Ludacris Returns To Old High School To Speak To Students

Atlanta rapper Ludacris recently returned to his old high school stomping grounds where he saw a mural painted in his likeness, in which he was very grateful.

According to the Associated Press, Luda stepped into the Banneker High School gymnasium in south Atlanta named after his government name Christopher Bridges -- and that's where he saw the mural.

"I've always wanted a street named after me, but this is better," the 30-year-old rapper said.

He had returned to the high school (where he graduated in 1996) to participate in a crusade against violence, where he spoke in a ceremony on Monday (May 12) that honored a project by students who stuffed a box with more than 1,000 anonymous letters on the topics of gang violence and rape into a black coffin in early February.

"I know a lot of us come from hard times, but it's extremely important that you use your street knowledge and book knowledge to get to where you need to be," he told a crowd of about 2,000.

The school's principal, Robert L. Williams, hadn't let Luda come in the past, but he felt it was necessary "to tell his testimony of success."

"The person before me believed students were too rowdy for him to come," Williams said. "But I have a different view, because he'll be able to change someone's mind-set for the good."

In addition to the ATL rapper, R&B singer Monica was also on hand, and the pair planted two trees on the school's front lawn.

"This is a way to show them how to stay on track," Monica told the AP. "There's a lot of peer pressure out there in the world. But the tree symbolizes a fresh start."

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