Ludacris Drops Album Same Day As Kanye

"...if he was to send a dis song to me, he might be sending it in Auto-Tune." - Luda
"On this particular record, if he was to send a dis song to me, he might be sending it in Auto-Tune," Luda laughed last week while promoting his Web site, WeMix.com. "Nah, man. For real, it's gonna be two great albums and I think what [Kanye] is doing is inspiring. People are looking for something new. From the songs I heard from him, I thought that's just what he was doing — new and interesting."

Stating the obvious, Kanye and Luda will have two totally different-sounding albums that both drop on November 25. West sings on 808s & Heartbreak, and on Theater of he Mind, 'Cris has a clear mission: solidify himself again as one of the best on the mic.

"I'm rapping my heart out," the Atlanta champion said to MTV. "It's an exciting day to go to retail. I feel like my album [is] such a presentation and far different from anything I've done. Every song is movie- or TV-based. It's not just audio, it's an experience."

Theater of the Mind's standout track is definitely "I Do It for Hip-Hop," which features ... uh, co-stars Nas and Jay-Z. It's a collaboration Luda has been waiting his whole career for.

"The best way I can explain that sh-- is that I feel like almost when you say, 'I've done that and can move on,' " Luda said of the collabo. "After doing a song with Nas and Jay-Z, I feel like a part of me is more complete than I was in hip-hop. I've always wanted to do something that extreme and historic in hip-hop.

"This whole album is going to solidify me in your top five," he continued. "When I say, 'your top five,' I mean anybody who is reading or listening to this. It will solidify me in the top five. It's so many 16s on this. Then I got DJ Premier on a song called 'MVP.' I'm the first Southern artist on a DJ Premier beat that's on their album. Then you have 'The Last of a Dying Breed' with Lil Wayne. There's a song called 'Do the Right Thing' with me and Common and Spike Lee. There's so many 16s on there, taking it to the essence — I'm feeling hella complete."

It feels like old Luda when you look at the new video for "One More Drink," as 'Cris has that vintage humor as he raps about getting drunk and hooking up with ladies — the thing is, though, when sober, he realizes that the women in question aren't as lovely as they were when he was inebriated. One even turns out to be a real wolf that devours his arm. Katt Williams and the song's co-star, T-Pain, are in the clip as well. "What Them Girls Like" and "Undisputed" are the other two videos from the upcoming album.