The Red Light District

The Red Light District is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ludacris. It was released on December 7, 2004, through Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam South. The album's title refers to an urban tourist district where the standard industry is prostitution. The CD is accompanied by a 41-minute DVD made by Decon of Ludacris visiting the red-light district, a cannabis grow-room, an adult 'cam-house' and the recording of the Red Light District CD/DVD promo concert in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Production was handled by Timbaland, Craig King, DJ Green Lantern, DJ Toomp, DK All Day, Donnie Scantz, Heazy, Icedrake, LT Moe, Needlz, Organized Noize, Polow da Don, Salaam Remi, The Medicine Men, Tic Toc and Vudu, with Chaka Zulu and Ludacris serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Bobby V, DJ Quik, DMX, Dolla Boy, Kimmi J., Nas, Nate Dogg, Sleepy Brown, Small World, Trick Daddy and Doug E. Fresh. The album was supported with four singles: "Get Back", "Number One Spot", "The Potion" and "Pimpin' All Over the World" and a promotional single "Blueberry Yum Yum".

In the United States, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 album chart with 322,000 copies sold in its first week. On September 29, 2005, it received a double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 2 million units.

Critical reception
The Red Light District was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on sixteen reviews.

Soren Baker of Los Angeles Times wrote: "Ludacris includes thoughtful rhymes on "Child of the Night" and "Hopeless", but his humour is still his biggest asset and the reason he commands respect". Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone named it "his most inventive album yet". Dom Sinacola of Cokemachineglow wrote: "so, Ludacris is still a distance from a definitive, unmatched hip hop statement, but I'm content with his glaciered pace and middling "a-a-a-a-b-b-b-b-etc" frame. It's just too much damn fun to pass up". In mixed reviews, AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "Luda hasn't slipped into the complacent lap of luxury as deeply as some of his fellow platinum contemporaries, but it's evident that he's not as hungry as he once was".

Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Samples and interpolations
"Number One Spot"
 * "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones

"Get Back"
 * Interpolation from “Fuck You Tonight” by Notorious B.I.G.

"Child of the Night"
 * "Portuguese Love" by Teena Marie

"Who Not Me"
 * Interpolation from “Stick Em” by The Fat Boys

"Large Amounts"
 * “Pick A Pocket Or Two” by Clive Reville

"Two Miles an Hour"
 * "Little Child Runnin' Wild" by Curtis Mayfield
 * "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince