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MIXTAPE REVIEW: Ludacris - 1.21 Gigawatts: Back To The First Time

19.11.11

Luda’s childish humor works best when he’s rapping about sex. On “Do Something Strange”, he flippantly demands that a woman sleep with him in exchange for presents and rent money, his jocular flow blunting the impact of the risqué sort of material that tends to alienate most people. Although we don’t hear it often, it’s difficult to sneer at Cris when he’s got his lothario-slash-jester vibe on full effect. For real, how can you turn your nose up at lines like  “Aw ho, stop acting all bougie / when you give it up for Church’s Chicken and a movie”?

Perhaps the best thing to come out of the mixtape isn’t a song, but the interlude. In recent months Big Sean has taken shots at Luda for biting what’s known as “hashtag” or “pause/stop” flow, something Mr. Sean claims he invented. Rap critics and the general public decided to take him at his word and ignored nearly two decades of rap history, which Ludacris gleefully outlines. It’s satisfying to see Luda correct months of faulty writing, if only cause I hate Sean’s hit “My Last”.

Source: ChartAttack