Rolling Stone matched Atlanta stars Gunna and Ludacris together for their “Musicians on Musicians” series in the upcoming November ‘21 issue. Luda, 44, and Gunna, 28, actually attended the same high school (Benjamin Banneker) in College Park, Georgia. They recently worked together in a Jif Peanut Butter commercial and their respect for each other seems to be mutual. Luda, of course, is a hip hop veteran with a trophy case full of accolades, while Gunna represents the new era of Atlanta artists.
When asked about their city’s legacy in hip hop, both ATL artists responded with praise and pride. “It’s enormous how many diamonds we got that come out of Atlanta,” Gunna said. “I don’t care what side it’s from; we trending on every side. We do it as a whole for Atlanta, though. It’s all different, trendy ways of how players kick it.”
Luda pointed out that artists from other cities, such as New York and L.A., often mention how they “love how Atlanta artists just all work together.” “Work together on businesses, inspire each other, people just getting on records. Not even nothing to think about,” Luda explained. “This city has it together in the music industry because they know there’s strength in numbers. It’s happening even more now. We were doing it at the time where there weren’t so many artists popping. Now it’s a gang of them, and everybody’s working together more. That’s what I love about it.”
The world has yet to hear Gunna and Luda on a track together, but a proper collaboration could be right around the corner. Later in their conversation, Gunna revealed that he’s not just a fan of Luda’s music, he also appreciates that Luda never forgot where he came from and always returned to his city to give back.
“I already knew he was a Southside legend,” Gunna said. “He came in letting you know where he came from. I stand on that — never forgetting. That’s why I do a [charitable] giveback every year for my side. When I was in school, I remember him coming back to the Southside. I took heed of that: ‘OK, that’s what you do when you get your money.’”
“I can honestly say I admire him right back,” Luda replied. “Not only for the artist that he is, creating his own sound, but a lot of the reason I would do Luda Day Weekend is because you want everyone to pay it forward — meaning if you out there giving somebody your heart and soul, you just want them to realize they want to make that type of emotional connection with somebody else. And that’s exactly what he did. So if the testament of me doing Luda Day Weekend was Gunna coming for four years in a row and giving back to his specific community, then my job has been rightfully done.”
Check out the full interview below: