The rapper recently told PEOPLE dropping the money felt like "the biggest risk" of his career at the Waymo x Uber event in Atlanta, Ga.

NEED TO KNOW

Ludacris is no stranger on betting on himself and seeing the fruits of his labor come into fruition
The rapper tells to PEOPLE about the making of his first album, Incognegro, last week
He recalls spending $20,000 out of his own pocket, a risk that ultimately paid off

Twenty-five years ago on Aug. 17, 1999, the rapper, 47, dropped his first album, Incognegro, independently. The milestone cost him a pretty penny: $20,000 out of his own pocket.

“Just not knowing how the world would receive it and taking the biggest risk by just putting music out there,” Ludacris tells PEOPLE at a Waymo x Uber event on Monday, June 16 of his thought process while making Incognegro.

“The fear of failure is something you have to overcome in order to accomplish great things. And I think that that was a crossroads of my life going into the success that it did because I told myself I wasn't going to be afraid of the outcome," the father of four says. "Those are the type of risks that have the reward that I've been able to live off of the fruits of the label.”

Ludacris’ worked payed off, as his Independent project caught the eyes of Def Jam. The label ended up signing the rapper in 2000. After inking a deal with the label, they re-worked and rereleased Incognegro under the title Back for the First Time on Oct. 17, 2000.

“I put [Incognegro] out independently and then it got 50,000 sold, where Def Jam signed me. I took two records off and added three other records. So what people may not know is that it was an independent album way before it got the success.” The project included hits like “What’s Your Fantasy?,” “Southern Hospitality” and “Phat Rabbit.”

The entire experience taught Ludacris the importance of “just trusting the process."

In August 2023, the “Unpredictable” MC spoke to PEOPLE about staying true to himself while celebrating 50 years of hip-hop at the time. He began by explaining the origin of his rap moniker.

“I stayed true to myself and who I am in all shape, forms and fashion of the word,” he explained. “'Ludicrous' means beyond crazy, wild, ridiculous.”

He continued, “And things have changed just in terms of the progress of my subject matter, things that I speak about, obviously because of me just growing up to having different experiences. So I went from 'hoes in different area codes' to being married [to wife Eudoxie since 2014]. So the progression and evolution of an artist and him not only reflecting the times in his music, but talking about his reality, that's the best way to put it. It's a beautiful thing, man.”

Luda also touched on his creativity when creating visuals for his music. He highlighted “Southern Hospitality,” a record featured on Back for the First Time, as one of his favorite music videos. However, he ultimately gave the crown to the Spike Jonez-directed video, “Get Back.”

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“‘Southern Hospitality’ video is dope. Ah, man, that's a hard one. But I'm just going to just for, I don't want to say political reasons, but I would say for the sake of what stood the test of time in terms of sticking out in people's heads and just being a staple, is going to have to be the ‘Get Back’ arms, man," he said.

In addition to performing and working on Fast and the Furious, the rapper plans to use his downtime riding around with Waymo, an autonomous driving technology through Uber, that launched in Atlanta on June 24. So far, riders have been able to experience Waymo in Phoenix and Austin.

“I felt way more safe in the Waymo. The drivers [out here are] driving too aggressively and I didn't realize — you don't realize that until you get way more experience,” Luda explains about his first time riding in the self-operating vehicle. “Once you get over the initial fear of there not being any human behind the wheel, it was great, to be completely honest — it was actually really good and safe. Very safe.”

Sarfraz Maredia, Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber, shared excitement about Waymo's expansion in a statement with PEOPLE.

"We’re thrilled to continue deepening our partnership with Waymo as we expand autonomous rides to Atlanta,” said Maredia. "By integrating Waymo’s cutting-edge technology into the Uber platform, we’re continuing to make transportation more convenient, sustainable, and reliable.”