The “Top 5, dead or alive“/ Mount Rushmore of Rap conversation resurfaces online every few months, giving fans another opportunity to debate the best lyricists the genre has produced. However, one rapper feels that he’s been unfairly left out of the discussion. Ludacris was a dominant force throughout the 2000s, with a slew of hits and respected guest verses, but recently revealed he doesn’t think he gets enough credit for his lyrics.
Appearing on the All The Smoke podcast, Luda told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that Jay-Z once offered a theory for fans’ resistance to giving him his flowers. “Jay-Z was one of the ones that said, you know, he don’t think I get the lyrical credit that I deserve because of the visuals,” Ludacris recalled. “People ask me, ‘Why don’t you think get the credit?’ Because I played too goddamn much, that’s what I do! And I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s why my name is Ludacris because it’s beyond crazy, it’s wild, it’s ridiculous.”
Jay may have a point. Ludacris garnered plenty of attention with his eye-popping, humorous music videos. Whether he was floating upside down through the streets of Atlanta, mauling obnoxious partygoers with cartoonishly muscular arms, or carrying a literal little person on his necklace, Luda went out of his way to make sure the videos for many of his biggest hits were memorable. But maybe they were so memorable for their comedy people forgot to remember that he was rapping his ass off in the songs themselves.
However, he still enjoyed tremendous success in his day, and continues to receive accolades like a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame — albeit for his acting rather than his rapping. That’s kind of fitting when you think about it. Of course, I have a controversial theory of my own, which I shared here.