Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor born on September 11, 1977, in Champaign, Illinois. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, he became one of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success in the early 2000s. Beyond his musical achievements, he has built an extensive acting career and is a private pilot.

During his youth, Bridges lived in Illinois and Virginia before attending Banneker High School in Atlanta, from which he graduated in 1995. He wrote his first rap song at age nine and joined an amateur rap group three years later. From 1998 to 1999, he studied music management at Georgia State University while working as a radio intern and DJ under the name "Chris Lova Lova" at Atlanta's Hot 97.5.

In the late 1990s, Bridges founded the record label Disturbing tha Peace to release his independent debut album, Incognegro (1999). Following the success of its single "What's Your Fantasy" featuring Shawnna, Def Jam Recordings re-released the album as Back for the First Time in 2000. This major-label debut reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned the hit single "Southern Hospitality."

Ludacris sustained mainstream success with a series of multi-platinum albums certified by the RIAA, including Word of Mouf (2001), Chicken-n-Beer (2003), and The Red Light District (2004). His fifth album, Release Therapy (2006), won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was followed by Theater of the Mind (2008). In 2010, he released Battle of the Sexes, which topped the Billboard 200. Over his career, he achieved number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist with "Stand Up" and "Money Maker," and as a featured guest on hits including Usher's "Yeah!," Fergie's "Glamorous," Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart," and Justin Bieber's "Baby."

Outside of recording music, Ludacris began acting in 2003 as Tej Parker in 2 Fast 2 Furious, a role he continued throughout the Fast & Furious film series. His additional film credits include Crash (2004), Gamer (2009), and New Year's Eve (2011). In 2021, he created and starred in the children's animated series Karma's World for Netflix. Across his career, he has received three Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and an MTV Video Music Award.