Ludacris:
The Red Light District

Release Date: 06 December 2004

Reviewed By: Melisa Tang

1. Intro (Luda LP4)

2. Number One Spot

3. Get Back

4. Put Your Money - ft, DMX

5. Blueberry Yum Yum - ft, Sleepy Brown

6. Child Of the Night - ft, Nate Dogg

7. The Potion

8. Pass Out - ft, Lil' Jon & The Eastside Boyz

9. Skit (Luda LP4)

10. Spur Of The Moment - ft, DJ Quick, Kimmi J

11. Who Not Me - ft, Small World, Dolla Boy

12. Large Amounts

13. Pimpin' All Over The World - ft, Bobby V

14. Two Miles An Hour

15. Hopeless - ft, Trick Daddy

16. Virgo - ft, Nas, Doug E Fresh

Lil Jon - Crunk Juice
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Right on schedule, Luda is upon us again, gracing us with his comedic lyrical genius on his latest album release, ‘Red Light District’. The ‘Mouth of the South’ has been busy these last few months, what with guest appearances on Usher’s ‘Yeah’, Trick Daddy’s ‘Sugar’ and Lil’ Jon’s ‘Lovers & Friends’.

For his fourth Def Jam South release, Ludacris has enrolled the help of Nate Dogg, DMX, Sleepy Brown and Nas, with Trick Daddy repaying a favour too. The album kicks off with an intro as witty as that on ‘Chicken & Beer’, the ‘Southern Fried Intro’, on which Luda basically proclaims to be the best on Def Jam: ‘I’m over 10 million sold, every album is crack/ And for now I’m ‘bout to carry Def Jam on my back.’ As cocky as this may sound over the Timbaland beat, Luda does have a point – what with Jay-Z’s retirement and under par releases from Cam’ron, Ja Rule and the like, who else can pull figures as big as Luda’s afro? Only the man himself, who sets out to bring his fans more of what we love: upbeat, feel-good tracks packed full of his infamous one-liners, (‘I’m thinking ‘bout plans that’s bigger than Serena’s booty’).

The first single taken from the album is exactly that; on ‘Get Back’, Luda stands up to all the haters, ordering them about and setting them straight. It’s the club-banger that we expect from the ATL native, and the video goes to show how big a sense of humour he has. The other track blazin’ in the clubs right now is ‘Potion’, another great Timbaland production, which sees some really creative work on Tim’s side with the use of hollow tribal drum beats. The beat is crazy, and although may take a little getting used to, is probably one of the best tracks on the album. Luda, the ‘ghetto superstar’, drops some hot rhymes too, cementing his place as the best emcee of the South.

At the other end of the tempo scale, is ‘Child of the Night’ featuring Nate Dogg, which sees Luda get a little introspective over producer Voodoo’s beat. Luda also shows his sensitive side on ‘Hopeless’, giving his fans an insight into what he really feels behind his charismatic persona. Trick Daddy’s verse adds more substance to this heartfelt track, and is undoubtedly Luda’s most upfront and personal cut to date.

‘Spur of the Moment’ is a great chilled out track, with Luda and DJ Quik’s alternating rhymes, coupled with the sweet sounds of Kimmi J, making this one of the album’s highlights. ‘Virgo’ is another beauty, with Nas and Doug E. Fresh lending their voices to the track. ‘Blueberry Yum Yum’ on the other hand, may not be to everyone’s taste, but it definitely caught my ear. Sleepy Brown sings the hook whilst Luda takes it a little slower, rapping about the lighter side of smoking green. The DJ Green Lantern-produced ‘Number One Spot’ is certainly worth giving a listen to, as Luda wiles out over a beat that samples both Quincy Jones’ ‘Soul Bossa Nova’ and the Austin Powers theme, (and pretty well, I might add). Even ‘Large Amounts’ and ‘Pimpin’ All Over The World’ aren’t what you think – give them one spin and you’ll know what I mean.

Ludacris has certainly made some improvements since his last album outing, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any disappointments. DMX’s appearance on ‘Put Your Money’ can’t rescue the song at all, and any kind of guest appearance at all couldn’t make ‘Pass Out’ a number one hit if it tried.

Despite these minor blips, Ludacris has delivered exactly what the fans would want, including a few surprise creations along the way. ‘Red Light District’ has some really hot beats and slick rhymes on it, and shows that Luda can roll with the best of them.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Top 3 tracks:
6) Child of the Night
7) The Potion
10) Spur of the Moment

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