Ludacris gave away 20 used cars on Sunday in Atlanta through a joint venture with a local car dealership and his Ludacris Foundation. Winning entrants were required to be 18 years of age or older, have a valid driver’s license and no current car. The 20 lucky recipients were chosen based on personal essays describing their need for a car. Ludacris said that he was deeply moved by the thousands of stories he read and that he just wanted to give back to people in these difficult times:

Talk about a one-man stimulus package: Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris has given away 20 cars to people who wrote about their struggles to keep their jobs for a lack of wheels of their own.

Ludacris said he was taken aback after reading thousands of essays by people struggling or unable to buy cars needed to get to and from work or find jobs. The 31-year-old rapper felt he could step in and move them ahead, partnering with a suburban Atlanta dealership for Sunday’s giveaway.

“People are getting laid off, and now are looking for jobs,” Ludacris said. “To be efficient, you need some transportation of your own to get there. That’s why I wanted to give back to those who need it.”

Each of the used vehicles included free gas for 30 days. Winning contestants were responsible for tags, registration, tax and insurance. About 4,000 contestants submitted a 300-word essay to the rapper’s foundation, explaining why they deserved a car.

One of the most touching stories Ludacris read was by Mading Duor.

Duor described how he moved to the United States six years ago after his mother, father, and five brothers and sisters were killed in Sudan. The man also wrote that a son was killed by a drunken driver in Atlanta a few years back.

“His story touched my heart,” Ludacris said. “He’s endured so much in his life and he’s still here standing. I’m very proud to have helped him.”

Duor, 33, has been able to keep a steady job at a school, but each day he felt stressed about how he was going to get to work. No longer.

“I’m so happy, that I’m nervous,” said Duor, who won a Nissan Maxima. “When I look at my new car, I say to myself, ‘Is this really happening?’”

Crystal Beauford, a single mother who used to ride the bus to two jobs and school, now has a Saturn Ion. The 26-year-old college student doesn’t know how to drive the stick-shift vehicle, but said she’ll learn.

“This is going to help me out so much,” Beauford said. “It’s a blessing.”

[From The AP via Huffington Post]

What a touching gesture that is! The story about the guy who escaped from The Sudan and lost his son to a drunk driver brought tears to my eyes. I’ve mostly heard good things about Ludacris (with some minor exceptions), and I remember a story in 2006 that he took a disabled fan to her prom after she wrote a letter asking him to be his date. His only stipulation was “that his night out at the prom wasn’t turned into a publicity stunt.” I just want to give this guy a hug! We need more celebrities like Ludacris who are focused on doing good deeds in their community.

Ludacris is shown in the header on 5/14/09. Credit: WENN.com. Image below is from 9/6/09. Credit: AP

Oprah has never been known to encourage or celebrate hip-hop or rap artists. Within the past few years, there was even a somewhat significant backlash against Oprah in the male-dominated hip-hop/rap community. From what I remember, Ludacris started the backlash by talking openly about how Oprah treated him when he came on the show to promote Crash.

Back in 2006, Ludacris said: “She edited out a lot of my comments while keeping her own in. Of course, it’s her show, but we were doing a show on racial discrimination, and she gave me a hard time as a rapper when I came on there as a rapper. Initially, I wasn’t even invited on the show. After the taping, she pulled me into a room and we had a five-minute conversation. What I got was that by having rappers on her show, she feels like she’s empowering in them. I don’t see why (comedians) Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who I am huge fans of, it’s OK for them to go on Oprah. They speak the same language as I do, but they do it through comedy, so I guess that’s acceptable to her.”

After that, several artists spoke out against her, notably 50 Cent. He told the Associated Press that Oprah “caters to older white women. Oprah’s audience is my audience’s parents. So, I could care less about Oprah or her show.” I tend to think 50 Cent and Ludacris have very valid points, especially 50 Cent‘s observation about Oprah‘s audience. As for Luda, he knew that it was her show, and she could do whatever she wanted, but he was still peeved at the double standard for rap artists.

Oprah was obviously aware of the criticisms, and it didn’t seem to bother her. But now she’s reached out to the current “godfather” of hip-hip, Jay-Z. While she takes pains to say that she doesn’t listen to his music, she does pour on the compliments:

Look out, Beyonce! Another Hollywood A-lister is a big fan of your man — or at least the way he smells.

On a recent call with her best friend Gayle King on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Oprah Radio, Oprah Winfrey dished about her favorite mogul.

“Jay-Z is my new best friend!” the talk show host said to Gayle while discussing her recent two-hour interview with him for her magazine, O. Admitting that she’s not a huge fan of his music, Oprah does reveal what about him does have her hooked.

“He was so charming and delightful — and he smelled so good,” she says. “It’s the kind of thing where you hug a guy and the scent is sort of buried in them,” she explains. “When we went to the second location I could still smell him on me it was like, ‘oh my, this is wonderful!’”

Jay has reason to take scent seriously. In addition to heading up music labels, a club, a sports team and the Rocawear clothing line, Jay-Z is also a perfumer, having already produced the scent Rocawear 9 IX.

And next month Oprah — and all Jay-Z fans — will have even more reason to celebrate when he launches X Rocawear fragrance in celebration of the label’s 10th anniversary. Listen here to hear more of Gayle’s interview with Oprah.

[From People]

I’m surprised it took this long for Jay-Z and Oprah to become friendly. They’re kind of doing the same thing in different fields – building empires. Will Oprah’s audience be freaked out by her closeness to Jay? I doubt it. Even my mom knows Jay-Z, and she likes him too. She told me at lunch recently that she thinks he seems “nice” and she informed me that Jay is “the godfather”. Hand to God, she said that. I think she heard it on NPR.

Jay-Z is shown on 1/7/09. Credit: Fame Pictures. Oprah is shown on 12/7/09. Credit: PRPhotos

If you’re anything like me, you were probably sitting around, looking at your wall, and thinking, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the richest rap mogul of them all?” If your mirror said Jay-Z, you should give it some Windex. Jay-Z was just named the richest rapper by Forbes.com. I thought they were supposed to spend their time talking about financial markets, stocks, and making people panic over real estate. But it seems that lately, Forbes is spending the majority of their time coming out with “The richest…” lists. Last week they had “The richest bald man” and “The richest one legged farmer.” Okay not really, but I would read Forbes a lot more if they did. Okay not really.

“Jay-Z wins all around, says Forbes.com. He’s got Beyonce on his arm _ and more millions than 50 Cent and Diddy. The rap icon, aka Shawn Carter, is No. 1 on the site’s list of “Hip-Hop Cash Kings,” based solely on 2006 income. He banked an estimated $34 million, Forbes.com said Thursday.

“Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, released his 11th studio album, ‘Kingdom Come,’ which sold around 2 million copies. Jay-Z, 37, is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets and has endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.”

[From Forbes.com]

It might be good to be Jay-Z – yeah you have a lot of money, and Beyonce at your beck and call singing that “Cater 2U” song (blech) – but you’d also have to deal with that crazy mother of hers, Tina Knowles. You know, that lady that’s always trying to drape people in the fur of live puppies? Well her clothing line is one of the few out there that still uses fur, and to me it’s all the same thing. Who else makes a lot of money and doesn’t come wit the bizarre mother?

“Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson ranks second with an estimated $32 million. The 31-year-old rapper-businessman oversees his G-Unit record label, clothing line, ring tones and other enterprises, and has sold more than 11 million albums. His latest record, ‘Curtis,’ is due out Sept. 11.

“Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) placed third with an estimated $28 million. A fashion plate, he has a clothing line, Sean John, and heads Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment and its record label. Diddy, 37, is also host of MTV’s ‘Making the Band’ series.

“Rounding out the top five are Timbaland ($21 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million). They’re followed by Eminem ($18 million); Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Scott Storch (all $17 million); Ludacris and T.I. (both $16 million); Outkast and Lil Jon (both $14 million); Ice Cube ($13 million); Jermaine Dupri and Swizz Beatz (both $12 million); Chamillionaire and The Game (both $11 million); and Young Joc ($10 million).”

[From Forbes.com]

You could be at the bottom of that group and still be doing pretty well for yourself. I have no idea who Swizz Beatz (sounds like the name of a cheap watch) or any of the guys after him are, but I’m pretty sure I could learn to love them, given the chance.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Black and White Ball. Header image of Jay-Z at Giant Magazine’s celebration of Rihanna’s new album on June 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Ludacris recently got rid of his trademark braids to prepare for the release of his new, more mature album. He says that people don’t really know who he is as a person and that his music now reflects his more serious concerns:

Ludacris has been known for his comedic style, and this is a departure for him. He is also making a name for himself as an actor with roles in “Crash” and “Hustle and Flow.”

Now Ludacris is showing how mature and kind he really is. Hewent to the prom with a young fan who is wheelchair-bound:

These quotes make it seem like it’s coming up, but prom season was a few months ago, so I did a little research and found out that this happened in 2004. The news must be resurfacing now because of a recent interview. Whatever the reason, that was quite kind of Ludacris and it doesn’t seem like he did it for the recognition. It turns out Ludacris has a whole charitable foundation (site has automatic music) that’s dedicated to helping young people achieve their dreams.

I have an auto-immune disorder like MS and have to use a wheelchair when I’m having a bad relapse. It’s a very humbling experience and people do stare at you as if you don’t exist and can’t see them. Others look away right away as if it’s too painful for them to have to think about a young person who’s disabled. (The best way to deal with someone in a wheelchair is just to look if you’re curious, but not stare. If you catch someone’s eye, smile at them. Don’t pity someone just because they have a disability.)

I’m really lucky because most of the time I can get around fine and even exercise, and I’ve only been sick for a few years. I would never suggest that needing a wheelchair for periods of time is the same as needing one permanently, but If I had this when I was in high school, I totally would have tried to get Matt Damon to take me to the prom. Is that dishonest?

Here is Ludacris with his new look at KUBE 93′s Summer Jam on 7/29, courtesy of Cake and Ice Cream.

Oprah has pissed off several hip hop stars including Ludacris, 50 Cent, and now Ice Cube. The rapper-actor has joined the chorus of male artists who claim that Oprah doesn’t give them equal air time. Ice Cube makes a good point when he notes that Oprah puts rapists and child molestors on the air, but doesn’t invite hip hop artists:

A few weeks ago Oprah gave a ridiculous excuse for her white middle-aged female-centric show, saying she loves hip hop and even has some black artists on her iPod:

That’s like Bill O’Reilly saying he has black and gay friends. (Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s a pretty lame excuse.)

Maybe Oprah will realize that rap isn’t taboo and that her audience likes a good story from any background. Africa is cool enough for Oprah, but black culture in America is something she filters through her clueless, snotty viewpoint. She’s old and richer than everyone in the world. It’s about time she realized her show can’t remain relevant and retires.