Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977)
better known by his
stage name Ludacris, is an American
rapper and
actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of
Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by
Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris is the highest-selling
Southern hip hop solo artist of all time with over 17 million units sold in the United States and 24 million records sold worldwide.
[Gold & Platinum][Melody K. Hoffman (December 11, 2006). ludacris sucksLudacris: hit-maker shares personal side with community and fans FindArticles. Accessed October 21, 2008.] Ludacris has won
SAG,
Critic's Choice,
MTV, and
Grammy Awards during his career.
Personal background
Ludacris was born Christopher Brian Bridges in
Champaign, Illinois. He is of
African American and
Native American descent.
At age three, he began attending college parties with his parents. Bridges wrote his first rap song at age nine and joined an amateur rap group three years later.
He attended
Oak Park and River Forest High School in
Oak Park, Illinois,and
Banneker High School in
Atlanta, Georgia.
From 1998 to 1999, he studied
music management at
Georgia State University.
[Alumni Report. Sounds, Fall 2008, pg. 10. Georgia State University.] In 2007, Bridges lost his father Wayne to cancer.
Ludacris has a daughter named Karma, from an Atlanta attorney named Kristine.
[www.hiphossip.com/2007_11_01_archive.html]Music career
Radio DJ, Timbaland collaboration
He worked as a radio editor under the pseudonym DJ Chris Lova Lova at Atlanta hip-hop station Hot 97.5.
WHTA, now located at 107.9.
Producer/rapper
Timbaland made an offer for Ludacris to work with him at the radio station.
Ludacris performed on the track "Phat Rabbit" as Ludacris on Timbaland's 1998 album
Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment .
