The Red Light District of Amsterdam is a modern day Sodom and Gomorra; it’s a sanctuary for lose morals, smoke shops and window shopping that completely differs from the kind men typically beg out of partaking in with their significant others.  Though Ludacris’ fourth LP celebrates the excess readily available in The Red Light District, it also shows a maturation that magnifies Luda’s growth as an emcee, individual and as he laments on the Timbaland produced “Intro” a business man— “your looking at a man that’s financially stable/only ni**a getting checks cut from four different labels/that’s Pillsbury dough/woman poke my guts/still I walk around the streets like I’m broke as fuck.”

     In an industry that readily condones cloning, Ludacris is a rare-breed; I.E. a trend-setter.  He’s an original that has deftly begun to display the necessary work ethic by keeping his fanbase inline by releasing an LP every twelve months; The Red Light District being his second LP in as many years.  Despite one of the nastiest flows on either side of the Mason Dixon line, Luda gets most recognized for his heat seeking singles (“What’s Your Fantasy,” “Southern Hospitality,” “Rollout,” “Area Codes,” “Move Bitch,” “Stand Up.”  Yet, that mainstream success has a way of overshadowing what a complete emcee Luda is, as his animated personality punctuates his witty punchlines.  Likewise, he effortlessly flips rhyme structures that would tongue tie most emcees and just ask T.I. about his battling skills.  But what’s most impressive, similar, to Nas, Eminem, Jay-Z and a few others, Luda does not merely ride a beat, he gets inside of it and becomes one with it (“Who Not Me”, “Intro” and “Virgo”).   

     Sure there are some missteps on The Red Light District; DMX’s appearance on the formulaic “Put Your Money” seems premeditated by Def Jam to get X’s name back into the mix and though Luda rips his verse, there’s the typical D.T.P. promotional posse cut (“Who Not Me”), the Pimp My Ride redundancy of “Two Miles An Hour” and some of the same elements from previous efforts are rehashed here.  However, Luda more then compensates with “Number One Spot” as Green Lantern lifts Quincy Jones “Soul Bossa Nova” (which most will recognize from Austin Powers) and provides Luda a playful backdrop to get “Randee” on with some Powers lingo and a jab at Bill O’Reilly; “respected highly/hi Mr. O’Reilly/hope all is well/kiss the plantiff and the wifey.”  Red Light’s lead-single, “Get Back,” won’t go down as a “classic” Luda single, but it’s still a body mover and if “Number One Spot” is not the next single, the ever so chill “Pimping All Over The World” and “Potion” (where Timbaland’s tribal drums and electronic bleeps mesh perfectly with Luda’s animated rhymes) guarantee Luda has at least 2-3 more singles to push well into the Spring of 2005.

      But Red Light District is not all blunts and mayhem, as Luda shows he’s growing up on “Large Amounts” where he lovingly waxes about his daughter, “Hopeless” f/Trick Daddy and “Child Of The Night” f/Nate Dogg where Teena Marie’s vocals are morphed into chipmunk mode on the best of Luda’s coming of age declarations—”get thru the agony and anger/the pain and strife/and take the necessary steps to try to change my life/I got some questions for you Lord cause my mentalities hood/so why is everything that’s bad for me feel so good.” 

     While Ludacris laments about his record sales (over ten million sold) and pop icon status, he’s managed to deftly find the middle ground between the Buhloone Mind State that De La Soul warned artists about a decade ago (it might blow up/but it won’t go pop) while still remaining true to his roots; and as he asserts on “Intro” he’s not afraid to say it either “I’m the best and I really ain’t gotta say that shit.”