Southern Hospitality

Album: Back For The First Time (2000)
Charted: 23
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Southern Hospitality" is better known as "Throw Them 'Bows" because that's what Ludacris commands in the chorus, asking everyone in the club - even the ladies - to throw out their elbows like they just pulled down a rebound. You didn't want to be on the dance floor when the song came on because elbows would be flying everywhere. Club DJs quickly learned to use caution before playing it.
  • The song is a tribute to the Dirty South, specifically Luda's Atlanta stomping grounds. The title shows up just once in the lyric.

    This was when rap started expanding past the coasts and into the South and Midwest, with Ludacris and Outkast leading the way from Atlanta. Nelly did his part from St. Louis, and schooled us on some "Country Grammar (Hot S--t)" around the same time "Southern Hospitality" was big.
  • This was Luda's second single, following "What's Your Fantasy." He released an album independently on his own label, Disturbing Tha Peace, in 1999 before signing with Def Jam South, which included "Southern Hospitality" on his 2000 album Back For The First Time. By this time, he had already build a following in Georgia, and he quickly went nationwide. The album ended up selling over 3 million copies and established Luda as a fresh new voice in hip-hop. He started showing up on lots of features, including Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man" and "Gossip Folks."
  • Ludacris wrote this song with Pharrell Williams, who also sings on the track and produced it with his Neptunes partner, Chad Hugo. The Neptunes got some heat in the '90s producing tracks for Jay-Z ("The City Is Mine"), Ma$e ("Lookin' At Me") and SWV ("Use Your Heart"), but they caught fire in the next decade, becoming a top production team for the likes of Nelly ("Hot In Herre") and Justin Timberlake ("Rock Your Body").
  • Unlike the "Stand Up" video, this one doesn't take place in a club. It's mostly outdoors, with Ludacris and his crew scoping out some lovely ladies. There are lots of car-commercial-angle shots of the Cadillac Luda raps about, so we can assume he had a deal there. He also sang about a Caddy in "What's Your Fantasy":

    In the sun or up in the shade
    On the top of my Escalade


    Luda's label boss, Scarface, makes an appearance in the video.

Comments: 1

  • Moosehead from Sclove this song but wont be juggling anytime soon!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?