Is rapper mellowing? No, he's just thinking about it

The artist talks about his career and Bill O'Reilly.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Peering out a hotel window, Ludacris is considering a more sedate lifestyle. Less "Chicken 'N Beer," more exercise and books. Maybe even giving up some of his hard-partying ways.
But the witty, free-flowing 26-year-old rapper isn't about to get all conscious on us just yet. After all, this is the same guy who stripped in his "Splash/Waterfalls" video and whose latest single tells critics to take their thoughts and "Blow It Out" a place that would be more than a bit uncomfortable.
Big success
Ludacris' ability to turn a phrase in the most unique of ways is what's made the former Atlanta radio DJ one of today's most successful rappers. Though he's only on his third album -- "Chicken 'N Beer" -- he's rapped on more than a dozen hits, thanks to numerous collaborations like Usher's recent No. 1 smash "Yeah!"
His penchant for explicit words and topics led Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly to urge Pepsi to drop him as a pitchman in 2002. Although O'Reilly was successful, Ludacris did get his revenge on record -- his barbs against the popular conservative are among the most hilarious rhymes on his multiplatinum album.
Q. What do you think about the Federal Communications Commission's crackdown on indecency?
A. That whole deal is really crazy to me. It's really sad that Janet Jackson was just going to let her [breast] out and the next thing you know, the FCC is just cracking down on everything.
Q. Has it affected you?
A. It affected me already, because my "Splash/Waterfalls" video was a little kind of sexually explicit, but on certain video channels, I won't name any, they had to completely stop playing mine during the daytime. It's going to make people kind of like, I guess, not be as blatantly vulgar, on videos and music. And in a sense, it's a good thing.
Q. You did an "uncut" video for your song "Booty Poppin'," and Nelly's explicit "Tip Drill" video was recently the subject of protests. What do you think about the controversy over such soft-core porn videos?
A. The people that are criticizing are mostly those who have never seen anything like this or haven't experienced this. Hip-hop music, what we're doing is showing you the reality of what goes on. We're not necessarily trying to promote it in our minds, we're trying to show the reality of what goes on in our neighborhoods. I would say to people who criticize, they're scared of the truth, because this is what's going on; it's like watching the news.
Q. Did the whole Bill O'Reilly thing help you at all?
A. I'm sure a lot of people who didn't know who Ludacris was definitely know who I am because of him, talking about my name. Because the audience that watches his show, a lot of those people are ones that haven't necessarily heard of my music or heard of me. So I wouldn't doubt in my mind that it made me a little more popular, because some people say any publicity is good publicity, and I also think it made him popular. And yes it did spark something, because rap is all about emotion, so I couldn't help but to let out my feelings about the subject.
Q. Do you think corporations have pulled back from rappers?
A. It doesn't seem like it to me. At first I was thinking some corporations would pull back from me, but I haven't seen any resistance. There's still a lot of deals on the table that I'm negotiating and we've done business with other companies since this incident. It would seem as if a lot of companies would pull back from hip-hop music, but it just seems like they're gravitating more to it.
Q. What are some personal goals you'd like to achieve at this point?
A. I'm at a point where I feel like I want to learn more. I want to increase the brain capacity. I'm really into empowering myself and just making myself stronger. There comes a time in everybody's life where they just feel like they just wanna get on the right path. I just want to stimulate my mind.
Q. You talk about expanding your mind -- would you give up marijuana?
A. I've thought about it, but I'm not at that point where I can completely stop yet. Maybe will eventually, but not yet. Especially, the next album is called 'The Red Light District." There's some smokin' songs on there.
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