Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine, where he first began rapping. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s to independently release his debut studio album Incognegro. After its single, "What's Your Fantasy", became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the album was re-released by Def Jam Recordings as his major label debut, Back for the First Time. The latter album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned his second top 40 single, "Southern Hospitality".
Ludacris' following albums, Word of Mouf, Chicken-n-Beer and The Red Light District, were each met with continued success and received multi-platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America. His fifth and sixth albums, Release Therapy and Theater of the Mind, explored more serious subject matter than its predecessors. His seventh album, Battle of the Sexes featured a return to the more lighthearted tone of his earlier albums.