It’s been a long time since rapper Ludacris (pictured) did songs like Move Bitch and since we have witnessed the growth of a phenomenal rapper now turned actor. He’s long since traded in his sagging jeans and Afro for a much cleaner, stylised look. He’s even being cast in serious movie roles alongside the likes of credible actors such as Paul Walker, Thandie Newton and Gerard Butler, to name but a few.
While he was happy to be at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) in Frankfurt, Germany, Ludacris revealed that this was a busy month for him. Between making new music, shooting movies and touring, it was a challenge for him to make all the engagements that came his way.
“I just came from London where we are shooting the Fast and The Furious 6 so I have been in Europe for the past couple of months and I am enjoying it,” said the rapper.
“I was in part two and part five so the experience on part six is over-whelming. Once you think they cannot top the last sequel like I feel they are doing right now, they always come up with crazy ideas to do an even better job.
“You look up to franchises like James Bond that have 23 movies and this [Fast and Furious] being part six and continuing to grow each and every time we make a movie, I am sure it will be a successful title for a long time. We are shooting this one in Europe because this is where the last one had the most support globally so we are bringing the movie where the fanbase reacts the strongest,” he explained.
Being his second time at the EMAs, Ludacris expressed his happiness to be part of an exciting showcase hailed as one of the greatest annual shows in Europe.
“I was at the EMAs last year in Ireland and performed with David Guetta and that was really my first time coming to this award ceremony.
“I enjoyed it so much that I promised myself I had to have some singles ready in time for this year so that I would be able to make a global impact,” he said.
That performance with David Guetta last year saw the birth of a friendship that would give us another smash hit, Rest of My Life, which features singer Usher Raymond.
“The song is off my next album, album number eight, called Ludaversal, which is coming out next year. We have planned to air the video for the first time here [Europe],” he explained.
He said the title of the CD came from merging his stage name and the word “universal”.
“The music is growing globally and I have toured around the world in the past two years and I am talking about personal experiences with different cultures that I encountered globally,” he explained.
While it would have been okay for Ludacris to only show face on the EMA red carpet, the rapper also had an important role to play in the actual awards he had been head-hunted for.
“I am one of the masters of ceremonies and I kinda have a crush on Heidi Klum so I had to get a job close to her,” he joked, basing it on the fact that the German model Klum was the principal host of the televised show.
“I used to work on a radio station when I first started out in Atlanta and using that experience to switch into being in music videos, then into movies, all helped me prepare for the role of emcee at the awards. Everything I ever did comes full circle when I emcee,” he said.