Ludacris Vies For Eco & Online Revolution
Rapper Ludacris is on a mission to save the planet and the music that revolves around it.
The 30-year-old Grammy Award winner, also known as Christopher Bridges, has unexpectedly teamed up with rock star Tommy Lee in an effort to save the planet and has launched a new Web site for aspiring musicans.
The rapper and rocker will star on the Discovery Channel's Planet Green Network series called "Battleground Earth," which will pit the two against each other in a variety of eco-friendly competitions to see who is the greenest.
"The Discovery Channel launched a new channel: 24-hour programming geared towards helping people become more eco-friendly," Ludacris explained. "So, they chose two opposites from the music world - rock n' roll and rap."
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"It's just a set of events and just competitions where my team and Tommy's team are up against one another and are basically along for the ride," Ludacris continued. "We are learning about becoming more eco-friendly and also teaching people with our celebrity about how they could do small things to change their lives and help save the planet."
The "Crash" star and the Motley Crue rocker will compete in green challenges, such as bamboo hut building (which is especially useful for disaster relief) and solar-powered racing as they learn how to make overall changes to their lifestyles.
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"Everything from recycling to solar panels to alternative fuel ... there are so many things to learn and every episode is about something different. So, you can say that we're pretty much up on our game when it comes to being eco-friendly," Ludacris said.
Ludacris isn't just trying to save the planet; he is trying to save aspiring artists from having their music be dictated by the often harsh music industry as well.
The green rapper has become a digital entrepreneur with the launch of wemix.com, a community Web site that enables aspiring artists to upload and share their original music, vote and receive feedback.
"I teamed up with MegaMobile TV and my partner Matthew Apfel, just basically trying to give people their online music community, so they can put their original content on one site. So, it's almost like a virtual 'American Idol' to a certain degree," Ludacris said.
Along with this new venture, Ludacris is exploring the possibility of signing a country and alternative artist to his Disturbing tha Peace record label, an imprint of Def Jam Records.
"You get a chance to work in the studio with the artists like myself and different producers," Ludacris said. "People can put whatever genre of music that they are in, whether it's hip-hop, country, jazz, blues, R&B. It's definitely an online revolution."
By Melissa Castellanos