The Red Light District
Studio album by
Ludacris
ReleasedDecember 7, 2004
Recorded2003–2004
GenreSouthern hip hop
Length65:22
Label
Producer
Ludacris chronology
Chicken-n-Beer
(2003) 		The Red Light District
(2004) 		Release Therapy
(2006)
Singles from The Red Light District
  1. "Get Back"
    Released: November 9, 2004
  2. "Number One Spot"
    Released: February 15, 2005
  3. "The Potion"
    Released: April 20, 2005
  4. "Pimpin' All Over the World"
    Released: June 14, 2005
  5. "Blueberry Yum Yum"
    Released: August 17, 2005
Professional ratings for The Red Light District DVD
Review scores
SourceRating
PopMatters5/10[1]
RapReviews5.5/10[2]

The Red Light District is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ludacris. It was released on December 7, 2004, through Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam South. The album's title refers to a district in Amsterdam where prostitution is common; red-light district.[3] The CD is accompanied by a 41-minute DVD made by Decon of Ludacris visiting the red-light district, a cannabis grow-room, an adult 'cam-house' and the recording of the Red Light District CD/DVD promo concert in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[4]

Production was handled by Timbaland, Craig King, DJ Green Lantern, DJ Toomp, DK All Day, Donnie Scantz, Heazy, Icedrake, LT Moe, Needlz, Organized Noize, Polow da Don, Salaam Remi, The Medicine Men, Tic Toc and Vudu, with Chaka Zulu and Ludacris serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Bobby V, DJ Quik, DMX, Dolla Boy, Kimmi J., Nas, Nate Dogg, Sleepy Brown, Small World, Trick Daddy and Doug E. Fresh. The album was supported with four singles: "Get Back", "Number One Spot", "The Potion" and "Pimpin' All Over the World" and a promotional single "Blueberry Yum Yum".

In the United States, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 album chart with 322,000 copies sold in its first week. On September 29, 2005, it received a double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 2 million units.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Cokemachineglow68/100%[7]
Entertainment.ie[8]
HipHopDX3.5/5[9]
laut.de[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
Now[12]
RapReviews8/10[13]
Rolling Stone[14]

The Red Light District was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on sixteen reviews.[5]

Soren Baker of Los Angeles Times wrote: "Ludacris includes thoughtful rhymes on "Child of the Night" and "Hopeless", but his humour is still his biggest asset and the reason he commands respect".[11] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone named it "his most inventive album yet".[14] Dom Sinacola of Cokemachineglow wrote: "so, Ludacris is still a distance from a definitive, unmatched hip hop statement, but I'm content with his glaciered pace and middling "a-a-a-a-b-b-b-b-etc" frame. It's just too much damn fun to pass up".[7] In mixed reviews, AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "Luda hasn't slipped into the complacent lap of luxury as deeply as some of his fellow platinum contemporaries, but it's evident that he's not as hungry as he once was".[6]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
Timbaland1:25
2."Number One Spot"
DJ Green Lantern4:34
3."Get Back"
4:30
4."Put Your Money" (featuring DMX)
  • Bridges
  • Michael Guy
Icedrake4:13
5."Blueberry Yum Yum" (featuring Sleepy Brown)
Organized Noize3:55
6."Child of the Night" (featuring Nate Dogg)
DK All Day5:01
7."The Potion"
  • Bridges
  • Mosley
Timbaland3:54
8."Pass Out"
Needlz4:21
9."Skit"  0:55
10."Spur of the Moment" (featuring DJ Quik and Kimmi J.)
LT Moe4:15
11."Who Not Me" (featuring Small World and Dolla Boy)
Craig King4:56
12."Large Amounts"
Vudu4:33
13."Pimpin' All Over the World" (featuring Bobby Valentino)
5:29
14."Two Miles an Hour"
DJ Toomp4:45
15."Hopeless" (featuring Trick Daddy)
Heazy5:05
16."Virgo" (featuring Nas and Doug E. Fresh)
Salaam Remi3:31
Total length:1:05:22
UK iTunes edition
No.TitleLength
17."Get Back (Rock Version)" (featuring Sum 41)4:13

Samples and interpolations

"Number One Spot"

"Get Back"

"Child of the Night"

"Who Not Me"

"Large Amounts"

"Two Miles an Hour"

Chart positions

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^
United States (RIAA)[29]
Video 		Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ludacris: The Red Light District [DVD], PopMatters". PopMatters. January 25, 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Doggett, Tom (August 30, 2005). "RapReviews.com DVD Reviews - Ludacris: The Red Light District". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Red light district". Dictionary.com.
  4. ^ Dante, PT. "The Making Of" with Self-Hemployed, Amsterdam, 28 February 2005.
  5. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for The Red Light District - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Ludacris - The Red Light District Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Sinacola, Dom (January 13, 2005). "Cokemachineglow.com :: Record Review / Ludacris :: The Red Light District". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved April 23, 2008 – via Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Lynch, Andrew. "CD Reviews: Ludacris - The Red Light District". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved September 27, 2007 – via Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Ryce, Jeff (December 19, 2004). "Ludacris - Red Light District". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Johannesberg, Stefan. "Der Mario Basler des Rap wildert im Rotlichtmilieu". laut.de (in German). Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Baker, Soren (December 15, 2004). "With wit and rhyme, Ludacris widens appeal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Perlich, Tim (December 9, 2004). "NOW Discs | THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT: Ludacris (Def Jam South/Universal)". NOW Toronto. Retrieved January 17, 2005 – via Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (December 7, 2004). "Ludacris :: The Red Light District – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (December 15, 2004). "The Red Light District : Ludacris : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 31, 2009 – via Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ The Red Light District (booklet). Disturbing tha Peace, Def Jam. 2004.
  16. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 172.
  17. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 7th March 2005" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (784): 17. March 7, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Pandora Archive.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ludacris – The Red Light District". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  20. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  21. ^ "Ludacris Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  22. ^ "Ludacris Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  23. ^ "Ludacris Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  24. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  25. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Ludacris – The Red Light District". Music Canada.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Ludacris – The Red Light District". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Red Light District in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  28. ^ "American album certifications – Ludacris – The Red Light District". Recording Industry Association of America.
  29. ^ "American video certifications – Ludacris – The Red Light District". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

Ludacris
Authority control databases
Categories