Ludacris Dreams: A Rap Mogul Diversifies His Empire

Ludacris: Many eggs, many baskets.

It’s less than an hour before Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges is scheduled to hit the stage with Justin Bieber at The Apollo Theater, but his mind is miles away from music. Lounging on a dressing room countertop in a t-shirt and jeans, he’s gazing intently at the pair of sleek headphones in his hands, which just happen to bear his name—Soul By Ludacris.

“I rap at least once a year that I’m on one of the FORBES lists, and that’s a great thing,” he says. “This is...