“ Oh Shit! Was that Ludacris?!?” Is what I exclaimed while I was driving around in my 2015 Ford Focus hatchback after hearing the bars Luda laid down on the track Scatter Brain.
Ludacris is now a mega star. He is one of the biggest stars to emerge from the Atlanta hip hop scene, one of the faces of the Fast and Furious movie franchise (a binge that I’ve been wanting to tackle for a while now) and the most recent celebrity to be in a State Farm commercial. He really has no business being a part of this song. But he is. And I’m very happy about that fact.
Scatter Brain featured on the 2021 album La Maquina from Griselda’s Conway the Machine, Ludacris puts the finishing touches on a song that attacks you with lyrical violence. Conway, JID (also featured) and Luda “got reasons, million reasons’ ‘ why that violence is warranted. Their scattered brained thoughts about drug talk and gun violence are going to leave your brains scattered after you listen.
With references to Creed II and Rick James in the verse…Ludacris demands your respect by saying “ bow down to raps dignitary, Luda has always been a visionary” Exclaiming that he is a symbol to the rap game lyrically and for his contributions he has made over the years. As it is with pop culture, an older generation will try to gatekeep what they think they feel they are responsible for ushering in to the zeitgeist. To the younger listeners of hip hop now I hope you listen to this song and this verse piques your curiosity a bit and takes you down a Ludacris rabbit hole.
For my generation (now 30 somethings) Ludacris was an artist you would listen to make yourself feel cool and an artist that would maybe piss off your parents. Shouting Roll Out and Move Bitch! was as Mid 2000s as an Abercrombie tight fitting polo. Those songs have become anthems of my generation and made a star out of Ludacris.
What I’m getting at I guess is that every once in a while with music you hear someone you grew up listening to come back on a feature or drop a new track, or a new album and they remind you what they do best and why you liked them to begin with. This verse reminded me of that. Ludacris might be standing in a flooded kitchen in a wild outfit in State Farm Commercial now but don’t forget he can bring it in the booth when he wants to.