Ludacris
AVA Amphitheatre
Tucson, Arizona
August 25, 2023
Mary Andrews
It didn’t take long for Ludacris aka Christopher Bridges to have the sold out AVA crowd up and on their feet grooving on Ludicris’ hit songs. The rapper and actor was thrilled to have the crowd knowing his songs by heart for the entire two hours. He has performed in Tucson a few times and professed to returrn before the show was over.
He is one of the first ‘Dirty South’ rappers to achieve mainstream success in the 21st century, with several commercially and critically successful studio albums. Ludacris has won three Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critic’s Choice Award and an MTV Video Music Award.
His prevalent and somewhat controversial contribution to popular culture over 20 years is a steady stream of clever lyrics weaving short-tempered aggression and sexual promiscuity with comedic punchlines. Tonight, he had many videos and photos projected in the background illuminating his career during the show.
Ludacris jokingly deemed the Tucson audience “the liveliest” he’s performed for in a long time. Backed by DJ Infamous and hype-man Lil Fate, Ludacris and his crew revisited the entire Ludacris catalogue of old hits — songs such as “Get Back,” “Rollout,” and “Pimpin’ All Over the World,” just to name a few. “What’s Your Fantasy,” also included, was Ludacris’ 2000 breakout. Ludacris even performed some of his most famous featured verses, including his verse from Usher’s “Yeah,” and Fergie’s “Glamorous.” As the crowd sang along with his hits, he cheered hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. It was an unforgettable evening and Bridges repeatedly asked the audience to “turn it up to 11” and, sure enough, they got to 13, suggesting he could make a return visit to Tucson anytime. It was apparent that Bridges was having as much fun as the fans. He gave fans everything he had to give.
Twista was slated to open the show but for some unknown reason was unable to perform. The rapper had many Tucson fans who were disappointed. He was replaced by a local rap performance by AO.
LUDACRIS setlist
Southern Fried Intro / Southern Hospitality
Welcome to Atlanta (Jermaine Dupri cover)
Act a Fool
Glamorous (Fergie cover)
My Chick Bad
Splash Waterfalls
Money Maker
Area Codes
Pimpin’ All Over the World
Lovers and Friends (Lil Jon cover)
How Low
What’s Your Fantasy
Rollout
Stand Up
Yeah! (Usher cover)
All I Do Is Win (DJ Khaled cover)
Move Bitch
Get Back
