Editing Ludacris (section)

===2004–2007: ''The Red Light District'' and ''Release Therapy''===
[[File:Ludacriscrop.JPG|thumb|upright|Ludacris during a 2011 New Year's Day concert in a Miami Beach nightclub]]
Ludacris took a more mature approach to his fourth album ''[[The Red Light District]]''. Sohail Khalid helped produce this album with various artists such as [[T.I.]], [[Lil' Flip]] and [[Bun B]]. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat on the opening track. Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "[[Get Back (Ludacris song)|Get Back]]" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone. He first appeared on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' as a special guest performing with musical guest [[Sum 41]] on a season 30 episode hosted by [[Paul Giamatti]]. He then recorded "Get Back" with Sum 41 to make a rock crossover single. The follow-up single was the ''[[Austin Powers (film series)|Austin Powers]]''-inspired "[[Number One Spot]]". It was produced by New York City's [[WQHT|Hot 97]] personality [[DJ Green Lantern]]. It used the [[Quincy Jones]] sample of "[[Soul Bossa Nova]]" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow. Featured artists on the album include [[Nas]], [[DJ Quik]], [[DMX]], [[Trick Daddy]], [[Sleepy Brown]] and [[Disturbing tha Peace]] newcomers [[Bobby V]]alentino, Dolla Boi and Small World. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts.

In an issue of ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]'', Ludacris was placed in the number nine spot for the most anticipated albums of 2006, for ''[[Release Therapy]]''. The album ''Release Therapy'' was released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris formatted the CD to have two sides: a ''Release'' side and a ''Therapy'' side on a single CD. Guest appearances include [[Pharrell Williams]], [[R. Kelly]], [[Young Jeezy]], [[Mary J. Blige]], [[Field Mob]], [[Bobby V]]alentino, [[Pimp C]], [[C-Murder]] and [[Beanie Sigel]]. The first single, "[[Money Maker]]", which features Williams, was released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17, 2006.<ref name="BB">{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/57826/ludacris-digs-deep-on-release-therapy |title=Ludacris Digs Deep On 'Release Therapy' |work=Billboard.com |date=July 14, 2006 |access-date=July 14, 2006}}</ref> "Money Maker" reached number one on the BET program ''[[106 & Park]]''. It then went to become the rapper's second number-one single after 6 years{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}. His second single, "[[Grew Up a Screw Up]]", featuring [[Young Jeezy]], dispels rumors that the two are or ever were in a dispute. His third single, "[[Runaway Love (Ludacris song)|Runaway Love]]", soon peaked at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Hot Rap Tracks]] and won Best Collaboration in the 2007 [[BET Awards]]. ''Release Therapy'' won the [[Best Rap Album]] award at the [[49th Grammy Awards|2007 Grammy Awards]]. His album then reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts with sales of 309,000 in its first week. With the release of this album, Ludacris marked a change in style in his career with his musical style. The new album itself features a departure of the lighthearted mood of his previous albums, and introduces a darker side. A change of hair accompanied this as he cut off his trademark braids for a more conventional "fade" cut. To promote the album, Ludacris returned to ''Saturday Night Live'' (as both host and musical guest) on November 18, 2006.