Southern Hospitality by Ludacris

Album: Back For The First Time (2000)

Charted: 23

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Songfacts®:

"Southern Hospitality" is better known as "Throw Them 'Bows" because that's what Ludacris commands in the chorus, asking everyone in the club - even the ladies - to throw out their elbows like they just pulled down a rebound. You didn't want to be on the dance floor when the song came on because elbows would be flying everywhere. Club DJs quickly learned to use caution before playing it.
The song is a tribute to the Dirty South, specifically Luda's Atlanta stomping grounds. The title shows up just once in the lyric.

This was when rap started expanding past the coasts and into the South and Midwest, with Ludacris and Outkast leading the way from Atlanta. Nelly did his part from St. Louis, and schooled us on some "Country Grammar (Hot S--t)" around the same time "Southern Hospitality" was big.
This was Luda's second single, following "What's Your Fantasy." He released an album independently on his own label, Disturbing Tha Peace, in 1999 before signing with Def Jam South, which included "Southern Hospitality" on his 2000 album Back For The First Time. By this time, he had already build a following in Georgia, and he quickly went nationwide. The album ended up selling over 3 million copies and established Luda as a fresh new voice in hip-hop. He started showing up on lots of features, including Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man" and "Gossip Folks."
Ludacris wrote this song with Pharrell Williams, who also sings on the track and produced it with his Neptunes partner, Chad Hugo. The Neptunes got some heat in the '90s producing tracks for Jay-Z ("The City Is Mine"), Ma$e ("Lookin' At Me") and SWV ("Use Your Heart"), but they caught fire in the next decade, becoming a top production team for the likes of Nelly ("Hot In Herre") and Justin Timberlake ("Rock Your Body").
Unlike the "Stand Up" video, this one doesn't take place in a club. It's mostly outdoors, with Ludacris and his crew scoping out some lovely ladies. There are lots of car-commercial-angle shots of the Cadillac Luda raps about, so we can assume he had a deal there. He also sang about a Caddy in "What's Your Fantasy":

In the sun or up in the shade
On the top of my Escalade

Luda's label boss, Scarface, makes an appearance in the video.

Comments: 1

Moosehead from Sclove this song but wont be juggling anytime soon!

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