Ludacris – Battle of the Sexes
Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam Records

“Stick to the script.”

With the way relationships are going these days, the topic of men versus women, Mars versus Venus and any other analogy used in the same context has now become common theme in music. Jay-Z himself tried to merely describe the situation he had with a lover on The Blueprint 3, Usher crafted a slow jam to describe the battle between the two sides in the bedroom and Ludacris?

Decided to make a whole album about it.

Well, let’s back track for a second because some topics on Luda’s 7^th album kind of stray away from the subject at hand. From the outset, this was supposed to be the album that saw Luda team up with longtime partner in crime Shawnna for a “duet” CD. Yes, Shawnna actually spending time on a CD instead of in Def Jam purgatory.

By the fates, Shawnna found herself splitting with Disturbing the Peace and opting for T-Pain and Nappy Boy Entertainment. So what does a labelhead do at Def Jam knowing that one of the few rappers they actually promote quite heavily has an album on the budget? He scraps the duet idea and instead makes it a regular Ludacris solo CD. And in terms of catalogue, it may have been the weakest output that Luda has ever produced.

Now, this is not to say that Luda has had some speed bumps in his career but this may be the first paint by numbers album I’ve ever heard from him. For a concept album from a rapper who has been busy maturing, it almost seems as Luda lost his luster when he chopped off his Samson like braids back in 2006.

The lead single “How Low” burns in the same vein a Luke single would have back in the late eighties and early nineties, possibly inspired by numerous Twerk Team videos on YouTube (coincidentally, Luda found the Twerk Team and put them on George Lopez). It’s fun and hyperactive, obviously meant for a good time at the club. The celebratory second single “My Chick Bad” has the originator of the schizophrenic flow team up with its newfound Queen Barbie in Nicki Minaj.

To me, any Nicki verse you’ve heard in the past, you will surely hear again as that same flow doesn’t really change from song to song. Obscure punchline here, crazy robotic posturing and elevated voice for emphasis. Songs like “Sex Room”, “Feelin’ So Sexy” & “Tell Me A Secret” are instant additions to anybody’s list of go-to sex songs (since Word of Mouf’s “Freaky Thangs” I wouldn’t expect anything less from Luda on the sex tip).

But while finishing up listening to the album, I couldn’t name a single song that had a replayable verse – that one track that made you remember why you ever put Cris in your Top 5. Frankly, the only thing that comes even somewhat close to the unpredictable Luda of the early aughts would be the bonus track “Sexting” in an obvious ode to Tiger Woods.

“B.O.T.S. Radio” is essentially Jay-Z’s “1-900 Hustler” curtailed towards the goods and bads about women and even the serious track on the album “Can’t Live With You” finds the listener questioning whether or not Luda is battling himself really. Does he want to be the serious rapper who showed out on Release Therapy & Theater of the Mind or the clown prince of the South with his earlier albums?

So maybe the idea that Luda is slowly losing that aura about him that made his entire albums enjoyable more than just the singles that hit the radio. Not to mention the way he’s actually starting to put out mixtapes before his albums I might dare say this – the mixtapes are starting to come out a little better than the albums. While BOTS may find itself in the back half of fans favorite Luda albums, it’s still a lot better than some other albums that see the light of day.

STANDOUTS: How Low, My Chick Bad, Sex Room, B.O.T.S. Radio, Can’t Live With You

DUDS: I Do It All Night, I Know You Got A Man

FINAL SCORE: 6.3