THE FAST TRACK

Vibe.com, July 18th, 2003

If Ludacris sounds like he's spoiling himself, that's because he is. After all, the 25-year-old MC's two Def Jam South albums have sold more than 6 million units in three years, and he's currently one of the most bankable stars in the Def Jam universe. Ludacris expresses his life's outlook in competitive terms: outworking the other guy, competing, staying on the grind. And the near future promises to be even more intense. On top of 2 Fast 2 Furious, he has two movies in production, a new album, Chicken and Beer, due in August, not to mention his duties as the CEO of Disturbing Tha Peace Entertainment. Success for rappers isn't just marked by beats and rhymes anymore, it's making yourself the center of a multimedia mage machine that puts your face and voice in as many places as possible. "This is all about longevity," Ludacris says, easing his Caddy out of the garage. "At this point, people are starting to recognize what kind of serious artist I am. A lot of people don't think long term.

In this business, it comes down to who wants it the most." He pounds his chest for emphasis. "I want it more than anybody I know." Before Ludacris was a rapper with a slick tongue, he was a radio jock on the local rap station. "It seems funny that I would end up in radio," he says of his stint as a jock on ATL's urban Hot 97.5. "I hardly listened to the radio when I was a kid. I was more into entertaining friends." Ludacris would rule the halls in impromptu rap battles at ATL's Banneker High School, where he also wrestled as a 130-pounder his freshman year. "You would never know that two-minute periods could be so long," he says, remembering one challenging opponent. "It seems like an easy thing to do, but you get out there, and after the first 15 seconds, you are just through. I remember I broke somebody's arm, and as fucked up as it sounds, I was glad because it gave me a chance to rest." Aside from gasping for air on the wrestling mats at Banneker, he was falling under the musical spell of his childhood favorites, 8ball & MJG and UGK. "To me, they were what rap was about," he says. "Ball and MJG put out their first record, Comin' Out Hard, and had it sell with no radio play. That's why I called my second major-label record Word of Mouf, because I liked the idea of becoming popular on the underground, where people tell each other about who's hot." To Read The Rest Of This Story, Get This Issue At Your Local Newsstand Now! To Receive a Full Year of VIBE for $9.95, Click Here!