Everyone has come up with an excuse at one point in their lives to get out of work. Sometimes, it’s because something came up, either a basic scheduling conflict or something bad occurred. Other times, it might be for the sake of burnout and mental health concerns. A lot of times, people are just plain ol’ tired and want the day off. For Ludacris, though, an opportunity came knocking, and his job was the obstacle.
During an interview with Bootleg Kev, he recalled his days working as a DJ at Atlanta’s Hot 97.5, or Hot 107.9 today. Luda was able to give Timbaland his demo when he was at his hottest as a producer. Evidently, Timbaland was impressed and invited him to Virginia to record for his album “on a random Thursday.”
The problem? Ludacris wasn’t exactly accruing PTO. He wasn’t in a position to ask for a day off like a lot of employees would. So what do you do when you have a golden opportunity, but your job is in the way? You make something up, of course. “My grandmother just died, and I have to go to the funeral in New York,” Luda recalled telling his boss. “I used my grandmother to go and record ‘Phat Rabbit’ in Virginia.”
Ludacris Admits He Faked His Grandmother’s Death in Order To Work With Timbaland
Who knows where Luda would be had his boss caught on to his lie? Regardless, in the end, it clearly worked out. That collaboration on “Phat Rabbit” eventually led to the pair working on “Roll Out (My Business)” and “Potion” together.
The love Ludacris has for Timbaland informs his opinion on modern production today. In a 2023 interview with Rolling Stone, he lamented how a lot of songs today are particularly lazy with their sampling.
“When people completely take a sample and don’t change anything about it,” he shrugged. “Or they take some lyrics, and then they don’t switch it up. I would love to see a little more thought put into trying to flip something as opposed to [taking] it the way that it was in the exact same form and [redoing] it.”
The last time he was particularly moved by a sample flip was actually from Latin music giant J Balvin. “J Balvin did the ‘Yeah!’ [by Usher] record over, and I loved it. I loved what he did to it. I thought it was dope. And that’s probably my favorite flip right now,” Ludacris told the publication.
The post Ludacris Admits He Once Claimed His Grandmother Died in Order To Leave His Job and Work With Timbaland appeared first on VICE.
