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after another. His talent became known amongst his hip hop peers becoming one of the most demanded rappers for collaborations.

Christopher Brian Bridges was born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois. At the age of 12 he joined a Chicago based hip hop group called the Loudmouth Hooligans. Later that year, he and his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Banneker High School in College Park, where he would engage in freestyle battling during the lunch hour and eventually began performing in talent shows and in clubs. His professional career began as DJ personality Chris Lova Lova on the urban radio station Hot 97.5 in Atlanta. He gained attention and recognition by rapping the promotions for the station over popular hip hop beats.

Following his appearance on Timbaland's track "Phat Rabbit" in 1998, he independently released his first album Incognegro in 1999. The album sold 50,000 copies through independent Southern Music Distribution and its hit single "What's Your Fantasy" was in heavy rotation on local radio stations. In 2000, Luda was signed to Def Jam Recordings under the new Def Jam South category which was created around him.

His major Def Jam debut was with Back for the First Time on October 17, 2000. Most of the tracks on this album were taken from his independent record Incognegro. Once again "What's Your Fantasy" made a great impression as well as the smash hit "Southern Hospitality". Word of Mouf was issued in 2001 and triggered much controversy with the single "Rollout (My Business)" due to its video which was banned on many music TV stations. His increasing popularity landed him an endorsement with Pepsi as a spokesperson, however an enraged Bill O'Reilly announced a nation wide Pepsi boycott for allowing the foul mouthed violent individual to represent their product. Ludacris was fired and Ozzy Osbourne's family was hired instead.

Chicken and Beer was the following album issued in 2003. It did not receive much praise until the release "Stand Up" which was also featured in the film Honey. The song earned Ludacris his biggest mainstream hit peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. His fifth album The Red Light District, released in December 2004 featured the hit "The Number One Spot" which sampled Quincy Jones' infamous "Soul Bossa Nova". Other notable singles "Get Back" and "Pimpin' All Over The World" allowed the album to rise to first place on the charts and be certified 2x platinum. In 2005, Ludacris starred in two feature films, Crash and Hustle & Flow, both roles earning him acting credibility and admiration. Also that year, Ludacris' crew released the album Ludacris Presents: Disturbing Tha Peace which featured Bobby Valentino, I-20, and Shawnna. The album's most recognized singles are "Georgia" featuring Jaimie Foxx and "Gettin' Some". The album attained moderate success gaining the 11th spot on the album charts.

Luda is scheduled to release his fifth album Release Therapy September 26, 2006. The CD will be formatted to have two sides, "release" which consists of songs that relieve emotions, while "therapy" promotes a feel good vibe. The album also features collaborations with R. Kelly and Pharrell Williams.