The days of the south being a rap joke are long over. Atlanta has got more than a few real MCs nowadays: Andre 3000 and Big Boi of OutKast, Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob, and Ludacris, who, compared with most slow-drawling Southern MCs, is a speed rapper. Twenty-four-year-old Chris Bridges is more than just a party- and sex-obsessed MC (though he is that, too). He's a guy with a bagful of flows and tones, whose voice is an instrument that he's taking full advantage of. Of course, you gotta feel any guy who loves women, strip clubs and generally freaky behavior so much that he's constantly talking sex, whether it's fantasy on "What's Your Fantasy" or being an all-nighter on Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man."

Ludacris was born in Illinois and moved to Atlanta with his family at age twelve. He got his break when he became a jock on Atlanta's Hot 97 and rhymed on promos until he had enough attention to drop an independent record, Incognegro. Def Jam South repackaged the disc and retitled it Back for the First Time, which was released last year and has sold more than 2 million copies. Now comes Word of Mouf, named after the best form of promotion, according to the business-minded 'Cris. One Tuesday evening, after a trip to the NBA store - where the Michael Jordan Washington Wizards jersey Ludacris wanted was sold out - he phoned in.

"Area Codes" was one of the hottest joints of the summer. Where did the idea for that come from?

That came from me bein' an artist that's startin' to travel, do shows, goin' from city to city and state to state. I be traveling so much that I look at the caller ID when my cell phone is ringing and be like, "What's 718?" It's true not just for rappers but NBA players, football players. There's all kinda people who travel all the time who got ho's in different area codes.

And, of course, you were blessed with a cameo by Nate Dogg, the ultimate song partner.

Yeah, Nate Dogg just puts the finishing touches on songs. He represents that old soul, and when he gets on a track, he just adds that funk to it.

A big part of what Ludacris is about is sex and those freak-nasty rhymes, like on "Fantasy."

Yeah, everybody got a little freak in 'em. "Fantasy" is about goin' that extra length for women, because a lot of times, women don't want somebody that's just gonna be the same person all the time and not wanna try something new. It's all about, "What can I do to make you happy? Lemme go to certain lengths to get you excited and try something you've never tried before."

Your life has changed a lot this past year. Now you have money, you're a star. What impact has that had on the sex life?

It makes it a lot easier. Some women just feel like they know me. Like they learned so much about me from the interviews and TV that we already had the equivalent of two or three dates. Hell, yeah, the sex has boosted up to another level. At first, I kinda ran rampant with it, but after a while you kinda wanna narrow it down, and you don't wanna be as wild. Of course, I'm wild, but I'm not as wild as I used to be.

How do you write?

I usually write songs when I'm in a car by myself, and it's usually dangerous because I'm writin' and drivin' at the same time. I usually get the beat first and then I build from the beat.

You write and drive at the same time?

Shit, it's easy, 'cause I use my knees when I'm drivin'.

Where's the pad?

It don't have to be a pad. It could be little scraps of paper. It could be the back of a receipt from Burger King. Put 'em all together, and that's how a hit song comes about.

That does sound dangerous.

Well, it's a lot easier when you come to stoplights.

You mention Cadillacs a lot. Do they have a special place in your heart?

I think Cadillacs have always been a big part of the black community, period. In my family, Benz and Lexus and all that stuff is good, but Cadillac is on a whole other level. And it kinda just fit my personality, because it's so comfortable and they ride so smooth, and it's that old-school pimp car. No matter what year Cadillac you have, if you have a Cadillac, you in style. If you have an old-ass Benz, nobody's really checkin' for that. I think Cadillacs stay in style no matter what.

How has September 11th changed your life?

It definitely changed my life because it makes me realize you could go any day. You never know how long you have to live on this earth, so you gotta live every day like it's your last day for real. You gotta be self-motivating. I gotta do as much as I can, 'cause you never know when your time is gonna come.

[From Issue 883/884 — December 6, 2001]