Hip-Hop Island

Mr. October and Mr. Thanksgiving are back at it on the mixtape circuit. Ludacris' latest The Preview: Gangsta Grillz presents some dope DTP gems and that Luda magic he's known so well for. Hooking up with DJ Drama, Luda's preview is full of herb-smoking joints, political angst, and clever jabs at his Hip-Hop peers. The Preview is just a sample of what Luda has coming up this fall, and so far things are sounding pretty sweet.

After a lot of shouting about some upcoming movies and a new album, Ludacris finally gets down to business "Get Up Get Out" featuring DTP's own Block XChange. As Luda's rolling up, he proclaims, "I love it like Jeezy because Hip-Hop needs me / So roll up a blunt and be easy." Luda also shows off his wicked flow on the classic Jazzy Pha beat "Sho'Nuff Revisited."

Ludacris gets serious for a minute on "Politics As Usual," as he throws his political support to Barack Obama and calls on Black people everywhere to get out and vote. "Paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got them terrified / McCain's don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed / Yeah, I said it 'cause Bush is mentally handicapped."

At points, Luda's bragging get a little old -- he smokes the best dope, has the biggest house, and rakes in eight figures… so? As he sums up the history of breakups and shakeups in the celeb world, Luda attempts to make DTP sound like the Roman Empire that stands strong on "Stay Together." At times, even collaborations with DTP affiliates "Smoking Big Kill" featuring Shawnna and "I'm A Dog" featuring Playaz Circle fall short.

Luda's always gravitated towards being the funny man and humor is his forte when it comes to rapping. He playfully rips on tone deaf rappers (T-Pain, G-Unit, Snoop Dogg, and Lil Wayne) on the hysterical "The Vocalizer" skit, and even John Legend's romantic swagger doesn't stand a chance with the remake "Ordinary Negroes." The Preview is a sample of Luda at his finest and his upcoming effort is sure to be tight.

Originally published @ http://allhiphop.com/stories/reviewsmusic/archive/2008/08/05/20370533.aspx