The rapper Ludacris, real name Chris Bridges, has shed his braids that have been his trademark for almost a decade. The artist says that, after sporting braids, cornrows and afro hair-do, he had run out of ideas and decided to go for a more mature look to mark the new stage in his life.

The haircut was, quote, 'a spur of the moment kind of thing' but totally necessary as he felt that people needed to get to know a little about the man behind his on-stage persona. As a matter of fact, that's what 'Release Therapy' is all about.

In his fifth album, Ludacris tackles more important issues than he had ever done before, like the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, his experiences as a father and his relationship to God. The artist stresses out the fact that this is the first time in many years that he sings from the heart, including such personal things in the lyrics of the tracks.

'I felt like people knew who Ludacris was, but people never knew who Chris Bridges was', he says in an interview about his latest music material. The video for the first single from the album, 'Money Maker', featuring the rapper's new hair-do is already available on the Internet, on his official website.