Ludacris is a big fan of Childish Gambino‘s “This Is America” video – so much so that he has proclaimed it one of the greatest visuals of all time.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone published on Monday (December 4), Luda was asked what videos he’s a fan of these days – as he’s well known for the creative visuals he used to pump out at the height of his career. And he had to give the praise to Donald Glover‘s rapping alter ego.
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“[I’m paying attention to] whatever my man Dave Myers is shooting these days,” he began. “He’s so dope of a director to me, and I feel like he’s made some extremely creative videos. I’m trying to think what was one of my favorite visual videos over the last… You know what’s crazy? What stands out to me is still that Childish Gambino ‘This is America‘ video. It’s pretty much still one of the dopest videos I’ve seen.”
He continued: “I can go back and watch that over and over. You’re going to make me watch it once we get off this interview. It’s dope. But I’m going to be honest with you, the best visual video that’s out right now or coming on November 24th is this Ludacris State Farm commercial.”
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Directed by frequent Atlanta director Hiro Murai, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” video tackles gun violence in the United States and shows a shirtless Gambino nonchalantly blowing a person’s head off during the first few seconds of the video.
One of the most jarring moments comes when a choir is seen joyfully singing, oblivious to what is about to happen to them. Gambino marches in, still dancing along to the music, grabs a machine gun and sprays them down with bullets. Meanwhile, the other dancers in the video continue going about their business with smiles on their faces like nothing happened.
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Ludacris may have partly gained his fame for his iconic music videos, but as JAY-Z once told him, his outlandish visuals came with a downside.
During an interview on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ All the Smoke podcast earlier this year, the Atlanta rap legend revealed Hov once said to him that they’re the reason he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as an MC.
“It was big, but there was a downside to it because even JAY-Z was one of the ones that said, you know, he don’t think I get the lyrical credit that I deserve because of the visuals,” Luda said.
“People ask me, ‘Why don’t you think get the credit?,’” he continued. “Because I played too goddamn much, that’s what I do! And I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s why my name is Ludacris, because it’s beyond crazy, it’s wild, it’s ridiculous.”
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He added: “I like post-effects and augmenting reality, big-ass shoes with big-ass chains, and bobble heads and all that. So I get it, I can’t be mad at it. I just have to show the multi-faceted aspects of myself and I actually love that.”
