Ciara recently celebrated the launch of her new Apple Music series Level Up Radio With Ciara, where she shared no shortage of gems from her long-running and hit-filled music career. With the latest episode focused on her collaborations, Ciara took a moment to reflect on some of her biggest link-ups, many of whom happened to be hip-hop legends. Ludacris, for one, who held it down with a standout verse on her wildly popular single "Oh." In fact, his verse was so impressive that Ciara went so far as to list it as one of the "best he's ever done."
Jay-Z's Reaction To Ludacris' "Oh" Verse">John Ricard/BET/Getty Images
"I will say it was a dream come true for me," she reflects, speaking on connecting with Ludacris back in 2004. For some context, Ciara had only just entered the game with her Goodies album, while Ludacris already boasted four studio albums to his name. In other words, the man was a titan in their shared home city of Atlanta. "This collaboration in particular was one of those ones that was another pinch myself moment, and now this artist is like my brother and we've had multiple songs together and we've had a lot of hits together."
"On this record, Luda's verse by far, I would say, was probably one of his hardest verses he's ever done," she states, revealing that Luda's bars ultimately drew a lofty compliment from one of rap's GOAT contenders. "I know he'll tell you how Jay-Z called him up and was like, "Yo, your verse is crazy," and one of the best verses that he had heard. It was really cool to see the love and respect that was happening in this moment and in this movement together, this record. Us being from Atlanta and just the feeling that it was for our hometown."
For more gems from Ciara, be sure to catch Level Up Radio w/ Ciara on Apple Music Hits every Thursday at 11 AM PST. On the topic of "Oh," do you agree with her assessment that Ludacris turned in a career-defining verse?