Length 60:15 Release date 24 November 2008 | Artist Ludacris Label Def Jam Recordings | |
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Released November 24, 2008 (2008-11-24)
(See release dates) Recorded January 2, 2007 – September 13, 2008 Producer DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, Clinton Sparks & Kamau Georges, Sean Garrett, Wyldfyer, Scott Storch, Trackmasters, Don Cannon, Streetrunner, Swizz Beatz, Darkchild, DJ Toomp, The Runners Theater of the Mind
(2008) Battle of the Sexes
(2010) Genres Hip hop music, Southern hip hop Similar Ludacris albums, Hip hop music albums | ||
Ludacris theater of the mind full album
Theater of the Mind is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Ludacris. It was released on November 24, 2008, through Disturbing tha Peace and Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris calls the album "theatrical."
Contents
Ludacris theatre of the mind 1 intro
Background
The album was slated for release on October 21, but was pushed back to November 22. In April 2008, a song named "Let's Stay Together" appeared on xxlmag.com; supposedly from the new album. It is now an iTunes bonus song on the album. T.I. appeared on a track called "Wish You Would", produced by DJ Toomp.
The album cover was released on October 24, 2008 at wemix.com. The cover is an homage to Sly and The Family Stone's Life album, which had the band appearing as all the cinemas goers in the picture. Ludacris planned on releasing a sequel to this album in 2009.
In ’09, I’m definitely dropping another album. I’m working on a Battle of the Sexes album and a Theater of the Mind 2. With Battle of the Sexes, I’m trying to do some stuff with Shawnna."
Ludacris has been talking to T.I. and Young Jeezy about a tour together.
"I haven't confirmed anything yet. It's little talks here and there. But I'll put it out there: I would love to do a tour where it's me, T.I. and [Young] Jeezy. Me, Tip and Jeezy would be outrageous. But nothing is confirmed at the moment."
Guests
Ludacris stated before the release of the album that, rather than featuring "guests", the tracks would have "co-stars", in keeping with the concept of the album as a "movie". "Co-stars" on Theater of the Mind include Nas, Plies, Jay-Z, T.I., Common, T-Pain, Willy Northpole, Rick Ross, Playaz Circle, Ving Rhames, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Chris Brown, Sean Garrett, Lil Wayne, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Jamie Foxx, and The Game.
Promotion
Ludacris released a "Gangsta Grillz" mixtape, with DJ Drama, titled The Preview. The mixtape was released as a digital download on July 28, 2008. This mixtape was well known for his disses toward George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
Leaks
On October 24, 2008, three songs from Theater of the Mind, "Do the Right Thing", featuring Common and Spike Lee, "I Do It for Hip Hop", featuring Jay-Z and Nas, and "Last of a Dying Breed", featuring Lil Wayne were leaked to the Internet. Ludacris commented on the situation:
Although I don't know where the leaks came from, the 3 songs leaked to the Internet today were unfinished tracks and premature versions of songs. I'm glad that my fans are excited about the new project, but to get the final masterpiece, the album Theater of the Mind premieres on November 24.
Official singles
Other songs
Chart performance
The album was well received by music critics. It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 214,000 copies in its first week, making it his sixth top 5 album. It was his first album since 2000's Back for the First Time and 2001's Word of Mouf to not reach number one status, and his lowest charting album in his career. As of March 2010, the album has sold about 671,000 copies, achieving a gold certification.
Track listing
Songs
1Intro1:54
2UndisputedFloyd Mayweather4:33
3Wish You WouldTI4:47