“Going Hollywood” is a double-edged sword in Hip Hop and no one knows this more than Ludacris. From his breakout performance in Crash to an appearance in the highly anticipated ensemble flick New Year’s Eve, Ludacris has become more synonymous as a Tinseltown heavyweight than as a rapper. That’s not to say that he’s been musically dormant, but Pop collaborations with the likes of Enrique Iglesias and Taio Cruz seemed to only underscore that his trajectory had shifted.
On 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time, the rapper fights to dispel this notion with braggadocio blended with his patented punchy one-liners, bouncy production and Southern charm. From the mixtape’s “Intro” to “Say It To My Face”
featuring Meek Mill, there’s plenty of teeth-baring; “Your records are my theme song/cuz I’m still shopping off your ringtone” he raps on the latter to an undetermined adversary. The subliminal shots continue on “Bada Boom” (believed to be directed at Big Sean and Drake’s alleged claims that Luda stole their Supa Dupa Flow rhyme style): “Nothing’s been new since Big Daddy Kane/flows get recycled and passed around to different names” Luda raps fiercely. “Do your research before you make a claim/so bogus that’s disrespecting pioneers in the game.” No names are mentioned and the actual truth of who originated what can be left for the scholars to debate, but Luda’s conviction is nonetheless refreshing.
The mixtape’s other gems lie in the tracks where lyrical gymnastics are balanced with sonically unexpected production, specifically the jumpy “Muthafucka Can U Buy That” (produced by Drugs) with an interpolation of dialogue from Richard Pryor’s cult classic film The Mack and the Waka Flocka-assisted “Rich & Flexin’” (produced by FKi) featuring a sample of Justin Timberlake’s romantic dirge “Cry Me A River.” These moments are solid enough to eclipse the tape’s weaker notes, like the sexually charged “Shake N Fries” featuring Gucci Mane and the painfully hackneyed chorus “With all that shake/can a playa get some fries with it?”
Additional guest appearances come courtesy of Rick Ross, 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa while formidable production is provided by Drumma Boy, Big K.R.I.T., Juicy J and more. All things aside, the crux of 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time is a marked hunger that fans have not heard in Ludacris for some time; he still takes rapping seriously. It’s unclear what’s next for this multi-talented hyphenate, but one thing’s for certain, he can always come back home.
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DX Consensus: “FreEP” (the second highest possible praise for a mixtape)
Listen to Ludacris 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time
