On Wednesday (June 19), the Urban One Influential Beach at the Cannes Lions Festival in France was the scene for a dynamic talk between superstar rapper and actor Ludacris and the CEO of Urban One, Alfred Liggins.
Source: Urban One / Urban One
The subject was the powerful impact of Black culture in America and beyond. Liggins opened up by sharing the origins of the bond between the two with the audience.
“I’m a little older than him but we started our careers together because I bought a little radio station in Atlanta back in 1995 called Hot 97,” he began before sharing how Ludacris got his start at the station as an intern before asking the Grammy Award winner to share a bit about his background.
Ludacris spoke about how he began rapping at the age of 9, and how he came to Hot 97 with the hopes of joining the team.
“If I can get a job up there, I can pursue my dream of becoming an entertainer, an international entertainer,” he explained. “What happened was, like you said, I just went up there and begged for an internship and at first your company said “we’re not hiring”. I said, “okay” and came back the next week and asked “Are you guys hiring yet, I’m willing to do anything, I’m willing to work for free.” They call it pleasant persistence.”
He’d go on to reveal that after two months, he was hired to work on the morning show at only 18 years old.
The conversation soon moved to the impact of Black culture domestically and globally.
“For a long time, it’s driven our local culture, international culture but it didn’t get its just due. How do you do that and what are ways that we can make that happen?” Liggins asked.
“That’s a perfect example of why and how we need to invest into the Black dollar,” Ludacris responded. “I’m trying to provide a safe space and an incubator for my children the way that Urban One provided a safe space and an incubator for me. I think the more that we do these things and the more that we have these conversations, the more open-minded people are and the more they want to invest.”
Check out the entire conversation between Ludacris and Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins above.
Also, peep Ludacris’ exclusive interview with US Weekly‘s Amanda Williams below.
“I started with Urban One [as a DJ in Atlanta],” the Grammy winner exclusively told Us Weekly. “I started on the radio station 97.5, which is now 107.9, and that’s where I got my start. They provided a platform for me to be authentically myself and from there I was able to evolve and grow and get signed and different things.”
