There might come a day when Ludacris is toting a bookbag instead of a mic. It’s certainly not in his near future, but the one-time Georgia State student said he’s considered revisiting college.
“I’ve been thinking about trying to come back, depending on the time, however I can make it happen. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to finish,” he said before his Friday, April 1, performance at the Sports Arena.
In the late ‘90s, Ludacris studied business and music business at Georgia State. But his debut single, “What’s Your Fantasy,” quickly propelled him out of the classroom and into mainstream rap.
“Unfortunately, I did not finish…I had to make a choice between going [into] entertainment — all over the world — or finishing. And I just made the choice to go ahead and just be Ludacris,” he said.
He’s more of a global jetsetter than an Atlanta dweller these days, but Ludacris said paying tribute to his hometown whenever possible is a natural habit.
“You gotta love the strip clubs, the soul food, the women — everything has a lot to do with my music and molding me as a person,” he said. “I grew up here, and I love it more than anything, so I represent Atlanta anywhere I go — worldwide.”
On the heels of the release of No Strings Attached and the latest installment in the Fast and the Furious series (both films in which he has supporting roles), Ludacris is hard at work on another venture. He hopes to release his eighth studio album, Ludaverse, by the end of the year.
His iPod is “packed with a lot of beats” and he’s still trying to pick which producers to work with, he said. Reaching out to particular producers and rappers, however, isn’t the route he’s taking.
“After doing eight albums, I tend not to [seek out people] because what you set out to do and when the final version comes out, it’s totally different,” he said.
Ludacris is clearly seasoned enough to know what works for him and what doesn’t, whether it’s in music or film. But since his first full-length, Back for the First Time, dropped in 2000, much about rap has changed — especially in Atlanta. Over the last decade, the city where he cut his teeth has evolved into the epicenter of hip-hop.
“I think I had a little something to do with that. I would like to think so,” he said with a modest grin. “But, I mean, I definitely have to pay homage to the Goodie Mob and Outkast and everybody that paved the way for me before I could even do that for other artists.”
