Ludacris’ ‘Back For The First Time’ Available Again On Vinyl
The rapper’s 2000 album features hits like ‘What’s Your Fantasy’ and ‘Southern Hospitality.’
Ludacris’ celebrated 2000 album, Back For The First Time, is set to be reissued on vinyl to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Released on October 17, 2000 Luda’s sophomore effort and major label debut cemented him as one of the most original voices in hip-hop. Featuring star studded production from legends like Organized Noize, Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, The Neptunes, and Ludacris himself, the record became an instant classic.
Back For The First Time includes hit singles “What’s Your Fantasy” and “Southern Hospitality.”” This new vinyl edition is now available on a standard black 2LP vinyl in a gatefold fold jacket.
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“What’s Your Fantasy?” became a major hit nationally, peaking at number 21 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up single, “Southern Hospitality,” was similarly popular, charting at number 23. The album climbed all the way to No.4 on the Billboard 200.
Though the project is now a certified classic, it was originally released under a different name entirely. In 2000, the Atlanta-based rapper signed to Def Jam’s newly established Southern rap subsidiary, Def Jam South, and became the label’s preeminent ATL artist. Def Jam re-released his underground album Incognegro under its new title, Back For The First Time, led by the hotly-tipped single “What’s Your Fantasy?”
Ludacris was first discovered two years earlier when Timbaland featured the rapper (then billed as Ludichris) on the song “Fat Rabbit” from his 1998 album Tim’s Bio. Luda then wrote and recorded Incognegro, which he released himself, on the label Disturbing tha Peace. Incognegro sold well enough to break into the Billboard 200, and Ludacris was approached by Scarface of the Geto Boys, who was a representative of Def Jam at the time.
In late 2000, Def Jam added a few songs to Incognegro and released it as Back For The First Time. New tracks included a U.G.K. collaboration (“Stick ‘Em Up”), a Neptunes production (“Southern Hospitality”), and a remix of his previously released song with Timbaland (retitled “Phat Rabbit”).
