Avg Rating: 
3.4 ( 41 total votes )
It was a clear night in L.A., I was in the front row of a Ludacris show and there was enough marijuana smoke floating around the arena to get Kid Cudi coughing. Life was good. To top it off, Shawnna was onstage repping for the DTP family by absolutely crushing the mic. As soon as she was done spitting, Luda dropped the lights and told the crowd to quiet down; he had an announcement to make. That announcement? His collabo album with Shawnna, Battle of the Sexes, was coming soon! The crowd went crazy. That … ...Read the full album review
Fans can also check out Ludacris's previous albums: Ludacris - I Don’t Give a F**k | Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind
DJBooth Album Review
It was a clear night in L.A., I was in the front row of a Ludacris show and there was enough marijuana smoke floating around the arena to get Kid Cudi coughing. Life was good. To top it off, Shawnna was onstage repping for the DTP family by absolutely crushing the mic. As soon as she was done spitting, Luda dropped the lights and told the crowd to quiet down; he had an announcement to make. That announcement? His collabo album with Shawnna, Battle of the Sexes, was coming soon! The crowd went crazy. That was February…of 2009.
A lot has happened since then, the most important being that Shawnna has left DTP for Nappy Boy, a move that undoubtedly put a serious red light onto the project. But Luda didn’t get to be the biggest selling Southern rapper of all-time by giving up easily, so the man formerly known as DJ Lova Lova forged ahead, recruiting a bevy of female talent (including a smattering of Shawna appearances) and flipping Battle of the Sexes into an entertaining though by no means great album. You know how every once in a while Denzel Washington will do a flick like The Taking of Pelham 123 because he knows that even though the script isn’t very good, he’s talented enough to turn it into something audiences will enjoy and will bank him a few mill? Battle of Sexes is Ludacris’ Pelham 123, only instead of John Travolta trying to blow up a train we get Nicki Minaj rapping about her pu**y. Other than that though…
I’m on an analogy kick tonight, so let’s continue. I was hiking the other day and noticed that, incredibly, over thousands of years the wind had blown huge holes in the rock face. How Low is like that. The first few times I heard the now uber-smash, honestly, it aggravated the hell out of me (I think it was the oompa loompa Luda verse on the hook). But then, as I was inevitably blasted with How Low everywhere I went: at the club, at the gym, in the car, it wore away my defenses and worked its way into my heart through the sheer force of its persistence. You could actually say the same thing about My Chick Bad, a track that frankly isn’t anything special, but I now instinctively sing along every time it comes on. Hey Ho hasn’t had the same effect on me yet, although Lil Kim and Lil Fate’s forgettable guest verses are more responsible for my indifference than Luda. Come on people, I know the beat’s catchy, but hell, this isn’t even one of Luda’s top ten tracks with “Ho” in the title, and that’s saying something. As long as we’re at it, I’d also have to throw in the Gucci-assisted Party No Mo into this category. You may not think so now, but give it some time, and you’ll be bumping Party No Mo too.
Of course Luda doesn’t spend all of the album trying to battle the opposite sex. In fact, he spends most of it trying to f**k them, a tactic that’s most obvious on Sex Room. Aside the fact that I don’t know a woman who wouldn’t take off running when she got invited to a guy’s “sex room,” the album’s slowest slow jam is indicative of the album as a whole. The beat (by Kajun) isn’t incredible but it’s enough to grab you, the hook (by Trey Songz) is catchy and Luda delivers more than a couple dope punchlines – not nearly as many great punchlines as Sexting – but I digress. Actually, Sex Room isn’t even Battle’s best slow jam. That honor would have to go to Tell Me a Secret, a bedroom burner that Ne-Yo takes to the next level on the chorus. I’m not saying this album’s a baby maker, I’m just saying it’s closer than I expected.
My favorite moments on Battle are the tracks where Luda puts aside the gender concept and just makes dope cuts, most notably the not-even-remotely responsible Everybody Drunk and the bold and arrogant I Do It All Night. Ultimately, Battle of the Sexes is the worst album Luda’s ever done, but that just means all of his album’s have been incredible, and this is just pretty good. In any one else’s hands Battle of the Sexes would have been a disaster, but Ludacris’ rhymes skills are so on point he manages to make it pretty damn entertaining, and that might just be one of the best proofs of his prodigious talent yet.
Listen to More: Ludacris Written by Nathan S.
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Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 41
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DJ Booth Member |
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dis album is very creative honestly i liek it there are some tracks i can do without but i like it alot
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1191 |
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After a few listens, I thought that this was probably the weakest album Luda has ever dropped (by a mile). The rating by Nathan imo was very generous.
This album just seems to have way to many problems for me to rate anything higher then a two. The problems I had with this album were: * The overall production on this album was mediocre at best, the only beats that were any good were the beats on 'Everybody Drunk' & 'How Low' * None of the guest features are any good. The only guest artist that deserved to be on this album was Ne-Yo (who made Tell Me A Secret a decent song). Flo-Rida & Trey Songz probably are warranted features as well, though they didnt deliver. * Overall, Ludacris didnt sound that good. His flow on a lot of songs annoyed me & his lyrics were poor by his standards. On some songs, he seemed to be happy to make his guest features look just as good, if not better then him. * Most of these tracks seem to be re-hashed versions of old songs, there is 0 creativity on this album. I hate being so negative about one of my favorite rappers, but this album dosnt come close to anything else Luda has made. I liked the concept of the album, though in the end it didnt make for a enjoyable listen Top 3 Tell Me A Secret Everybody Drunk How Low (Remix) |
| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 14 |
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i liked the album but this isnt luda's greats work or worst work
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 476 |
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A lot of radio-ready material on here (I'm actually surprised that Nathan put "I Know You Got a Man" under mixtape-ready. That track has Top 10 smash written all over it.)
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. As a huge Luda fan, I was expecting to be disappointed and, at first, I was. However, after multiple listens I can honestly say BOTS, despite being Luda's worst album, is far from a bad album; every track is enjoyable (something some of Luda's other albums were lacking), there's just no instant classics. In fact, the only song on the album I'd rate lower than a 3 out of 5 is "Can't Live Without You"; Monica's input on the chorus was seriously lacking for me. In addition, I loved hearing Luda, Shawnna and I-20 (who killed his verse) on a track again. It's been far too long. Overall, this is a solid album from the real king of the south. It's radio-friendly enough to bring Luda back his pop appeal he lost after Chicken-N-Beer while hard enough to keep his hardcore fans. Banger status. |
| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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i think that because of his outstanding delivery and production on his singles, Luda's been given a pass on his rhymes on those singles, filled with the typical cliches. Well with this album being totally geared towards the club, this entire album is like 1 giant cliche. And not like, lots of cliches, but the same ones over and over. The topics are all the same, words very similar, just delivered differently or at a different point in the verse. I'm not interested in hearing 15 of the same tracks from a guy with Luda's skills. It's like watching the Pro Bowl: great athlete shows up, plays like crap, gets paid and goes home.
I'm sure this album can grow on me, but so can every other album. I'm not interested in mediocre tracks growing on me. It's time people start demanding better quality and not just eating this up just cause it's Luda, or Jay-Z, or any other superstar status rapper. |
| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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yea, i didnt know wat 2 expect 4rm it witout shawnna, but i fux wit it doe...
follow me @greenguy248 |
| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 4267 |
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Disappointment is such an unfortunate feeling, especially the disappointment felt from a highly anticipated release from your favorite rapper (elongated pause) ever!
When I first heard the concept for "Battle Of The Sexes", I thought it had boundless potential. One look at the tracklist, the songs aren't much different from past ventures. And they ain't. Despite being in a safe subject matter zone, he has been doing it for years. Unfortunately, this is a case where concept is far better than execution. I'm not exactly sure what they were trying for with the song, "Hey Ho", but what they ended up with sounds like an ig'nant strip-club anthem. Hook totally sucks out any replay value it could've had. Everything on the album is a little less. The songs are a little less entertaining. Beats a little less catchy, don't offer a lot of variety and replaced with a more generic southern-fried sound. The choruses are far weaker and less memorable and for the most part relies solely on aggravatingly repetitive chopped and screwed style. What's most upsetting is absence of the quirky turn of phrase and wordplay that we've come to expect from Luda's lyrics. Usually a laugh riot, Luda's efforts on BOTS barely elicit a grin. There are far fewer chuckle-inducing moments on album than one would like. Sure, you'll get a chuckle out of his rhymes on "Sexting", but rather than having several of those moments on each song, we instead have one every couple of tracks. The major criticism that can be leveled at Ludacris is he seems pretty content to straddle his recycled lines. The songs fail to hit with their intended impact, and are too simple to score them high on creativity. By the time the album's done though, some of Luda's tricks have worn thin. "Battle Of The Sexes" is only a fair record which wears out its welcome pretty quickly, even with my bias. The lyrics aren't quite as sharp. The music is not quite as moving, nothing terribly groundbreaking or fresh. While there's not really a track on the album that could be categorized as "bad", there's unfortunately just too much that's ordinary. The strong tracks are out numbered by the mediocre ones. In the end, it pains me to say it, but "Battle Of The Sexes" is far from the most essential album in Ludacris catalogue. 2.5 |
| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 433 |
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Great party album, and obviously from hearing the singles released over the past few weeks we all knew that this wasn't going to be spectacular. However, this is still a pretty good album. His last album is a classic for me so I knew that this wasn't going to be as good. "How Low" is a classic song and some others on here are great as well, while most of the rest is in rotation. This is the first big Hip-Hop release of the year, and it's a good one. Great party and club album.
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Dont know why "hear my cry" wit jazmine sullivan or "mindfreak" or "the first time" wit bobby v didn't make da album...
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1345 |
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I agree with Phantasmic, "I Know You got A Man" is in my top 3 off of the album, with #1 probably being "Sex Room" and "Tell Me A Secret" on the list. The mixtape-ready tracks should have been "Party No Mo" and "I Do It All Night". Everybody Drunk is also a favorite of mine. Album is hot.
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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this album is crazy
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| Posted on Mar 09, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 62 |
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It was allright nothing special.
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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Tastemaker Total Ratings: 433 |
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Does anybody else but me think that Trey Songz sounds like an older Usher on "Sex Room"? Maybe it's just me...
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 138 |
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I LOVE luda. Im really lookin forward to buying da album. Some of mi favorite songs are "sex room", "Mi chick bad", and " Sexting". How low really reminded mi of What's ur fanasy. Anyway, it's not his best album but i give it mi approval.
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 25 |
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I figured this was coming soon. No one drops 5 star albums every time they release. I don't think this is the worst album he has dropped but its nowhere near the best. Plus the production side of this album is pretty damn good if you ask me.
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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3 stars, only fir the couple songs i listen to on there...i could do without the guest appearences besides nicki
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 6 |
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Nice Album
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 57 |
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Anybody that bashes this album because they think that Luda is so much better than trying to do crossover pop rap hits... are right, however, his verses are so strong in most of the songs that you can easily tell he is miles ahead of the rest when it comes to going mainstream. No other rapper could have pulled this album off as well as he did. I'm not by any means saying its amazing because it's not but for what it is it's impressive. If i could i'd give this 3 and a half stars. Nathans review is really on point
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 57 |
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(Off the point sidenote, Nathan why did you not review the new Raheem DeVaughn album!?)
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| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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Tastemaker |
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i dunno wat to say...how do u have an album starring Luda, rhymin bout his favorite topic (sex), all star producers and guest features and come up wit an album like this?
it seems to me like Luda assumed this album would be fire jus for those reasons. the effort from every single person who worked on this album jus isnt there. 6.Sexting 5.How Low 4.Tell Me A Secret 3.My Chick Bad 2.Sex Room 1.Everybody Drunk the rest of these songs suck. they belong nowhere near a Luda album. |
| Posted on Mar 10, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 80 |
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i dont understand why this has such low ratings; cause i think this ablum was great!! atleast he didnt follow the trend of having drake on thier album but he still had gucci and nicki. other all a great collection of songs cant find one i didnt like
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| Posted on Mar 11, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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man this album is gonna grow on people trust me. I just keep hearing the old luda on this album, i thought theater of the mind was good but kinda dull, but this you just dont know whats coming next, i like the variety, and different risks that he is taking with this album that i didnt feel he did with theater of the mind. On a side note why didnt he ad rollercoaster ft dru hill on the song, aswell as up down ft t-pain. They were some good tracks man
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| Posted on Mar 13, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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i also dont think people understand luda went to the dirty south for this album. theater of the mind he was trying to prove he was a great mc
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| Posted on Mar 13, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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ITS LIKE A FLICK ON CD....
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| Posted on Mar 13, 2010 |
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Tastemaker Total Ratings: 476 |
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The album has officially grown on me. It's not a "Theater of the Mind" or "Chicken N Beer" but I personally enjoy it more than "Red Light District" and (maybe) "Release Therapy". This is a certified banger in my book.
P.S. I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Feelin' So Sexy"; that was one of the highlights for me. Shawnna and Luda created a hell of a bedroom burner on that one. Also "B.O.T.S. Radio" is the best DTP collabo since "We Got" off "Chicken N Beer". |
| Posted on Mar 13, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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U kant kompare or kount this az a traditiondal Ludacris album it wuz a duo album of Ludacris & Shawnna mo emphasis on Shawnna den Luda bkuz she'z neva really had a album 2 do ne thang so Luda attached hiz name 2 it 2 brang n mo listenerz he wuz basikally sayn I gt a chick n ma kamp dat kan rap betta den sum dudez & I'm givin ha da ultimate ko-sign by doin a whole album wit ha bt she left & it fell apart bt Luda did wat he kud 2 rekruit female talent 2 keep da koncept afloat erry 1 of Ludaz albumz haz had a msg Release Therapy waz I'm nt jus a komedian dat kan rap I kan brang seriusness & substance 2 da table Theater Of The Mind wuz I'm tired of ppl nt inkluded me az 1 of da gr8'z & ovalookn me so ima spit hard az eva & make u pay attention 2 rekonsida their top 5 list Battle Of The Sexes iz female hip-hop aint dead it jus needz mo exposure & dis iz top of da line ta b wat it iz a last min showkase album full of party/klub/trunk muzik hez nt tryna prove he kan rap on dis album hez basikally jus keepn buzz around hiz name until hiz real album dropz n a nutshell dis iz a Ludacris mixtape jus haz all original muzik nstead of him rappin ova da hot beatz on da radio believe me hiz next official Ludacris Hip-Hop album will b far different & far betta den dis
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| Posted on Mar 14, 2010 |
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Tastemaker Total Ratings: 476 |
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@ Frmdabottom - What?
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| Posted on Mar 16, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 385 |
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LUDAAA! dropped the lyrics down a little bit to make a club radio radio ready banging record. Compared to his last album, great lyrics but not many radio hits, I feel like this album he just had fun on and made several radio killers.
My favorites include: -My chick bad remix (beat is sick) - tell me a secret (usually don't like ne-yo that much but hook is great) -i know you got a man (radio rdy) -everybody drunk (good to hear scrappy again) I wish Party No Mo actually had a gucci verse instead of just his voice a little on the hook, think I would have enjoyed it a little more. Overall this album is full of bangers, the songs just flat out bang. |
| Posted on Mar 16, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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Luda does a good but not great job on dis album. Let's all remember dis album is called Battle of the Sexes not Theater of the Mind! One's a classic and one's not. But still battle of the sexes does show off Luda's 3 best thangs lyricism, delivery, and creativity!
Top 5: 1.I Do It All Night 2.Sex Room 3.Sexting 4.My Chick Bad 5.I Know You Got a Man |
| Posted on Mar 16, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
this shit hot luda goooo harrdd
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| Posted on Mar 18, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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this is dope he been sick since he came out
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| Posted on Mar 20, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
check out
rollercoaster. produced by bangladash, it goes hard |
| Posted on Mar 21, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 3 |
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Decent but this album doesn't have the same umph as some of Luda's past efforts...
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| Posted on Mar 21, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 4 |
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i never liked ludacris
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| Posted on Mar 22, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 906 |
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I think the problem with this album is the production. Other than How Low, I feel like none of the beats struck me. Luda comes correct the whole album, but the beats need work. Im pretty disappointed.
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| Posted on Mar 22, 2010 |
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| Posted on Apr 08, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 189 |
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Few good songs...not at all classic Luda. He's just tryin to get paid off this one
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| Posted on Apr 12, 2010 |
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| Posted on Apr 12, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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i am disagreeing here again.. Luda has one of the madest flows in the game, he could spit about eating ice cream and it would still sound sick, I just dont understand how u can rate the dream higher then luda
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| Posted on Apr 12, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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mmm. i love ths album.luda is awesome.nd his songs r sick!! wooooh go luda!!
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| Posted on Apr 12, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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how can u say tha production was a let down.. this albums beats shits on dj khalads recent album.. and my chick bad craps on how lows beat
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| Posted on Apr 15, 2010 |
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Professional  Total Ratings: 18 |
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Theme tapes not my feel kinda limits u like rapping only about genders...or just weed or well that limits u.....Luda is Luda he one of The Titans in the Rap game....3 outa 5...
only math i like is counting money.. OFFICIAL MIXTAPE DJ FOR TRUE MAGAZINE L.A. |
| Posted on Apr 15, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member |
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This is his worst album. I think he did it just for the sales. I do like how low's flow though. I now you still have it in there luda.
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| Posted on Apr 19, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 13 |
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I wish Ludacris would've stuck with his original idea of it being a collaboration album with him and Shawnna. That would've made this album another Luda classic. But I found myself skippping tracks on this album. I only liked 2 tracks, Everybody Drunk and Tell Me a Secret. The singles annoy me
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| Posted on Apr 22, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 144 |
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i like it so far
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| Posted on May 01, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 4 |
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LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!! Sexy Room wit my hubby trey is my favorite song. I love ya Luda.
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| Posted on May 13, 2010 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 637 |
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Could not get into this album at all....the worst album Luda has put out. Its not that the album is horrible, its just by Luda standards it was disappointing. The beats were weak, his lyrics wernt up to scratch and the features were underwhelming. Save for 'My Chick Bad', 'How Low', 'Sexting', 'Cant Live With You' & perhaps 'Sex Room', the rest was quite mediocre.
Hopefully next go around, Luda will step back up on the level of his past records! |
| Posted on Jun 29, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 12 |
battle fo da sexesis cool
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| Posted on Jul 01, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 224 |
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THE REAS0N WHY HES 3VEN D01N TH1S K1NDA 0F CLUB N0NSENSE 1S BECAUSE THE FANS WANT TH1S K1ND 0F MUSIC. WHEN Y0U TH1NK AB0UT 1T HES REALLY UNDERRATED. ALBUMS L1KE RELEASE THERAPY AND THEATER 0F THE M1ND ARE H1S ACTUAL H1P H0P ALBUMS. S0ME 0F THE S0NGS R CATCHY BUT THATS 1T. N0T DAT G00D.
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| Posted on Nov 13, 2010 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 34 |
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Luda KING, it's not album it's a bomb!
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| Posted on Jan 08, 2011 |
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