Ludacris: London Hammersmith Po Na Na

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Bottle of gin in hand, Ludacris bursts onstage hyped and menacing, out to prove his heterosexuality beyond belief. This man's picked up all the profanities in the dictionary, can damn-near sex any girl he steps to, and boasts a new single , 'What's Your Fantasy?', that's basically a ghetto karma sutra, listing all the places he can get it on. "Up on the roof, tell your boyfriend not to be mad at me," he drawls, before DJ Jay Cee blends in Nas and The Braveheart's ode to oral sex, 'Oochie Wally' and all the women in the place start clucking "lick, lick, lick..."

Chris Bridges, this native of the Dirty South known as Ludacris, is ready to explode. The 21-year-old Atlantan is currently carrying the flame for Def Jam South, and could soon be a contender for Nelly's crown. Westwood's dropping his 'Ho' record, a club smash in the US, while the provocative 'What's Your Fantasy?' is getting play over here, and he even managed to infiltrate the Big Breakfast.

Don't imagine that it's all gonna be easy, though. He has to work hard to win the crowd over: his introductory freestyles have been busted a million times before, and tonight his delivery's too smooth and well-versed, disguising his humour and making him sound a cocky little motherfucker.

But by the end of the show, Ludacris, Infamous 2-0 and Jay Cee (who emulates EPMD's legendary DJ Scratch in treating us to a little striptease while mixing in bass from Trick Daddy's sporthall anthem 'Take It To Da House') have everyone on their side - the men included - and the whole club's screaming the "throw them bows" refrain of 'Southern Hospitality'. That Southern charm wins out in the end.

Sarah Edwards