i was wrong—again—about Luda
hip hop's new daily operation | 5.17.20
TheMotto No. 14 finds me this Sunday afternoon snackin’ on some humble pie. I’m embarrassed by my trash prediction. It wasn’t even close. Nelly pre-gamed a li’l too hard and, wet wi-fi included, showed himself to be unprepared for the friendly musical smackdown that came courtesy of Chris Bridges.
stand up:
That man named Ludacris: masterful, poised, engaging, and oozing with confidence throughout a three-hour broadcast rife with technical difficulties. Luda maintained laser-sharp focus as he precisely picked through the best of his platinum-plus musical moments. Despite unleashing his undeniable smashes, Nelly never caught a groove. It was actually a tough watch. See full battle here.
🗝 TIDAL soundtrack to the Verzuz event = here 🎶
high demand:
looks like that new Hndrxx is doing quite well 😈
👁 👁 Khaled shows off his “Higher” trophy. rest in peace, Nipsey Hussle 🙏🏾 🔽
🤔 who’s that girl ⤵️
🎓 YBN Cordae’s Graduate Together performance ⏬
🎓 D-Nice and Nas toast the class of 2020 ⬇️
🥶 Ice Cube connects with fans on the thirtieth anniversary of his solo debut ✊🏾 ⏬
bomb squad:
1983’s Style Wars remains the defining hip-hop documentary of the ‘80s.
⤴️ salute Henry Chalfant, a coproducer of the film — he was ego trip’s initial investor, essentially granting Sacha Jenkins and I the opportunity to launch the brand in 1994. Thank you, Henry, forever.
what more can I say:
Hard to admit, but I always slept on Luda. The below is the only cover we did together while I was at XXL. This did respectable numbers (especially when you consider it dropped in 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks) but I always questioned the Southern star’s ability to sell magazines off the nationwide newsstands. Maybe it was because there wasn’t a Cash Money or a Master P kind of movement behind him. Maybe I was stuck on some Queens sh*t. I know I was competitive, plus my decisions had broader ramifications: selling at the newsstand was the one of the main things that kept us in business.
Then came 2004: I’d negotiated a Ludacris and Chingy cover back when Chingy was signed to Luda’s Disturbing tha Peace, and coming off his double-platinum debut, Jackpot (remember “Right Thurr”?) ⬇️
At a certain point, Team Luda wanted to include another DTP artist. It wasn’t going to work. I went to AllHipHop and a headline grabbed me: Busta Rhymes signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records. I had already heard Eve was re-connecting with the good Doctor. So: DTP crew cover of Luda, Chingy and Shawnna? Nah. An Aftermath crew cover of Dr. Dre, Busta and Eve. And The Game.
Luda’s creative partner, the great Chaka Zulu — he and I are cool to this day. I was standing along with him and Chris Lighty at the soundboard when Jay Z brought Nas out to publicly squash their beef at the 2005 “I Declare War” concert in New Jersey ⤵️
I remember, after Jigga and Esco dapped it up and started performing together, Zulu excused himself by saying, “I gotta call Luda” — to let him know about the historical moment.
I’d like to speak to Luda one day. I’ve never met the man. His contributions to the culture are massive. Maybe I should stop fronting on him.
congratulations, class of 2020 🎓
@elliottwilson tweets | @elliottwilson IG | follow HRDlist
a danyelliott production