Sophmore release from Atlanta's lyrical acrobatic and character Ludacris with Word Of Wouf. As the introduction "Coming 2 America" delivers a royal platform for the album which becomes apparent in the third verse with his rapid fire delivery. Demanding privacy on "Rollout (My Business)" should be respected over the Timbaland produced track. The song is filled with questions asked by enquiring minds as he answers with rapid fire responses. "Go 2 Sleep" featuring I-20, Lil Fate & Three 6 Mafia has a hard street edge as the chant of the title driven by the violin sequence over the drum kick. Catching the white lies of women on "She Said" featuring Lil Fate could also be used during a stripper's performance. The comedic interlude "Howhere (Skit)" is perfectly placed before "Area Codes" featuring Nate Dogg. Aside from the graphic contents of the song it has a mainstream and dance swing arranged by producer Jazze Pha. Taking it back to adolescence and the struggles of growing up on "Growing Pains" featuring Lil Fate & Keon Bryce the duo reflect over past fads. "Move B***h" featuring Mystikal & I-20 is a highlight of the album capturing the concept of the LP's goals. Quite the crowd mover "Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)" featuring Sleepy Brown has the formula of good instrumentation/production by Organized Noize and the usual antics of Luda performed with style. Taking both gospel and soul twist with keeping secret of sexual escapades on "Keep It On The Hush" featuring Jazze Pha. "Word Of Mouf (Freestyle)" featuring 4-Ize has a lot of punchlines over beatbox instruments highlighting on surprising metaphors and punchlines. Ludacris collaborated with crew members from Disturbing Tha Peace on "Get The F*** Back" featuring Shawnna, I-20 & Lil Fate as they flow back to back sharing verses. "Freaky Thangs" featuring Twista & Jagged Edge is just as the title suggests over instruments of the Middle East for a perfect one-two combination. Closing with "Block Lockdown" featuring I-20 "...I'm a dentist making women open their mouth wide..." explains the takeover of this genre. As a majority of the LP is produced by Shondrae with five the other tracks added to complete a wide array of feelings, styles and sounds. Word Of Mouf was perfectly named for this album as Ludacris talked the talk!
March 7, 2008 |  | A sophomore album with serious bite! |  |
Ludacris, one of my favorite rappers, solidified his star status by releasing a sophomore album filled to the brim with hook laden singles, dope beats and catchy rhymes. The first of the onslaught of singles produced by this album was `Roll Out', a song that still makes me turn up the stereo. But Luda didn't stop there. He hit us again and again with tracks like the infectious `Saturday Night' and Rush Hour jam `Area Codes' featuring the great Nate Dogg. Luda hits every right chord with the power anthem (or fight song as they are reffered to at times) `Move B****', a song you can't help but sing along with, but he drives all this home with the slow jam `Freaky Thangs' featuring Jagged Edge and the brilliant Twista!
Other than the great songs Luda also supplies us with some hilarious skits, my personal favorite being `Greatest Hits'. I'm white and I died laughing. It reminds me of a Chappelle Show skit. `Howhere' is great too, but nothing beats Ludacris hits sung by random white people, nothing!
December 27, 2006| | | Ludacris's best album {4/5 stars} | |
Standout Tracks: COMING TO AMERICA, GO TO SLEEP, CRY BABIES,GROWING PAINS, MOVE B---H, SATURDAY, FREAKY THANGS, COLD OUTSIDE, BLOCK LOCKDOWN, WELCOME TO ATLANTA(Luda's verse made it worthwhile). Filler: She said is the dumbest song on this album plus the beat sounds like retarded ice cream truck music, Keep it on the hush is a dull girlie record, Get the f--k back is a street anthem wannabe and Area codes was filler on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack and its filler now. Bottom line: Ludacris made an album that was 1,000x better than Back for the first time. His trademark goofiness doesnt bring down this album and his skits are funny(especially the one with random white people singing his songs). This is how you prove that your a great rapper. By making a great album. Now If he could make more albums like Word of Mouf and less albums like Back for the first time, Chicken&Beer and The Red Light District he would be worthy of respect and would rightfully be placed in the same category as the greats in this game.
October 6, 2006I have stood by Luda for sometime now. Even though all my friends hate rap (including me because I hate most rap because its cookie cutter) I latched onto Ludacris. And the reason was because of this album. He is funny enough to be interesting and street enough so he isnt Will Smith.
What I like about him also is he doesnt talk street language. Like T.I. or 50 Cent or Lloyd Banks they all speak a mumbled ebonics lesson to you throughout a song.
The album is strong with songs like "Rollout" "Saturday" "Area Codes" "Get the F*** Back" "Move B***h". I even love the song Word of Mouth (Freestyle) because it shows how creative he can be.
If your going to pick up anything from Luda, grab this one. Its his best to come!
September 25, 2006After releasing his multiplatinum debut, "Back for the First Time", Ludacris didn't wait long at all to return with his sophomore effort. With his new single at the time, "Rollout (My Business" getting major airplay, Luda is out to dominate the billboard chart once again with "Word of Mouf."
1. Coming 2 America - 4/5
2. Rollout (My Business) - 4.5/5
3. Go 2 Sleep (Featuring I-20, Lil' Fate & Three 6 Mafia) - 4/5
4. Cry Babies (Oh No) - 4/5
5. She Said (Featuring Lil' Fate) - 3.5/5
6. Howhere (Skit) - No Rating
7. Area Codes (Featuring Nate Dogg) - 4/5
8. Growing Pains (Featuring Lil' Fate & Keon Bryce) - 5/5
9. Greatest Hits (Skit) - No Rating
10. Move B**** (Featuring Mystikal & I-20) - 4.5/5
11. Stop Lying (Skit) - No Rating
12. Saturday (Oooh Oooh!) (Featuring Sleepy Brown) - 3.5/5
13. Keep It on the Hush (Featuring Jazze Pha) - 4/5
14. Word of Mouf (Freestyle) (Featuring 4-Ize) - 4/5
15. Get the F*** Back (Featuring Shawnna, I-20 & Lil' Fate) - 4.5/5
16. Freaky Thangs (Featuring Twista & Jagged Edge) - 4/5
17. Cold Outside - 4/5
18. Block Lockdown [Bonus Track] (Featuring I-20) - 4/5
After track....Welcome to Atlanta (Featuring Jermaine Dupri) - 4.5/5
Overall:
66/80
4 Stars
Once again Ludacris's lyrics and voice grab your attention, but some of the production and hooks just don't live up to the hype. Hooks are the main problem with this album, very few songs have catchy hooks. But besides that, this album is lyrically fire.
September 15, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(210 reviews)