On his fifth LP, Luda cuts off his braids and becomes a more mature MC. He still is the fun-loving guy, it’s just that he would like to be taken seriously now. Fresh off of the acting tip, Luda takes it back to the lab to get some Release Therapy.
WARNING (Intro)
Luda is the king of intros; he simply knows how to start an album better that anyone. He’s spitting that fire on this one.
GREW UP A SCREW UP (feat. Young Jeezy)
Him and Jeezy unite to let everybody know that the South is on top now. Maybe Luda should rap like this more often. This one is definitely for the streets. The street dudes will respect Luda’s craft more if he kept spitting like this.
MONEY MAKER (feat. Pharrell)
Simply for the radio; not a bad song. It’s just seems like Luda is doing Skateboard P a favor on this one, and not the other way around.
GIRLS GONE WILD
Press fast forward.
ULTIMATE SATISFACTION (feat. Field Mob)
Mr. Bridges jumps on the song with his newest members of DTP; Field Mob. Luda speeds it up on this one, something new for Luda, showing his versatility. Field Mob shows up, but Luda’s lyrics were a lot to overcome.
MOUTHS TO FEED
Luda gets serious letting people know that if you’re standing still, you’re wasting time and money. The beat is hard and Luda delivers a whammy for you.
END OF THE NIGHT (feat. Bobby Valentino)
Ludacris goes back to the old Luda rapping about his sex game. Man I thought he turned that corner, but I guess that kind of music moves units. Press fast forward.
WOOZY (feat. R. Kelly)
Cris and R. Kelly get together on this Chi-Town reunion. Luda gives us his Midwest flow, but this song is not a winner. A little off topic, but do all these people doing songs with Kells know he had sex with a minor?
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
Luda spittin’ venom over a vicious beat, letting all these new jacks know the “Ins and Outs” of the music business. Lyrics and knowledge on the same track can’t beat it.
WAR WITH GOD
Luda’s controversial track where he chews a certain rapper up and spits him out. Only question is this: Who is he talking about? I know he’s going at T.I., but he won’t divulge any information.
DO YOUR TIME (feat. Pimp C, C-Murder, & Beanie Sigel)
Luda does a track with rap’s recently incarcerated (now freed). C-Murder, Pimp-C, and Beans drop gems. But my question is this; why is Luda on the track? What does he know about doing time? Love the song though.
SLAP
This is a song that almost anybody can love. Everybody can relate to it, “I feel like slapping a nigga today.” Luda comes up with a nice catchy song with a heavy bass line. Check it out.
RUNAWAY LOVE (feat. Mary J. Blige)
An obvious single, Luda really shows his growth on this one. He did this one with the one and only Mary J.; which means classic material. The song is about young girls and the hardships they face these days. This song makes every father think about the relationships with their daughters.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH (feat. Bishop Eddie Lee Long)
Old Luda done got the Bishop Eddie Long on board to be on this song. Luda shows his artistic ability on this song, rapping to the Lord, which is something you wouldn’t think of from Luda. Showing signs of maturity with lines like, “I’m 28 years old, and just started making sense.”
Bottom Line:
All in all, this was a solid album. Ludacris puts up a great performance and earns new fans with this offering. Luda now throws his hat in the “King of the South” race, even though he never limits himself to the South.
nappy Picks: “Warning”, “Grew Up A Screw Up”, “Mouths To Feed”, “Tell It Like It Is”, “War With God”, “Do Your Time”, “Slap”, “Runaway Love”, & “Freedom of Preach”.
