Christopher Brian Bridges, born September 11, 1977, records as Ludacris. Born in Champaign, Illinois, he moved through schools in Illinois and Virginia before graduating from Banneker High School in Atlanta and studying music management at Georgia State. He worked as an intern and DJ at Atlanta's Hot 97.5 under the name Chris Lova Lova, met Timbaland through the station and appeared on "Phat Rabbit." He founded Disturbing tha Peace and self-released Incognegro in 1999, which Def Jam South repackaged as Back for the First Time. Word of Mouf, Chicken-n-Beer and The Red Light District all went multi-platinum, and Release Therapy won Best Rap Album at the Grammys. He has played Tej Parker across the Fast & Furious franchise since 2003, one of the longest-running acting runs by any rapper.