Editing Ludacris (section)

===2001–2003: ''Word of Mouf'' and ''Chicken-n-Beer''===
In 2001, Ludacris contributed the hit single "[[Area Codes (Ludacris song)|Area Codes]]" (featuring [[Nate Dogg]]) to the soundtrack to the film ''[[Rush Hour 2]]''. It was also included on his next album, ''[[Word of Mouf]]'', released later that year.<ref name="word of mouth">{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20011220184052/http://www.mtv.com:80/news/articles/1444888/20010629/ludacris.jhtml|archivedate=December 20, 2001|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|title=Ludacris Has Word Of Mouth Strategy For New Album|date=June 29, 2001|publisher=MTV News|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1444888/20010629/ludacris.jhtml|accessdate=March 3, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ''Word of Mouf'' lead single "[[Rollout (My Business)]]" was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance]] in the [[45th Annual Grammy Awards|2003 Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030210084516/http://grammy.aol.com/awards/nominees2003.html|archivedate=February 10, 2003|url=http://grammy.aol.com/awards/nominees2003.html|title=Final Nominations List: 45th Annual Grammy Awards|publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences|date=February 7, 2003|accessdate=March 3, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> Two other singles reached the Hot 100 in 2002: "[[Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)]]" featuring [[Sleepy Brown]] peaked at no. 22, and  "[[Move Bitch]]" featuring [[Mystikal]] and [[I-20 (rapper)|I-20]] peaked at no. 10.<ref name="Hot 100">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ludacris/chart-history/hsi/|title=Chart History: Ludacris: The Billboard Hot 100|publisher=Billboard|accessdate=March 3, 2022}}</ref>

Ludacris also had guest spots on hit singles throughout 2001 and 2002, such as [[Jermaine Dupri]]'s "[[Welcome to Atlanta]]" that peaked at no. 35 on the Hot 100 and no. 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart.<ref name="Hot R&B">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ludacris/chart-history/bsi/|title=Chart History: Ludacris: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|publisher=Billboard|accessdate=March 3, 2022}}</ref> Ludacris was among multiple featured rappers on "Bia' Bia'" by [[Lil Jon|Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz]], which peaked at no. 47 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart in August 2001.<ref name="Hot R&B"/> In the last week of 2002, "[[Gossip Folks]]" by [[Missy Elliott]] featuring Ludacris was released as a single. It peaked at no. 8 on the Hot 100 in March 2003.<ref name="Hot 100"/>

In April 2003, Ludacris released single "[[Act a Fool (Ludacris song)|Act a Fool]]" from the soundtrack of the movie ''[[2 Fast 2 Furious]]'', where Ludacris played Tej Parker.<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030628065312/http://www.mtv.com:80/news/articles/1471604/04292003/ludacris.jhtml|archivedate=June 28, 2003|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1471604/04292003/ludacris.jhtml|title=Ludacris Video Blends '2 Fast 2 Furious' With 'Cannonball Run'|last=Moss|first=Corey|publisher=MTV News|date=April 29, 2003|accessdate=March 3, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> Director [[John Singleton]] brought Ludacris into the franchise after failing to secure [[Ja Rule]]'s return for the sequel to ''[[The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)|The Fast and the Furious]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Golianopoulos |first=Thomas |date=April 3, 2015 |title=John Singleton Reveals How Ja Rule Blew His Chance to Be in '2 Fast 2 Furious' |url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/john-singleton-reveals-how-ja-rule-blew-his-chance-to-be-in-2-fast-2-furious/ |access-date=2024-01-07 |language=en-US}}</ref> In the fall of 2003, Ludacris released his next album ''[[Chicken-n-Beer]]''. Guest appearances included [[Playaz Circle]], [[Chingy]], [[Snoop Dogg]], [[8Ball & MJG]], [[Lil' Flip]], I-20, Lil Fate, and [[Shawnna]]. The single, "[[Stand Up (Ludacris song)|Stand Up]]" appeared on both ''Chicken-n-Beer'' as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip hop/dance movie ''[[You Got Served]]''. Produced by [[Kanye West]], "Stand Up" went on to become one of Ludacris' biggest mainstream hits to date, hitting the top spot on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, [[rhythmic contemporary|rhythmic]], and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, [[MTV2]], and [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]]. Ludacris was sued by a New Jersey group called I.O.F. who claimed that "Stand Up" used a hook from one of their songs, but in June 2006, a jury found that the song did not violate copyrights. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict.<ref name="sued">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532400/20060524/ludacris.jhtml|title=For The Record: Quick News On Luda, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Avenged Sevenfold, Social Distortion & More|publisher=MTV News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211183148/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532400/20060524/ludacris.jhtml|archivedate=December 11, 2006|access-date=February 23, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The album's next single, "[[Splash Waterfalls]]", was released in early 2004. A huge pop hit (despite its steamy video and explicit, adult-oriented lyrical content and themes), it subsequently became a success at urban radio and BET, and is the only time he has produced two consecutive top 10 singles from a solo album, {{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} except for ''[[Release Therapy]]'' (an unedited version of the video could only be viewed on BET's Uncut program). It was Ludacris' most sexual video yet, an [[contemporary R&B|R&B]] remix that featured [[Raphael Saadiq]] and sampled [[Tony! Toni! Tone!]]'s "Whatever You Want". Ludacris received his first [[Grammy Award]] with [[Usher (musician)|Usher]] and [[Lil Jon]] for their hit single "[[Yeah! (Usher song)|Yeah!]]". Ludacris next released "[[Blow It Out (Ludacris song)|Blow It Out]]", which was accompanied by a low-budget music video.