Ludacris has not put out a studio album since his 2015 project Ludaversal. But, it seems like he’s ready to end the drought.
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In an interview with Tamron Hall on Monday (May 15), Luda discussed his music career and what he has in store coming up. When asked specifically about the potential for a full-length offering, the Atlanta-bred emcee confirmed that an album is slated to arrive in 2024. He also said that a single could drop sometime this year.
“We’re definitely gonna get some music before the end of this year,” he said. “I would say an album, probably next year.”
Touching on his eight-year hiatus from dropping an album, Luda jokingly asserted that his commitment to the Fast & Furious film franchise has kept him away from the studio. Fast & Furious, in which Luda stars in as Tej Parker, is putting out its 10th movie on Friday (May 19).
“It’s the Fast & Furious‘ fault, they keep shooting more movies,” Ludacris joked. “What am I supposed to do?”
Getting back on topic with Hall, though, Ludacris explained that he is motivated to release new music because of how he felt when his rap idols lost their hunger as time went on.
“When I was young, I feel like some of my favorite rappers, once they get to a certain point, it’s almost like you wish that they were still kind of hungry and you feel like they don’t have it necessarily like they used to,” he said. “I never wanted to be that. So it’s extremely important for me to prove to people that even though I’m doing all this other stuff, make no mistake, I still got it, and I’m still as hungry as the first day. 100%.”
Most recently, Ludacris hopped on the “Legends Mix” of up-and-coming Philadelphia rapper Armani White‘s hit 2022 single “Billie Eilish,” alongside Busta Rhymes and N.O.R.E. “Billie Eilish,” which peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, samples N.O.R.E.’s 2002 hit “Nothin’.”
Additionally, Ludacris released a song in November titled “Buying All Black,” which features burgeoning Alabama rapper Flo Milli. It’s unclear if the song will be added to Luda’s upcoming album’s track list, as it was used for a Google campaign for Black Friday 2022 to support Black-owned businesses.
Check out “Buying All Black” below.
Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage
