LUDACRIS – “Chicken-n-Beer” Released October 7th 2003 

01. Southern Fried Intro w/Eritza Laues, Tity Boi & Cypress Fluellen (3.55)
02. Blow It Out (4.05)
03. Stand Up w/Shawnna (3.33)
04. Rob Quarters SKIT (1.04)
05. Splash Waterfalls w/Sandy Coffee (4.50)
06. Hard Times w/MJG, 8 Ball, Misty & Carl Thomas (5.15)
07. Diamond In The Back (4.12)
08. Screwed Up w/Lil’ Flip & Misty (4.52)
09. T Baggin’ SKIT (0.53)
10. P-Poppin’ w/Shawnna, Lil’ Fate, Tasnhma Malik & Shakita Shabazz (4.49)
11. Hip Hop Quotables (3.09)
12. Black Man’s Struggle SKIT (0.35)
13. Hoes In My Room w/Snoop Dogg (4.39)
14. Teamwork (3.46)
15. Interactive SKIT (1.03)
16. We Got w/Chingy, 1-20 & Tity Boi (4.21)
17. Wyebrows Down w/Tity Boi & Dolla Boy (5.20) 

PRODUCTION: The Medicine Men (Ruh Anubis Yazid aka Mo.B Dick & KLC), DJ Nasty, LVM, Kanye West, Icedrake, DJ Paul, Juicy J, Zukhan Bey, Erick Sermon, Black Key, Ron Browz, Jook, Ludacris & Chaka Zulu.

BILLBOARD 2003 No.1
Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 2003 No.1
The Billboard Hot 100 Singles 2003 No.1 “Stand Up”
Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles 2003 No.1 “Stand Up”
Hot Rap Tracks 2003 No.1 “Stand Up”
Top 40 Mainstream 2003 No.22 “Stand Up”

In the year 2000 the rap world was blessed with the new flavor and sound of Atlanta’s one and only Ludacris. As a local DJ on an Atlanta radio station he was later to become one of the first artists signed to Def Jam South as the veteran rapper Scarface had become part of the movement of Russell Simmon’s Def Jam to expand down to the Dirty South. After releasing his debut album in “Back For The First Time” and having success with tracks such as “What’s Your Fantasy” & The Neptunes produced “Southern Hospitality” Ludacris became a house hold name in the rap community. The year later he returned just as strong with 2001 “Word Of Mouf” as it struck the top of the charts with “Rollout” & “Move *****” he had now become the most known and most popular rap artist in the Dirty South. Ludacris released his third album in 2003 entitled “Chicken-n-Beer”. The album and single “Stand Up” hit The Billboard Charts at number 1. With the ability to rap at any pace and flow without skipping a beat this album was sure to be a highly anticipated LP as fans world wide waited anxiously for what was to be the best yet to come from Luda.

The production line up in this album ranges from Erick Sermon to The Medicine Men- KLC & Ruh Anubis Yazid aka:Mo.B Dick-mainly recognized for their days at Master P’s No-Limit Records a few years ago as “Beats By The Pound”. The content in this album is hillarious as expected by Ludacris, from non-stop laughter at his skits to comedic lyrics, this album shines with his full potential on every track. Ludacris continues to flaunt his high energy rapping skills and tongue twisting lyrics that make him the rap artist he is today.

The first single to come from the album “Stand Up” featuring Shawnna on the hook and produced by Kanye West is clearly a club bumper as it has a touch of Neptunes meets Luda beat to it. Ludacris destroys the microphone with his entertaining lyrics as the track keeps the clubs still jumpin’. The DJ Nasty & LVM produced “Southern Fried Intro” kicks off as one of the best tracks on the album, considering its only an intro, as Ludacris spits lyrics so fast your ears find it hard to keep up with the music. The slow mellow sound of “Splash Waterfalls”, which has a slight feel similar to the classic NWA hit “Just Don’t Bite It”, is a perfect example of Luda’s great talent as he raps about the two sides of Love, the “Make Love To Me” & “***** Me” sides, which is used in the songs lyrics. The lyrical talent is also showcased in beats such as “Blow It Out” & The Medicine Men produced “Screwed Up” featuring Lil’ Flip. The ryhthm in these songs is outstanding, as Luda raps about three rhymes and the sound of “Blow It Out Yo Ass” is belled out loudly throughout the song “Blow It Out” directed to all the haters- Luda even goes so far to mention Fox news personality Bill O’Reilly, who went against the rapper and labelled him as a “thug rapper” in relation to Pepsi wanting to use Luda as part of an ad campaign. The track “Screwed Up” also has the same ingredients as the words “***** YOU” are also used every three ryhmes.

The album is best described to be like a stand up comedy jam only just rapped as songs like the smooth “Hoes In My Room” with Snoop Dogg, about the groupies getting up in the room after the show..also mentions O’Reilly as the culprit, brings out the hilarious lyrics by not only Ludacris but also Snoop. The beat is excellent and its content once again is bound to have you in laughter along with the “T Baggin” skit, which is about having nutz on your head and an interesting “Rob Quarters” skit which opens haters to ask whether or not it is directed as a 50 Cent diss?. Not to forget the “Black Man’s Struggle” skit which is a dude struggling to take a shit on the toilet. The typical Ludacris Dirty South style the listeners have loved are all here as tracks such as “P- Poppin” makes you shake that ass and “Teamwork”, about threesomes produced by Black Key, keep the hyped up style Luda has always delivered in the past along with his raps/flow of course. Erick Sermon comes out to play on “Hip Hop Quotables” where Ludacris spits wild lyrics like an AK47 sprays bullets..pure deadly on a tasty Def Squad beat.

The Hypnotic Minds of DJ Paul and Juicy J also hit high on this album with Hypnotizing tracks such as “Diamond In The Back” & “We Got” featuring Chingy, 1-20 & Tity Boi rollin on a wild beat. “We Got” samples a unique coughing sample and is actually used quite good and it is truly one of the hardest beats on the album as Ludacris laces his own poison: “Swallow a hollow make em’ digest a 50 calibuur/ Your future not lookin’ so good tomorrow’s not on yo calenduur. Do away with the amateuurs they breathing too long/ I leave em’ coughin’ like the sound effects you hear in this song”. Some meaningful songs such as “Eyebrows Down” where Ludacris rhymes about his struggle from day one to be on top of his game are crazy beats and the consistent rap flow by Luda is breath taking literally…

Ludacris has delivered “Chicken-n-Beer” to be one of his best albums to date. The flow, the lyrics, the beats all are top notch. The amazing talent this rapper produces in this LP is definitely something alot of fans in the rap community don’t hear much of today. It’s amazing how he continues to rap so fast at times then switch to a slow flow with ease. Production was over the expectation mark making this album near classic with Ludacris showing off his spectacular skills in all aspects possible. The outcome of this album is that it was good to see after his third album he still can produce top quality albums and that he is on top of his game regardless of what the haters, such as Bill O’Reilly, have tried to do to him in the media. The Dirty South has come out with a true comedian who is one of the most entertaining rappers in along time who can rock the mic and still have skill while doing it all this time.

I give it 4/5