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Live Local Music

Concert Review: Ludacris at Movin’ On ‘12

Posted by David Porter Callanan on 05/02 at 08:59 AM

Following a day full of energetic performances from the David Mayfield parade, Young The Giant, and Michael Franti (Who I met, great guy) and Spearhead, Atlanta, Georgia MC Ludacris had some pretty high expectations when he hit the stage as the sun went down over Happy Valley. I think it’s safe to say, he didn’t disappoint. A few thousand fans made their way over to the main stage located in between University drive and Beaver stadium to see the “Disturbing the Peace” rapper. Before hitting the stage Luda teased fans with only his voice from backstage saying “I need y’all louder than that, we might as well go back to ATL.” Following some louder chants the rapper hit the stage with intensity and set the pace for the rest of the night with his hits “Number One Spot” and “Act a Fool.” Luda then addressed the crowd asking which side he could get louder and asked them if they were any “real Ludacris fans” before playing his 12 year old hit “Southern Hospitality.” Both these trends continued throughout the night and the vivacious Penn State crowd did not let him down.

After dropping several more tracks including the fan favorite “Area Codes,” Luda introduced his label-mate and hype man Lil Fate. He then told the crowd he had so many hits that he cannot remember them all but his fans sure did. Cris continued to get the crowd moving throughout the night with some hype jams including “Get Back,” “Move” and his very first single from 2000, “What’s Your Fantasy.” One trend that artists have introduced into their sets is playing their “featured artist” verses live and Luda reminded us he has had plenty over the years, all of which fans wanted to hear. These verses included more recent hits like his work on Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” and DJ Khaled’s “All I do is win,” to older hits like “Glamorous,” by Fergie and arguably the biggest song of the new millenium “Yeah” by Usher.

During a short break, the world famous (pun intended) DJ Infamous entertained the crowd by spinning some of today’s current hits including “We Found Love” by Rihanna. Following the brief absence, Luda came back out and continued his streak of fan favorites like the smokers delight “Blueberry Yum Yum” and two of his biggest club hits “Moneymaker” and “How Low Can You Go” before wrapping up the night.

Since I have been a fan of Ludacris since ten years old, I personally thought he could have reached a little deeper into his bag of hits. Tracks like “Georgia,” “Diamond in the Back,” “Splash Waterfalls,” “Saturday,” “Welcome to Atlanta,” and “Rollout” (to end the night) could have been worked into the show. But when you are an artist of Luda’s stature that has been making hits for 12 years it is nearly impossible to squeeze all of those into an hour and half set.

Luda has been doing this for nearly a decade and a half so it’s no surprise he can entertain nearly anyone that is familiar with his music. By performing at least a verse from his biggest club and radio hits, he kept the show moving and there was never a dull moment. At this point in his career Luda can still work an audience but it almost seemed programmed. Trying the trick of getting one side of the crowd louder than the other is overplayed but I will let Luda slide because he is a veteran in the game. Overall Luda rocked the crowd with a performance that graduating PSU seniors will never forget and showed why he is still considered one of the best in the game, and will continue to be for years to come. As such, as far as how much I was entertained, he gets a perfect grade in my book and that is something most rappers cannot attain.