LUDACRIS STRIKES RIAA GOLD WITH BATTLE OF THE SEXES – #1 SOUNDSCAN DEBUT – HIS 6th #1 POP AND R&B CAREER ALBUM!

“Sex Room” featuring Trey Songz – brand new third single pick from album, hits #1 this week on iTunes Hip-Hop video chart – follow up to:

• “How Low,” RIAA platinum #1 Urban Radio smash;

• “My Chick Bad” featuring Nicki Minaj, Top 5 Rap/R&B/pop crossover hit

• Ludacris receives Choice Music: Rap Artist nomination for Teen Choice Awards 2010

• Ludacris receives Best Male Hip Hop Artist nomination for the 2010 BET Awards

(New York, NY) Three-time Grammy Award-winner Ludacris takes home his eighth consecutive RIAA certified album this week, as BATTLE OF THE SEXES (released March 9th) turns gold with U.S. sales in excess of a half-million units.

The ninth album from DTP/Def Jam artist Ludacris, and his fourth #1 Soundscan debut, BATTLE OF THE SEXES is now three hit singles deep – following the success of the RIAA platinum #1 Urban Radio smash “How Low”; “My Chick Bad” featuring Nicki Minaj (released in February, a #2 Rap, #2 R&B, and Top 10 pop crossover hit); and the brand new “Sex Room” featuring Trey Songz, whose video, directed by Chris Robinson (and loosely based on the hit film The Hangover) is this week’s #1 video on the iTunes Hip-Hop chart.

A month before the release of BATTLE OF THE SEXES, Ludacris embarked on the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. Tour of North America as special guest. The 10-week tour ran from February through April. In between sold-out tour dates, Luda made tv appearances on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, co-hosted and performed on ABC’s Live with Regis & Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Martha Stewart Show, and a double-header on March 30th, TBS’s Lopez Tonight with George Lopez and E! network’s Chelsea Lately.

BATTLE OF THE SEXES follows Luda’s previous concept album, the RIAA gold Theater Of The Mind (November 2008), which spun off a pair of singles that both hit Top 20 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the Hot 100 Top 40: “What Them Girls Like” (featuring Chris Brown and Sean Garrett), and “One More Drink” (featuring T-Pain).

Theater Of The Mind followed-up Luda’s RIAA platinum Release Therapy of 2006, which debuted at #1 – the same week that its first single, the RIAA platinum “Money Maker” (featuring Pharrell Williams) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts. Luda’s next #1 single was “Runaway Love” with Mary J. Blige, which they performed with special guests Earth, Wind & Fire at the 49th annual Grammy Awards worldwide telecast in February 2007. Release Therapy won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, and “Runaway Love” won Best Collaboration at the BET Awards ’07.

Ludacris’ best-selling streak began with his debut, 2000’s RIAA triple-platinum Incognegro (aka Back For the First Time, with “What’s Your Fantasy” and “Southern Hospitality”); followed by 2001’s RIAA triple-platinum Word Of Mouf (with “Area Codes,” “Move B***h,” and “Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)”). 2003’s #1 Soundscan breakthrough was the RIAA double-platinum Chicken-N-Beer, which gave Ludacris his first across-the-board #1 Rap/#1 R&B/ #1 Pop crossover smash hit single with “Stand Up.” Luda’s second consecutive #1 Soundscan debut was 2004’s double-platinum The Red Light District featuring the hits “Get Back,” “Number One Spot” and “Pimpin’ All Over the World.” His next RIAA-certified project was the #1 R&B Ludacris Presents…Disturbing Tha Peace (2005), with appearances by Jamie Foxx, Field Mob, Bobby Valentino, Playaz Circle, Shawnna, I-20, and many others, including Ludacris himself.