Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s to independently release his debut studio album Incognegro (1999).

After its single, "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna), became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the album was re-released by Def Jam Recordings as his major label debut, Back for the First Time (2000).

Ludacris' following albums, Word of Mouf (2001), Chicken-n-Beer (2003) and The Red Light District (2004), were each met with continued success and received multi-platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[4] Speaking with MTV's hip hop show Direct Effect in 2000, Ludacris explained his stage name was a play on the word "ludicrous".

[4] Def Jam South would later repackage Incognegro with some new songs added into Ludacris's major label debut Back for the First Time in 2000.

[4] In 2001, Ludacris contributed the hit single "Area Codes" (featuring Nate Dogg) to the soundtrack to the film Rush Hour 2.

[16] Director John Singleton brought Ludacris into the franchise after failing to secure Ja Rule's return for the sequel to The Fast and the Furious.

A huge pop hit (despite its steamy video and explicit, adult-oriented lyrical content and themes), it subsequently became a success at urban radio and BET, and is the only time he has produced two consecutive top 10 singles from a solo album, [citation needed] except for Release Therapy (an unedited version of the video could only be viewed on BET's Uncut program).

Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone.

It used the Quincy Jones sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow.

Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, Sleepy Brown and Disturbing tha Peace newcomers Bobby Valentino, Dolla Boi and Small World.

Guest appearances include Pharrell Williams, R. Kelly, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Field Mob, Bobby Valentino, Pimp C, C-Murder and Beanie Sigel.

[20] His first single "What Them Girls Like", featuring Chris Brown and Sean Garrett, peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[23] In 2012, Ludacris released the singles "Representin" and "Rest of My Life", both of which were scrapped after the songs underperformed and the recording process for his upcoming album Ludaversal stalled.

Ludacris reprised his role as Tej in the blockbuster movie Fast & Furious 6, which opened during Memorial Day Weekend, May 2013.

"[25] After a lengthy hiatus, Ludacris returned to the music on January 30, 2014, with the release of a single "Party Girls" featuring Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa and Cashmere Cat.

[27][28] On October 31, 2014, Ludacris premiered the first single from the "Burning Bridges" EP titled "Good Lovin'" featuring American singer Miguel.

were revealed to the public[30] After 3 years worth of delays, Ludaversal was released March 31, 2015 to generally positive reviews and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200.

[citation needed] On March 31, 2017, Ludacris released a new single called "Vitamin D" featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

Ludacris stated in interviews with People and Billboard that he and Karma "spent close to a decade and a half" working on the "perfection" of the production.

[35][36] The series premiered on Netflix on October 15, 2021, alongside its official soundtrack album, which was produced and released by Def Jam Recordings on global digital music streaming platforms.

[43] Ludacris made a cameo in Usher's Super Bowl LVIII halftime show, performing his portion of "Yeah".

[53] In 2006, Ludacris appeared in a television and print advertising campaign for Puma, which released three limited edition models of a "Clyde x Luda" Puma Clyde sneaker, with Ludacris' image on the heel of the insole and "DTP" (for Disturbing tha Peace) on the heel window.

In October 2019, Ludacris was named the artist-in-residence at Georgia State University, where he will mentor students in the Creative Media Industries Institute.

saw Disturbing tha Peace rapper I-20's video in which a man wearing a shirt with the words "Trap House",[citation needed] was being beaten.

Later, G-Unit artist Young Buck asked these two fellow Southern rappers to appear on his new record on the track "Stomp".

recorded a verse that contained a line that Young Buck considered to be an insult towards Ludacris, "Me gettin' beat down?/That's ludicrous".

The two rappers have resolved their disagreement and have collaborated on four songs: "Wish You Would" off Ludacris's sixth studio album Theater of the Mind, "On Top of the World" off T.I.

The two have also collaborated on Big Boi's song called "In The A", released on the 2012 album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors.

Eventually an agreement was reached that resulted in PepsiCo donating $3 million to Ludacris's foundation and other inner city charities.