plenty of forgettable moments as well. It begins with a fiery intro, an interesting second track, sampling the Austin Powers theme, a banger 'Number One Spot', and the variation continues from there. With a bunch of producers, there is no theme present and the production switches between hardcore hip hop, funk, electro (thanks to Timbaland on 'The Potion') and pop/R&B joints. It wouldn't be a problem if they were dope, but there isn't enough great stuff here. There is also a generic song about blacks' plight with 'Hopeless'. To this day he remains as one of the captivating vets to never make an amazing album. Best Tracks: Number One Spot, Child of the Night, Spur of the Moment

Album two of my revisiting of Ludacris' discography. It's evident fairly early on that this album has more of a diverse sound than his major debut, 'Back for the First Time', which is mostly all on the cusp of hardcore hip hop. The diversity in production doesn't necessarily mean there is more here to enjoy though, and I think this has more songs that are skippable. It begins with an opener that goes for an epic start and it works fairly well sampling the familiar 'Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement' by Allegro Con Fuoco. Next is the well known 'Rollout (My Business)'. The hook is catchy but at the same time not that exciting and I've never loved this one. The next few are all okay with 'She Said' being the catchiest being about girls who say they haven't done particular sexual stuff but they be lying! From there, in between a racist skit, the more familiar songs come with 'Area Codes', 'Growing Pains', 'Move Bitch' and 'Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)' that are some of the best on the album. Luda and 4-Ize combine again for a freestyle over bare bones production as they did on 'Back for the First Time'. I've always thought the dark 'Cold Outside' was one of his better songs that feels a bit like 'Slap' from 'Release Therapy' and it finishes with the hard 'Block Lockdown' and the hidden track, 'Welcome to Atlanta'. Similarly to his previous album, there aren't any bad songs, but there are many that just come and go and I don't adore much. There are too many songs around 3/5. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Coming 2 America, Area Codes, Move Bitch, Cold Outside Songs ordered (best-worst): Cold Outside ★★★★☆ Move Bitch ★★★★ Coming 2 America ★★★★ Area Codes ★★★☆ Growing Pains ★★★☆ Rollout (My Business) ★★★☆ Welcome to Atlanta ★★★ She Said ★★★ Saturday (Oooh Oooh!) ★★★ Block Lockdown ★★★ Cry Babies (Oh No) ★★★ Keep It on the Hush ★★★ Word of Mouf (Freestyle) ★★★ Get the Fuck Back ★★★ Freaky Thangs ★★★ Go 2 Sleep ★★☆ Howhere (Skit) Stop Lying (Skit) Greatest Hits (Skit)

Very entertaining, and at times moving, given what the guests have been accused of doing, but like many of these shows, the behind the scenes actions of the producers and staff are troubling. Steve himself says he doesn't trust the results of a lie detector test, but then once the guests fail one on the show, he takes it as gospel.

Album three of my Ludacris discography revisiting brings me to 'Chicken-N-Beer' that I originally had at 2.5/5 but quickly I've realised I was way too harsh. This has more of what the previous albums are missing. 'Southern Fried Intro' has an energetic and fast spitting Luda over enjoyable high tempo production. The lethal 'Blow It Out' sees Ludacris take shots at his haters including Bill O'Reilly who cops it on 'Hoes in My Room' as well. 'Splash Waterfalls' is good for a minute, but then it drags on a lot and feels like a long song. It's a missed opportunity with the likeable sample. On the other hand, 'Hard Times' is longer but flies by. 'Hard Times' and the Kanye West produced 'Stand Up' have some of the best production Ludacris had received or produced himself up to this point in his career. 'Diamond in the Back' features some nice soulful production too with Ludacris' laid-back delivery suiting the instrumental well and 'P-Poppin'' has dope funky production. So, just over half way, and the production is a winner. The tail isn't as strong, but still features good moments including the closer, 'Eyebrows Down', that has some of the more interesting introspective and storytelling verses from Luda up until this point in his career. The penultimate song, 'We Got', with its cough kick drums, is another good rap song. The weaker moments are, as mentioned 'Splash Waterfalls', and to a lesser degree 'Teamwork' and 'Hoes in My Room' but they aren't skips. It's worth mentioning the skits that don't hit. 'Rob Quarters Skit' about a wannabe ageing rapper isn't bad, but the rest, including 'Black man's Struggle Skit', that is just a man struggling on a toilet, is the attempt at humour we're given. Some versions also have 'Act a Fool', 'Blow It Out (Remix)' and 'Southern Hospitality (Remix)'. 'Act a Fool' from the film, '2 Fast 2 Furious', goes hard. 'Southern Hospitality (Remix)' features UK rappers Ms. Dynamite and Maxwell D and they don't mess up the great production. 'Blow It Out (Remix)' features 50 'Snake' Cent and he jumps in for the third verse. He raps completely differently devoid of the energy of Ludacris. The original is better. This isn't amazing song after amazing song, but I definitively underrated this. Overall the production is the most enjoyable from his first three albums. There is just something more to a lot of these songs than on the previous album, 'Word of Mouf'. There are more songs with replay value, the few of the best are probably in Luda's tpo 10, and there aren't as many average moments. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Southern Fried Intro, Stand Up, Hard Times, Diamond in the Back, P-Poppin', We Got, Eyebrows Down, Act a Fool, Southern Hospitality (Remix) Songs ordered (best-worst): Hard Times ★★★★☆ Stand Up ★★★★☆ Eyebrows Down ★★★★☆ Diamond in the Back ★★★★ We Got ★★★★ Act a Fool ★★★★ Southern Fried Intro ★★★★ Southern Hospitality (Remix) ★★★☆ P-Poppin' ★★★☆ Blow It Out ★★★☆ Blow It Out (Remix) ★★★ Screwed Up ★★★ Hip Hop Quotables ★★★ Hoes in My Room ★★★ Teamwork ★★☆ Splash Waterfalls ★★ Rob Quarters Skit Interactive Skit T Baggin' Skit Black Man's Struggle Skit

M.I.A.'s sound has never been my cup of tea. I love a few of her songs, but generally many have been skips. '100% Sustainable' and 'Puththi' are examples of skips on this album and it is again a mixed bag. I do though enjoy the songs with more of a conventional sound like K.T.P. and there are more of these than her previous albums that I've checked out. I've been unsure what to rate this. I don't love everything, but it's all still fairly engaging and the album feels more like ten minutes than thirty-three minutes in running time. Between a 3 and a 3.5 out of 5. Best Tracks: Beep, The One, Popular, K.T.P. (Keep The Peace), Marigold