Ludacris ends T.I. beef, talks new album

The hip-hop feuds of yore were relatively simple affairs. An artist would release a diss track, the target would respond, and they'd go back and forth for a while until they got tired of it, usually releasing a collaboration track in the process (get money!). With the crews of modern hip-hop, it gets a little more complicated. Now there's feuding factions for a rapper to contend with, intra-posse squabbles, and enough court intrigue for a drama on premium cable.

Exhibit A: Ludacris and T.I. The fabled beef between their camps was a blood feud that gave the Hatfields and McCoys pause, and culminated with an endlessly-covered fistfight between Luda's manager, Chaka Zulu, and T.I. Tip recently dished to MTV that the beef between the two was strictly business, and Ludacris seems to be corroborating that story. In a chat with MTV about their upcoming collaboration "Wish You Would" on his new album, Theater of the Mind, Cris gushed: "This album, Theater of the Mind, is an event, and all the songs on it are events. I felt like there was no bigger event in hip-hop at this moment than me and T.I. working together."

T.I. seemed equally chummy, revealing in a radio interview that "...me and dude never had no problems. It was always turmoil between our camp and his camp. Us as the bosses of our companies, everyone is gonna follow our lead. We'd figure if it ain't no problem and we don't have no issues, no beef, then there's no reason we shouldn't be able to get together and make music. That was an executive decision that was made on both our behalves."

First Nas and Jay-Z, now T.I. and Ludacris. All that's left is for Kanye and 50 to bury the hatchet, and we'll be forced to turn to the world of alternative rock for commercially opportunistic feuds. Ludacris' Theater of the Mind is due out Oct. 21, and T.I.'s Paper Trail drops Sept. 30.

Related links:
News: Ludacris says new website is the end of the recording studio
TrapMuzik.com
Ludacris on MySpace

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