Ludacris has responded to Pepsi and their decision
to dump him from their advertising roster, after the rappers lyrics came under
fire on Bill Oreilly’s "The O’reilly Factor." The Atlanta based rapper
said he will call on fans and artists to join him in an attempt to "create
one voice and take it all back."
O’reilly took issue with Ludacris’ lyrics and
claimed that the rapper corrupting young minds and said that over 3,000 people
responded to his calls for Pepsi to ditch the rapper. " "We have a
responsibility to listen to our consumers and customers and we’ve heard from
a number of people that were uncomfortable with our association with this artist,"
the PepsiCo Inc. unit said in a statement. "We’ve decided to discontinue
our ad campaign with this artist and we’re sorry that we’ve offended anyone."
"As an entrepreneur with the creative artistry
that’s the choice of the new generation, I take pride in what I share with the
millions of consumers of my music–all of my fans with whom I am in sync,"
Ludacris said in a statement. "My message represents an ideology and way
of life that is true to me and the new generation to an extent that corporate
and political forces can’t touch."
Ludacris claims that Pepsi praised his ability
to reach urban consumers and after Pepsi dropped him, he said he plans a "rally"
to unite hip-hop artists and fans. "Over the past few days, I have rethought
my approach as to how I do business and retained a team to create a campaign
called, ‘It’s Got To Be Ludacris’ to take the power back for the good of the
hip-hop community," Ludacris said. "I’m calling on all artists, fans,
friends, and members of the new generation to join in rallying with me."
Ludacris added that he would later announce the date, time, and location of
the proposed rally.