Ludacris, welcome back
but this time to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
-How you doing, my dude? -(laughs)
I'm good, man. I-I feel like, you know,
we're brothers from another mother,
especially with our afros just growing right now, rapidly.
Right? This is-- this is, like, the-the thing.
I feel like you started yours first though. You--
I-I remember seeing you growing it out,
you know, during all those vacation pictures.
-(laughs) -And I'm not gonna lie.
Like, I would see Luda, and it was always you and your wife
and you'd be out on vacation on, like, a beautiful island.
And I was like, "Man, this guy goes on too many vacations."
And then 2020 hit, and I'm like,
-"Man, I should have gone on more vacations." -(laughs)
Yo. By the way, we're light-skinned, man.
I got to stay in the sun as much as I can.
So, you know, me being on islands
is pretty much home for me. That's what I have to do.
-(chuckles) I got to keep this... -I remember--
Can I tell you something? I remember the first time--
I remember the first time I came--
like-like, when I first got to New York, it was my first year.
Like, I've never lived like this, you know?
Like, the days end at, like, 4:00 p.m.
'cause someone changes the time and then,
I don't know, some bullshit happens.
All I know is I wasn't getting enough sun, like,
the same amount of sun that I was getting in South Africa.
And I knew it was bad when my makeup artist at the show
was like, "Hey, man, you need to start standing outside.
"Otherwise, I'm gonna start using white people makeup
-on you." Next time, I'm coming with you. -Hey, man.
Yes, I got you covered. No worries, bro.
-I literally stay on the island, so I love it. -I feel you, man.
I feel you. But this year's been really different, man.
Um, you know, I-I... It's funny that you're here,
because I-I remember wondering, what is Ludacris doing?
-(laughs) -You know? I was thinking of--
I was thinking of Ludacris the actor,
you know, Ludacris the rapper.
Everyone's danced to your music.
Everyone has watched your movies.
And I was like, "What is Ludacris doing right now?"
And it turns out you're here to talk about,
honestly, in my opinion, one of the most amazing initiatives,
called KidNation. Tell me what it's all about.
Man, you know, when-- We always want to do things that--
We want to see the change in the world,
we have to be that change, right?
And I wish I would've had this when I was a kid.
So, we've been working on this.
Obviously, there's so much craziness going on in the world.
Um, kids and parents,
they need their supplemental "edu-tainment,"
as I like to call it. It's a lot of virtual schooling going on.
And so I created this platform that's a safe haven
and a safe place for children
and has all original content, videos and music.
So I'm talking about math, talking about science,
talking about good grades, about manners.
I mean, you name it, we have it.
And, obviously, it's, like, current music--
hip-hop, um, pop, rock and roll.
All different genres.
It's almost recreating the music industry
but literally having nothing but educational
and fun entertainment content for children.
That's what KidNation is.
KidNation.com and-and the app that just got out.
So, there you have it, man, in a nutshell.
I won't lie, when I first heard about it,
I was like, "Man, this is gonna be corny.
"This is gonna be trash.
"This is gonna be, like, Luda trying to act
like he-he's friends with kids or s..."
-I was like, "This is gonna be horrible." -(laughs)
No, for real though. I was worried.
And it's amazing. Like, it's, like--
I'll tell-- I'll tell you why it's amazing.
I'll tell you why it's amazing. First of all,
we take for granted how important it is to give kids,
like, literally safe spaces
where they can just learn and have fun.
These days, the Internet,
you click one video that's a kids' vi--
like, a kids' song, and, the next thing you know,
they're in some deep conspiracy theory.
Secondly, it's actually good music.
Like, a lot of people think that kids don't know
what a beat is. And you made actual good music
for kids to learn about life,
to learn about racial equality,
to learn about math, to learn about--
And some of the songs you even made with kids.
Tell me about that experience.
Man, it's literally facilitating their-their voice.
And I feel like we have to listen to kids a lot more, man.
They have this innocence and this candidness
about themselves and they just shoot you straight
and they tell you about love.
They can reteach you.
'Cause, you know, we go through life, we become adults,
we start having all these responsibilities and we--
our minds get distorted a lot.
And that's another reason that I created this, man.
And I-I'm glad that you get it,
because it's so important right now,
especially right now, with everything's that's going on,
that we give them something that they can literally just stay on.
And the parents love that it's not gonna take them,
uh, somewhere else, where they're looking at...
-something that we don't want to see. -Exactly.
But we all know that kids want to more listen
to the adult content, which, you know...
which is kind of ironic, because I make adult content.
So I'm almost battling and balancing my karma
from all the adult content
that I'm now trying to help facilitate the kids. (chuckles)
Um, what I... what I love about the project, as well, as...
you know, especially in a time
like-like we're living in today,
man, parents are desperate for any help they can get.
So many kids are not in school right now.
Like, I always tell people,
we're desperate to get schools open again.
For me, it's like, before bars and restaurants,
get the schools open, man, you know?
'Cause you can figure out a way to pay a bar.
You can't figure out a way to pay a kid's education.
Like, that's-that's their time.
And so, so many parents will appreciate what you're doing,
because it helps them teach their kids, it makes it fun,
it makes it interesting.
And what I think a lot of people will appreciate,
even if they're not parents is,
you're letting people participate
with an amazing prize on the other end.
Talk me through some of that,
because I heard something about a Ford Bronco.
I heard something about $50,000.
And I was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
-There's 50,000 in this thing?" -Yeah, man.
And I was like, "And lunch with Ludacris
and flying to Los Angeles." Walk me through some of this,
'cause some of it sounds like a lie.
-I got to figure out what the truth is. -(laughs)
It sounds too good to be true, but literally,
during this time, all I'm trying to do is help people.
And you literally pretty much said everything.
All people have to do is go to winanewbronco.com.
We got a 2021 Ford Bronco.
There's, like, an 18-month waiting list for this.
Um, and I'm gonna hand over the keys when it's safe
and fly people to Los Angeles to get this car.
-And literally the-the... -Wow.
It's all going to benefit, when you sign up for this,
the Boys & Girls Club, which is...
You know, everybody knows about that.
It's helping underprivileged families.
It's helping with tutoring with kids
that are doing schooling right now.
And then, to top it all off, there's $50,000 cash
that someone is going to win.
So I'm just here to let you know this is nothing but goodness
that we're spreading on all fronts
from KidNation, um, to this Bronco to $50,000 cash.
It's literally what everybody needs,
especially during the holidays, and on 2020,
this year that has thrown everyone for a loop.
So you're not just, you know...
you're not just sitting around during the pandemic.
I know you're one of the hardest-working people I know.
And that's why you go on so many vacations
is because you work hard, and you play hard.
And you love living your life that way.
Um, you've got a new movie on Amazon Prime.
-Yeah. -And I'm not gonna lie, Luda.
I was... I was a little thrown
because the title of the movie made me think
that maybe this is, like, a Fast and Furious spin-off.
-It's called... it's called The Ride. -Right, right.
And I was like, "Oh, yeah, we're about...
It's gonna be crazy."
And it was crazy, but in a different way,
because you play a dad who is part of a family
-who adopts a neo-Nazi white kid. -Yeah.
And, I mean, it's a... it's a powerful movie.
But I... I was like, "Man, I..."
I was not ready for this is what I'm saying.
I was ready for a car chase,
and then, I got something really deep.
-Talk me through the film. -Well, listen, man,
I think a lot of people understand by now
that I literally try to do things
in this entertainment industry that people are not ready for,
and always try to do something different.
And this is definitely different.
But it's based on a true story,
and that's one of the reasons I gravitated towards it.
And you pretty much named it, man.
You know, um, being a parent that's...
that's helping to foster a child
-that was raised as a white supremacist. -Yeah.
And I think this story is all about second chances.
It's all about, um, you know,
if you can be taught to hate, can you be taught to love?
-Oh! -And it raises so many great conversations.
So I could talk a lot about it,
but when people check this movie out on Amazon Prime,
I think they're gonna form their own basis
and their own opinions, and I guarantee
it's gonna make some people cry.
-Before I let you go, I remember as a kid... -Yup.
...there were books that my mom got me.
She couldn't afford to buy me, like, just books,
so we had like a... like a layaway program
where my mom could give a little money,
and they would send us literally one book a month.
That's all we could afford-- one book. One book.
And I remember one of the biggest series
that changed my life was a book.
It was called What It Means to Be.
And we'd get these books once a month,
and my mom would sit with me.
And it'd be like, What It Means to Be Kind,
What It Means to Be Loyal,
What It Means to Be a Good Friend,
What It Means to Be Caring,
What It Means to Be Funny, What It Means...
It was just, like, just...
And I will never forget those lessons.
And I-I got a similar feeling
going through what KidNation is all about.
-And I appreciate that from you, man. -Wow.
'Cause I was like, we take for granted how shaping the kids...
As you said, you can teach kids to hate,
but are we gonna take the time to teach them to love?
So I appreciate you for that, man.
Listen, man, those words coming from you, especially,
you have no idea how much that means.
Um, you know, I just...
It's all about legacy for me right now,
and you just stamped that approval
in all the hard work that I've been doing
with all these different people
just by saying and stating what you just said.
Means the world to me.
Can't wait to see you again in person.
Can't wait to... can't wait to hit these islands later,
-my man, all right? -Let's hit the islands.
Let's get... let's get some of the color back.
Let's get some of the color back on me, dude.
All love, brah. I appreciate you, man.
All right, dude. Have a good one, man.