Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges, better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. He co-founded Disturbing Tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings, with his manager Chaka Zulu. Ludacris has sold 17 million albums in the United States and 24 million records worldwide. Throughout his career, he has won prestigious awards such as the Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards.

Born in Champaign, Illinois to African American and Native American parents, Ludacris discovered his passion for rap at a young age. He wrote his first rap song at nine years old when he moved to Atlanta and joined an amateur rap group three years later. While attending Banneker High School in Atlanta, Georgia, he studied music management at Georgia State University from 1998 to 1999.

Before gaining fame as Ludacris, Christopher worked as a radio editor under the pseudonym "DJ Chris Lova Lova" at Atlanta hip hop station HOT 97.5 FM WHTA (now located at 107.9 FM). It was during this time that producer and rapper Timbaland offered him a chance to work together on the track "Phat Rabbit" for Timbaland's album Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment released in 1998.