Wednesday
September 27, 2006
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5


Luda goes Sampson
but can't find 'Release'

The perils of taking your own picture.

By Evan McGarvey
Managing Arts Editor
Though a million bitter New
York bloggers and old-man music
critics would
like you
to believe
otherwise,
Southernrap
isn't always
about selling
crack from
your grand-
momma's Release
porch. The Therapy
affection-
ately termed Ludacris
"crack rap" Def Jam
genre has
produced
an equal amount of lyrical grace
(Clipse's We Got It 4 Cheap Vol.2)
as it has groan-worthy hooks (the
whole of Yung Joc and Rick Ross).
But it's not the whole story of the
confederacy.
Ludacris, Luda, Chris "Lud-
acris" Bridges and now (at least
just on the film posters) Chris
Bridges, better than any contem-
porary Southern rap star, carries
the forgotten gene of the genre:
humor. Hedonistic humor, obser-
vant humor, crude humor, humor
to make you laugh, humor to
make your parents laugh. Pimp C
gave UGK its slippery, gun-wav-
ing charm and Bushwick Bill kept
The Geto Boys equally funny and
absurd, but Luda's the giddy, con-
temporary terminal point. His
entire catalogue is built up on both
sincerely witty punch lines ("feels
like a midget is hangin' from my
necklace!") and a tenuous commit-
ment to social realism("I take a shit
on the equator, the size of a crater
/ And make government officials
breathe harder than Darth Vader").
At least that's how he started.
On Release Therapy, his fifth
and final album in his current Def
Jam contract, Ludacris tones every-
thing down: It's the shortest album
he's made, the most bereft of guests
and the least instantly funny. In fact,
aside from a decent joke about being

"on more '24's' than Kiefer Suther-
land," Ludacris - sorry,Mr.Bridges
- sounds downright sober.
The songs here are distinctly
"message" oriented: telling girls
to be careful on "Runaway Love'"
offering solace to guys in jail "Do
Your Time" (a song about jail that
features rappers who've been incar-
cerated - Beanie Sigel, Pimp C, C
Murder) and even, on the painfully
hyped "War With God," scolding
other rappers: "How many times
is you gon' rap about busting your
gun / How many times is you gon'
trap without busting your gun /Only
shots you ever took were subliminal
to the general / Disrespecting those
doing real time with real criminals."
Okay point, but it just makes him
sound prematurely old. And like
someone who doesn't understand
the difference between artist and
persona. And likea hypocrite.
Selective memory aside, Therapy
just doesn't offer anything that's aes-
thetically improved, or even differ-
ent, from his previous releases. It's
the same Disturbing Tha Peace pro-
duction style of gloopy, molar-flat
synths, hysterical kick drums and
barely-there vocal loops tacked onto
the background. Even worse, Ludac-
ris can't even refine or even rehash
his own strong points effectively.
"Woozy" barely rates above Chick-
en-N-Beer's "Splash Waterfalls" as
a sloppy sex ballad; "Ultimate Sat-
isfaction" serves only to remind us
that Ludacris wants us to care about
Field Mob.
Ludacris keeps saying Release
Therapy is his big push into adult-
hood, his most personal, self-con-
vinced record. There's room to
disagree: Certainly this is his most
cerebral record, almost half the
songs doubling as sermons and les-
sons. But anyone who has even tried
their hand at art knows that it's never
the brain that leads us into true cre-
ation; it's our heart, our lungs, our
guts, our crotches and our muscles
that wield the seeds of power. Lud-
acris, as mature and wise and con-
cerned as he claims he is, might do
well to remember that. Rap: It's no
country for old men.

BUDDHA-LIKE LUDA
HIP-HOP VETERAN CONFIDENT WITH LASTEST RELEASE

By Andrew Kahn
Daily Arts Writer
"This is my classic album," Ludacris said
about Release Therapy during an interview
last week. "Definitely my most honest album
- very personal."
This coming from a rapper who has sold
at least two million copies of each of his first
four albums. Is Release Therapy his best yet,
or just different?
"This album shows a more serious side of
me as an artist," Luda said. "(Release has)
more serious subject matter than my other
albums."
Back far the First
Time, Luda's triple-plati- "I've taken
num debut album, is most
remembered for raunchy steps (in)
singles "What's Your
Fantasy" and "Southern my image
Hospitality." The follow J
up (also triple platinum), impOrtant
2001's Word of Mouf, fea-
tured hits "Area Codes," I didn't ch
"Welcome to Atlanta" and
"Move Bitch." He didn't Overnight.
demand too much from
his listeners on Chicken- - Chris "L
N-Beer or The Red Light
District, either, both of
which sold more than two million copies.
Luda had found his niche, a formula for suc-
cess, and stuck to it.
On Release Therapy, Ludacris breaks out
of that mold.
The album cover art is indicative of this
change. He doesn't appear as a cartoon with
an enormous afro (Word), he's not preparing
to gnaw on a woman's leg (Chicken) and he's
not flashing a wad of cash (Red Light). On
the cover of Release, he is shown with a fresh
hair cut, his eyes closed, head rested on his
interlocked fingers. He appears to be in deep
thought.
The playful 'Cris fans have adored over
the years hasn't disappeared entirely. The
first single, The Neptunes-produced "Money
Maker," is proof of this ("Shake your money

1
t
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.l'

maker like somebody 'bout to pay ya"). The
same goes for the self-explanatory "Girls
Gone Wild," where he boasts, "Put 'em in the
backseat of the 'lac again / and rip off the
Magnum packagin'."
The Atlanta native still has a way with
words matched by few in hip hop. He teams
with label mates Field Mob on "Ultimate Sat-
ifaction," spitting clever lines like "Pumping
out albums like Reverend Run is pumping
out children, here's another one / So catch me
on more '24s' than Kiefer Sutherland." He's
still the same Ludacris, for the most part. But
there are differences, and he is not shy about
admitting it.
"I've taken gradual
gradual steps(in) changing my
image. It's important that
changing I didn't change overnight,"
he said. In other words,
, It'S if you like what ,you've
heard from Luda in the
that past, you'll enjoy Release.
But with his latest project,
range it's likely he'll attract new
fans as well as he tackles
. new, more pertinent sub-
ject matter.
udacris" Bridges On "Mouths to Feed,"
he talks about the eco-
nomic situation. "People
are so angry because we do have mouths to
feed," he said. "(The song) is about how you'll
do anything to feed those that you love."
It's just one of the several concept-driven
songs on Release. No longer are Luda's mes-
sages solely pertaining to partying and drink-
ing. Important social issues are touched upon
throughout the album.
"Runaway Love," another "staple" of the
album according to Ludacris, delves into
"young ladies wanting to runaway from home
because of the different pressures going on
in the world today. This is something that
nobody's really talking about," Luda said.
There's also "Do Your Time," a song fea-
turing stellar verses from three of the more
famous rappers that have recently done time
- Beanie Sigel, Pimp C and C Murder -

that deals with incarceration. It doesn't glo-
rify prison, but rather aims to give hope to'
those stuck behind bars.
Another one of Luda's favorites from the
new album is "Slap,' in which he wrestles
with his conscience about performing unlaw-
ful acts.
"Everyone tries to sugarcoat rappers' lives
like it's great all the time," he said. "('Slap')
lets people know it's not always as great as
they think it is. Sometime you feel like lash-
ing out and slapping the hell out of some-
body."
He was quick with a reply when asked who
he felt like slapping: "Bill O'Reilly."
Ludacris clearly had a lot to get off his
chest on this album - the last of a five-record
deal with Def Jam. The anticipated success
of Release makes it unlikely that it will be
his last album, but it is the end of a chapter in
Ludacris' career. Perhaps he'll focus more on
acting (he has shown frightening promise on
screen) and developing artists under his label
Disturbing Tha Peace.
Luda had even more to release on this
album than previous projects. He's done as
much acting as rapping for the past year, if
not more. Unable to comment on upcom=
ing film projects, he did confirm he'll mako
appearances on television shows such as
"The Boondocks;" "Law & Order: SVU" andj
"The Simpsons."
But first, Luda will tour the nation. Con--
spicuously missing from his tour is a stop
in Ann Arbor. Or Detroit. Or anywhere ii
Michigan. As you probably remember, Ludj
rocked Hill Auditorium last winter, exciting
the University crowd as he recited a medley
of well-known hits.
So why isn't he returning to a place that
showed him so much love? Luda offered a
brief explanation: "If it were up to me I'd
go to every place I wanted to. People boolb
me to do shows. If you want me to come t6
your campus, go to your faculty and say you
want Ludacris back, and I would definitely
do that."
Students: Get your asses to President Cole-
man's office.

Campus arts scene to
pick up steam
September hasn't been too x
kind to our arts scene. But now
that October is looming over our
shoulder, more student groups
are getting back into the swing of
things. Whether it's break danc-
ing, classical music or student art,
there's plenty of great stuff out
there for the lot of you. Here's a
selection of the many events our
University has to offer day in and
day out.
Although last minute, today at 5
p.m. the critically acclaimed doc- courtesy of Actual
umentary "Lost Boys of Sudan" A lost boy. Of Sudan.
will be shown for free at the Mich- This could be a perfect chance
igan Theater. Part of an awareness to take a break from the mid-
campaign for the genocide taking week grind.
place in Darfur, a discussion with If you think co-ops are mostly
James Hathaway, director of the concentrated pockets of hippies,
University's Program in Refugee you're kind of right. But Octobei
Asylum and Law will accompany is co-op month, with many events
the Emmy-nominated documenta- planned. The first is on Oct. 2
ry's screening. featuring photography, painting,
Slightly less last minute, sketches and prints from co-op
tonight at 8 p.m. the University members and will take place on the
Philharmonic is set to perform Diag.
at Hill Auditorium. The event There's more. There's always
is completely free, and there more. If you take your eyes off the
is no place on campus better ground and the iPod buds from your
suited for Brahms and Handel ears, I promise you won't be disap-
- or any type of music for that pointed.
matter - than Hill Auditorium. -Andrew Sargus Klein


!.7 Join us for our
'..9udy Abroad Fair!
2005 Study Abroad Alumni Photo Contest Grand Prize Winner
Meghan Miner, South Africa
TOPAY from 5-S pim.
Michigan Union5 B10room
~liowaosing over 50 programs in 36 countries
Earn U-M in-residence credit
~ Use finan1ial aid; sclioLarsluips available
~Spend a summer, semester, or full year
Many don't require a 2nd lanuage
~Study eveun after your first year
University of Michigan's Office of International Programs
G-513 Michigan Union (734) 764-431 www.umich.edu/-iinet/oip oip@umich.edu

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