Theater of the Mind [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Ludacris

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 24, 2008)
• Original Release Date: November 24, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: DTP/ Def Jam
• ASIN: B001EUSYE4
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,706 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ludacris is gearing up for a multi-tiered and mutli-faceted plan to introduce his newest release to his fans. There are plans to rollout consecutive new singles and videos leading up to the November 25th release of THEATER OF THE MIND, the most important album ever recorded by Disturbing Tha Peace CEO and DTP/Def Jam recording artist Ludacris.

The unprecedented schedule got underway last week (Oct. 14th) when the song "Undisputed," went up on iTunes, followed this week by the premiere of the video for "Undisputed," which co-stars boxing champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather. On October 20th, the second new single "One More Drink" co-starring T-Pain impacted radio formats, in advance of going up on iTunes. In between, on Oct. 23rd, Ludacris will perform on the annual syndicated BET's Hip Hop Awards '08 and on October 24th, Ludacris will perform on MTV's Veteran's concert live from Nokia Theater. The "One More Drink" video premiere will then take place on Election Day, Nov. 4th.

One week later (Nov. 11th, Veteran's Day) comes the third new single. The final element, a video podcast on Nov. 18th (details to be announced in the weeks ahead) sets the stage for the eagerly anticipated arrival of THEATER OF THE MIND in the physical and digital marketplace on Nov. 25th.

In between this mind-boggling schedule he has been busy continuing to build on his career as an actor. The new action film Max Payne, based on the popular video game, opened in the # 1 box office spot raking in over 18 million dollars in its weekend debut. Chris Bridges aka Ludacris stars as an internal affairs agent alongside Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Beau Bridges. Also on the movie front, after a successful limited release in NY, Toronto, LA and the UK (in which it debuted at #1 as well the 1st weekend) RocknRolla, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, will be released throughout the rest of the U.S on October 31st. Chris joins an ensemble cast including Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba and Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson for an exciting tale of the Russian mob setting up shop in London.

THEATER OF THE MIND is the long-awaited follow-up to Luda's RIAA platinum Release Therapy (released Sept. 2006), which debuted at #1 on first week sales of 309,000 copies - the same week that its first single, "Money Maker" (featuring Pharrell Williams) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts, Luda's first #1 hit in six years. A rare RIAA platinum single, "Money Maker" was followed at #1 by "Runaway Love" (featuring Mary J. Blige), whose video directed by Chaka Zulu/Jessy Terrero dealt with the issues facing runaway and homeless youth. Luda and Mary J. performed the song live with special guests Earth, Wind & Fire at the 49th annual Grammy Awards worldwide telecast - where Release Therapy won for Best Rap Album. "Runaway Love" went on to win Best Collaboration at the BET Awards '07.

2006 was a landmark year for Chris `Ludacris' Bridges. In addition to the success of Release Therapy - his follow-up to 2004's double-platinum The Red Light District - he also scored rave reviews for his star appearance in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the show's highest rated episode ever. His role in the critically acclaimed film, Crash (which opened May 2005) began to reap honors in 2006, including landing Bridges the SAG Award for Best Ensemble, the Critics Choice Awards for Best Ensemble, and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporter Actor in A Motion Picture.

He teamed up again with Terrence Howard for John Singleton's critically acclaimed Sundance discovery Hustle & Flow. Ludacris also began hosting his own XM satellite radio show, Disturbing Tha Peace Presents Ludacris' Open Mic. Filming also took place in London for Fred Claus - in which "Fred Claus, Santa's bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole" - starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti, with Chris cast as `the DJ Elf' with issues. After an appearance in the indie film Ball Don't Lie, he went to work on RocknRolla and Max Payne, and finished up his seventh studio album, THEATER OF THE MIND.

THEATER OF THE MIND, Release Therapy and The Red Light District follow-up 2003's double-platinum Chicken-N-Beer, the #1 Pop/#1 R&B, success that gave Ludacris his first across-the-board #1 Rap/#1 R&B/ #1 Pop crossover smash hit single with "Stand Up." Ludacris' mega-selling streak began with his debut, 2000's triple-platinum Incognegro (aka Back For the First Time, with "What's Your Fantasy" and "Southern Hospitality"); followed by 2001's triple-platinum Word Of Mouf (with "Area Codes," "Move B***h," and "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)").

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ludacris - Theater of the Mind 7/10, November 29, 2008

By	Rudolph Klapper "www.klap4music.com" (Los Angeles / Orlando) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ludacris has always been one of the most entertaining rappers to watch and listen to, more for his ridiculous lines and outrageous, sharp humor than any redeeming social qualities. Ludacris has always been the class clown of the Dirty South scene, and Theater of the Mind is nothing if not an absolute embrace of this image. Crass and vulgar, with beats that slam and bounce with no respect for dynamics or subtlety, Ludacris' latest is popcorn entertainment at its finest.

Beginning with the intro, a "please-quiet-down-the-movie-is-about-to-begin" skit that sounds like Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with Atlanta's hottest club cinema, Theater of the Mind pounds home its loose concept by calling each guest rapper a "co-star" and each song supposedly corresponding to a scene from a movie. The production is self-assured and more of what one has come to expect from a Ludacris record: thumping bass `n drums, an active horn section, and vintage R&B samples to complement the synths and occasional sound effects.

One More Drink" co-starring T-Pain (that guy must really like buying more drinks), is a fairly hilarious tale of Luda's drunken adventures with less-than-attractive women combined with Pain's lovely observation that "if I take one more drink / I'm gonna end up ******' youuuuuu," while the lyrical genius continues on "MVP," with the rapper bragging that "women say I talk more game than John Madden" and advising that "she should blow me like candles on your b-day / `cuz I signed more lines than she's passed on the freeway." Deep Ludacris is not.

The "co-stars" are what you would expect from an artist of Ludacris' caliber, ranging from T.I.'s fierce verse on "Wish You Would" to Chris Brown on the repetitive, standard club-jam "What Them Girls Like." The best spots, however, are those that you don't see coming, but fit perfectly into Ludacris' hip-hop theater: boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the epic "Undisputed" is spot-on, and when Ving Rhames announces that Ludacris is a "true entreprenegro" and has "expanded his empire into multiple profitable businesses, including his Thai food restaurant," you can't help but admit that Ludacris is, indeed, a born entertainer.

Theater of the Mind, however, has some slow spots you'd just as rather skip through like in every movie. "Nasty Girl" is an increasingly outrageous sequence of prim and proper girls turning wild in bed without an interesting beat to back it up, and "Call Up Your Homies" is your typical "gather up the crew" anthem that you've probably heard a dozen times before. "Contagious" co-starring Jamie Foxx, however, is the worst offender here; the kind of slow-jam ballad that you cringe upon hearing; it's the awkward sex scene spliced into the middle of an otherwise great picture.

The highlight of the record, however, the quite cinematically-titled "Do The Right Thang" co-starring Common and Spike Lee, is the exact opposite of much of the rest of the album; a plea to urban youth to stop and "use your brain," making for one of Luda's most immediate and meaningful songs and a sharp contrast to the other tracks. When the track blows up into a horn-laden `70s funk jam and Luda proclaims "I see the sunshine gazing through window pane / blazing like indo flame, it's time to wake up," it's a heartfelt closer to a record that, while it does have its missteps, remains a guaranteed blockbuster.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ludacris - Theater of the Mind, November 28, 2008

By	Jay "Thatdamnman" (Ghettoville) - See all my reviews

This is the first classic Luda album since Word of Mouf. While Chicken N Beer was great, the rest of his releases were just decent at best. Luda always has and always will be one of the greatest pure rappers of our generation, but he is sometimes inconsistent as far as whole albums go. But this album is a true classic, and is giving Nas a run for his money for rap album of the year. While I do wish that he would have cut the features or in this albums case, "Co-Stars", down by about half. He only gives us three solo track and all three are phenominal tracks. Starting with "Undisputed" which technically features Floyd Maywhether, but hes really only in the song for a few seconds so i dont even consider that a feature, but the track is just a classic raw Luda track where he just goes into attack mode on what could almost be considered a freestyle over just a phenominal beat by Don Cannon who turns out to be a great producer on this album. And then on the again technically featured track "Everybody Hates Chris", "Co-Starring Chris Rock", but again Chris Rock only makes a very brief appearance at the intro to the song and the outro, so i dont really even consider that a feature. But Cris just kills this old school soul beat by Don Cannon with this super catchy hook. And then on one of the best Luda tracks ever, the brilliantly DJ Premier produced "MVP", Luda just smoothly glides over this beat, its an record you could tell Luda was really going all out on and really put alot of thought into. Then you get the signature club track singles from "What Them Girls Like", "One More Drink" and the sure to be follow up single "Nasty Girl" co starring Plies. And then you get that signature "Meaningful Song" in "Do The Right THang", but none of this album comes off corny or fake or forced like some songs on his previous efforts. This is the first rap album that i have been truly satisfied with since Nas's Untitled album. Good Job Luda, you got a classic on your hands again!


Grade:
A-

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well produced, but a little too "pop variety" for me., December 10, 2008

By	C. Kime (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Theater Of The Mind [Explicit] (MP3 Download)

All of the tracks are well produced and there is not much filler (eg: tracks with just skits on them) on this album. A lot of the "skit" material is worked into themed songs which are creative and well orchestrated and mixed.

Some of this album comes off sounding too "pop variety show" for me, though, and I don't really care for Everybody Hates Chris or the slow tracks (excluding One More Drink.) This may just be a personal thing.

The tracks that really show off southern hip hop do it with great effect. Wish You Would, Call up the Homies, Last of a Dying Breed, I Do It for Hip Hop are all fantastic. The good tracks are amazing, and leave me wishing the whole album was filled up with these instead of feeling like a variety album.

Fans of just one style may feel the album is lacking. If you like a lot of the styles that are popular in hip hop nowadays, this album delivers a good mix of different flavors, but if you're hitting the skip over some tracks, you may end up enjoying half an album worth of entertainment.

The mixing and production is top-notch. Pop hip hop (hate to say it but this style of hip hop is pop nowadays) has a great new album addition.