The rappers who influenced Ludacris’ career: “To name a few”
Ludacris started rapping early. He claims to have written his first ever rap song at the young age of nine, before joining a hip-hop group a few years after that. Music, clearly, was a part of who he was as a kid, and he was going to be surrounded by it one way or another.
Speaking to ConcertLivewire in 2003, Ludacris reflected on how central music was to his younger years. “Man,” he said, “it was all ’bout music. I used to wake up every day listening to music that my parents would put on, and that’s what got me so interested.”
It wasn’t just the sounds that intrigued him so much as a kid, because, even then, he had a taste for showmanship. “I loved the whole aspect of entertaining,” he said, before listing off some of those entertainers that he loved. “I grew up on James Brown, Run DMC, Fat Boys, ya know?”
It was his passion for these artists that got him writing music for himself. “I wrote my first rhyme when I was like nine years old,” he said. “Then I would do demo tape after demo tape and I’ve been in the studio ever since.”
Ludacris was so inspired by his musical idols that he pursued his own career in the spotlight. But such was his love of the craft that, had he not made it as a rapper, he probably would have worked in the business in some other capacity. He studied music management at Georgia State University for a while, and he also worked as a radio DJ for a spell, too.
It was through this radio job that Ludacris met Timbaland, who eventually used him on a song called ‘Fat Rabbit’ on his 1998 album Tim’s Bio. This marked the beginning of his career as a recording artist, and, in 1999, he released his debut, Incognegro. He’d achieved his dream of making it in hip-hop.
As a rapper specifically, Ludacris held several figures as sources of inspiration. “I’ve been influenced by many people,” he told ConcertLivewire, “especially the Ghetto Boys, Uncle Scarface, which is the president of Def Jam. People like 8Ball and Outkast, to name a few.”
This Scarface person that he mentioned was especially important for getting Ludacris’ career off the ground. Scarface was a rapper, but, as Ludacris touched upon, he was also the president of Def Jam South between 2000 and 2005. In this role, he proved indispensable for Ludacris.
Ludacris is a proper show business figure, who, in addition to his music career, also acts in movies and TV shows. Naturally enough, he was inspired by people working in these fields, too, and they fed into his musicality as well as his acting.
“A lot of movies influence me,” he said. “I like to watch comedians for a laugh. I get a lot out of television and other entertainment has influenced me and my rap style.”