Ludacris On The ‘Fast And Furious’ Franchise, Strip Club Steaks, And Doing Fight Scenes

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The career of Ludacris is a lesson in adaptability. Chris Bridges has gone from local DJ to pumping out hits to making bank off guest verses to bona fide movie star, and along the way, he’s maintained his sense of self. He’s still Ludacris. And there’s something comforting about that.

Fresh off the Furious 7 DVD release, Luda was the grand marshal at the Furious 7 300 race in Chicago over the weekend. We had the opportunity to ask Ludacris some questions we’ve been dying to know the answers to for a long time, and he was predictably great.

Did you get to keep the arms from the “Get Back” video?

[Laughs.] Man, that’s a good question. No, I don’t think I did. They were expensive as hell. I had to give them back.

What’s the most fun you’ve had shooting a video?

Probably that “Get Back” video. For sure, man. It was way too much fun. That was damn near like a movie.

Have you ever thought about bringing back the afro from the 2 Fast 2 Furious and the Chicken-n-Beer days?

Absolutely. I actually said in a song I started missing it, but then as soon as I almost grew it all the way back, I started missing my fade, so I cut it all off. The song is called “Grass Is Always Greener.” All my fans convinced me to grow my hair back, I grew it back, and started missing my fade.

How much training did you do for your fight scene in Furious 7?

Man, we trained for, like, it’s something I do on a regular basis. It’s actually, my guy right there, his name is Diallo Frazier. He trains me in his martial arts called 52 Block. We had been training, just literally for the art of it, and for the movie, we trained a month or so before.

Did you have to lobby at all to get a fight scene?

I definitely had to go and tell them that I wanted a fight scene because I was the guy behind the scenes all the time and the tech guy. I was like, I want a piece of the action. So I showed them what I’d been doing for two years with [Frazier], and I kind of put it on tape as like a demo reel. I showed it to them and they liked it so much, they were like, We’re going to incorporate this into the movie.

When you did 2 Fast 2 Furious, did you think it would be a one-off acting gig, or were you hoping it’d lead to other roles?

Once I had the experience and loved it so much, I was hoping that it would lead to other roles. And thank God that it did.

Just how important was the Atlanta music scene in the late ’90s and the early 2000s to the future of hip hop and R&B?

It was extremely important, and it’s still important to this day. As you see, the majority of the people you’re listening to on the radio are from Atlanta, and it’s still reigning in that field.

Who’s funnier – and be honest – you or Tyrese?

Tyrese is definitely funnier than me. One hundred percent. He’s a comedian, man.

Care to tell us about the best thing that’s ever happened to you in an Atlanta strip club?

The food being so great that it completely… if there was ever a stereotype of there being bad food inside of a strip club, there’s a place in Atlanta, Georgia where they cook steak and it’s like a gourmet kitchen in the background, and they bring you food while you’re watching lapdances. It’s ridiculous. That’s the greatest thing.

What about the worst?

The worst thing is probably, you know, girls with, just a lot of, nasty looking women in terms of, they may have bad stretch marks, tummies hanging out, bullet wounds, and all type of everything. Bad skin, bad body odor, stuff like that. But that was in my younger days.

Working at Hot 97.5, what was your favorite thing about that, and do you still keep in touch with Poon Daddy?

Yeah, I definitely still keep in touch with Poon Daddy every now and then. What I liked most about it was just that rush of being able to talk on the radio, but know that you’re talking to an audience of millions at the same time.

Certainly you have a fashion decision you’ve made over the years that you regret, right?

Man, regrettable fashion decision? You know, I don’t think I really have any regrettable fashion decisions because if there was something I didn’t like, it made me think twice about continuing to go on and wear certain things. It almost was like it helped me out to be the ever-evolving fashion person that I am today.

What’s the more lucrative career move, guest verses or Fast & Furious?

[Laughs.] Fast & Furious. For sure.

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