"Money Maker" is the first single from Ludacris's fifth
album
Release Therapy. The song was released to the radio on
July 17, 2006. The song is produced by The Neptunes and
features Pharrell. The song was written by Chris Bridges
(Ludacris), and Pharrell Williams. The video was released on
August 17, 2006. The video premiered on MTV's
Making the Video. The single reached number 1 on various
charts. It has peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 1 on Hot Rap Tracks in
the United States. It also became the number 1 single on radio
in the United States on October 19, 2006. The music video
managed to enter BET's 106 & Park and peak at number 1,
where it remained for several days. The single has strong
airplay on BET and MTV. It also has airplay on Canada's
Muchmusic. The single has a major promotional status and huge
airplay on radio around the U.S., North America and other
countries around the globe. The song was performed on the 2006
MTV Video Music Awards. This is Ludacris's third #1 hit
single.
American R&B singer, Amerie, also recorded an answer
back (remix) to the single. The song was included on her first
Mixtape,
Because I Love It Volume 1(the mixtape that was released
to accompany her third studio Because I Love It), but didn't
appear on the album, that was never released in the United
States.
The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2007.
The "Money Maker" video was released August 17, 2006. It
premiered on various channels including BET, MTV, and MuchMusic
in that week.
The video to "Money Maker" is a simple video. It is
basically coloured backgrounds of orange, green and black
throughout the shots. There are shots of Ludacris on the ground
rapping with girls surrounding him. Pharrell is also singing
the chorus around girls on stacks of money. Ludacris has a
counting machine that counts how many times he has got a girl
to shake her money maker (buttocks) for him - a reference to a
commercial featuring himself using the same kind of device to
click off the amount of women who flirt with him in his
everyday life. Girls are also dancing throughout the video.
"Money Maker" was shot by director Melina, who directed
Shareefa's Need a Boss.
The video is noteworthy in that is was Ludacris' first
appearance on camera with his newly-cut hair, as Ludacris had
cut his trademark cornrows in order to signify a new image for
the rapper.
The large speakers in the background vibrating throughout
the video are no more than salad bowls, according to Ludacris
in MTV's "Making the Video."
The video also features a Chrysler ME Four-Twelve.
Cameo appearances are made by Allen Iverson, Shareefa, Bobby
Valentino, & Lil Fate.