Ludacris is confident that he has what it takes to go bar for bar with some of Hip Hop’s GOATs. In the newest episode of “Funky Friday with Cam Newton,” the “Move B**ch” rapper played a game of “Win, Lose, Draw,” where he was tasked with either crowning himself or a pre-determined peer the top dog in areas like music video creativity and lyrical prowess.
There were a couple of times that the Grammy Award winner humbly said he would take an L, but he was certain that the victory was his when Newton pitted him against Lil Wayne in a hypothetical freestyle battle. “I think Wayne, he’s one of the greatest by the way, I think he’s admitted… he don’t freestyle a lot, so I would just say I would win that,” he told the former NFL standout-turned-businessman.
Ludacris further explained, “I’m talking about just straight off the dome is what I’m saying, ‘cause he does it. But I’m just saying that at one point he even admitted it’s not — he makes songs quick as h**l, don’t get me wrong. It’s a sense and a form of freestyling, but it’s just like he’s extra [methodical] with it too. But man, Wayne is one of my favorites.”
He stood 10 toes down and bet on himself again when his opponent was JAY-Z. If challenged to create a fire verse in two hours, Ludacris showed no hesitation in declaring himself the winner of the battle. “A verse, ah, I would have to say win. I would win on that one,” he said.
“That’s a strong statement to say that ‘cause again, Hov is definitely one of my favorites as well. Verses, man, I’m just gon’ go in and metaphor and style, in terms of like flow, I’ma kill that s**t. It’s not to say that Hov is not gon’ kill that s**t. But I’m like when you say s**t like that and it puts me in a category like ‘Oh s**t, I’m going against Hov,’ I got to, like every f**king word, every line, every style, every flow, every metaphor, I got to go.”
The A-Town icon continued, “You gotta go back and listen to there was a song with me, Nas and Hov on my album called ‘I Do It for Hip Hop’ [that was] so dope,” speaking about the track from his 2008 release Theater of the Mind.
Last year, when Ludacris appeared on the “All the Smoke” podcast, he disclosed that JAY-Z was among those who felt the animated emcee was not given his deserved recognition for his lyrical prowess. The “Empire State of Mind” artist said that the often-comical music videos Ludacris had become known for were a factor. In his hour-long chat with Newton, the Fast & Furious actor said that not receiving his just credit from others sometimes worked in his favor.
Elsewhere in the “Funky Friday” sit-down, Ludacris gave credit to Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes for blazing the trail when it came to over-the-top videos. The latter two acts, along with Ciara, are gearing up for their larger-than-life “OUT OF THIS WORLD — THE EXPERIENCE,” Tour which kicks off in July.