Hip-hop has a towering pile of "the game needs me" albums where an artist returns to stake their claim, but
Ludaversal still feels fresh, alive, and needed, and maybe just because it comes from the unique voice that is
Ludacris. Back on his last album, the sex-starved
Battle of the Sexes, the man barely even sounded like himself, and yet all that's wiped away by the
David Banner-produced, simply titled "Ludaversal (Intro)" plus the cartoonish highlight "Grass Is Greener," which boasts about problems like "Did some movies and started to miss this rap shit/Back to rap, then started missin' them movies." "Call Ya Bluff" goes "back to the basics/Back to them Adidas with fat laces," then the key cut, "Beast Mode," earns a Chicken -N- Beer-sized laugh with the quintessentially
Luda "since I'm always high it's hard to overlook me." "Come and See Me," with
Big K.R.I.T., proves the man can still churn out essential street music while seated next to the current crop, and it wouldn't be a return to form without a bedroom number like "Good Lovin," with
Miguel, which is entirely passionate and plush. "Ocean Skies," with
Monica, offers a surprisingly honest and effective look at alcoholism and bad parenting, but "Not Long" with
Usher might be an even bigger shock as the usually EDM-oriented producer
David Guetta helms something that comes close to the soulful sound of
Mark Ronson. The biggest complaint about
Ludaversal is that the 18-track Deluxe Edition holds some of the album's true fire, with the
Rick Ross feature "Money" and the
John Legend-driven "In My Life" both deserving better than the "bonus track" tag. Otherwise, this is a welcome, snarling, and satisfying return. ~ David Jeffries