Ja Rule - Pain Is Love

            Since Jeff Atkins was a kid growing up in Hollis, Queens, he knew one day he would be rapping for a living. For Ja rule, it all began with a low-profile appearance on Mic Geronimo’s B-side, “Time to Build” in 1995. From that recording on Blunt/TVT Records, his group, Cash Money Click, landed their own deal on the label. Only one single had been released, “Get the fortune,” when one of the members, Chris Black, was incarcerated.

            After extricating himself from his deal with Blunt/TVT Records in 1998, he got a meeting with Def Jam Records. The meeting, which was set up by Irv Gotti, the executive producer of Mic Geronimo’s album, resulted in Ja Rule’s recording contract. Later that year, he received the chance to be a part of Jay-Z’s “Can I Get A…,” which he wrote the hook for. It ended up being a massive radio and MTV hit. Due to the success of that single, it was obvious that the time had come for the release of Ja Rule’s debut album.

            Venni Vetti Vecci was released in 1999. The first single, “Holla, Holla,” made the CD’s title “he came, he saw, he conquered” become true. “It’s Murda” was also very popular. The single was a collaboration with fellow Murder Inc. members, Ruff Ryder DMX and Roc-A-Fella’s Jay-Z. This track guaranteed him plenty of cameos in videos and on albums. He also got to be a part of the Def Jam’s Hard Knock Life Tour.

            On October 3, 2000, Rule 3:36, was released. The first single, “Between Me and You,” helped lead the album to the top of the charts. Newcomer Christina Milian sang the chorus that got stuck in your head for days. The second single, “Put It On Me,” had the same affect on people. He is nominated for two Radio music Awards for this song, Artist of the Year and Single of the Year. This track featured Vita and Lil’ Mo. The third single, “I Cry,” also included Lil’ Mo. All of these singles were request and countdown favorites. This CD really brought Ja rule into the spotlight.

            Like most rappers, after becoming mainstream, Ja Rule began co-starring in movies. His first movie was Robert Adetuyi’s Turn It Up, which also featured Pras. Ja Rule also had a part in the summer blockbuster, The Fast and The Furious. The soundtrack featured a few of his songs too. His upcoming film, Crime Partners, stars Snoop Dogg and Ice-T.

            Ja Rule’s latest work is his third CD, Pain is Love, which was released on October 2. According to an MTV interview, he feels this is his best album yet, and I agree. Besides the singles that were released, I didn’t enjoy Rule 3:36 because most of the songs sounded the same. My favorite song on that album was “Between Me and You.” I really liked the beat and the chorus, which is exactly why my favorite track on this CD is “Always On Time.” Once again, he wrote a chorus that gets stuck in your head and he got a girl with a great voice to sing it. Ashanti sings the hook for the song, “I’m not always there when you call, but I’m always on time, and I gave you my all, now baby be mine.” I also like “Down A** B****,” which has the same story as “Put In On Me.” It’s about a girl who is always there for her man. He even got a female rapper to do a verse. This time he used Charlie Baltimore, as oppose to Vita. I also like the first single off of the album, “Livin’ It Up.” This song is #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart. My favorite part is the chorus, which is tinged with Case singing Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do.” Another song that’s getting a lot of airplay is the remix of “I’m Real” featuring Jennifer Lopez. After debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, fifteen weeks later, it’s #2. They performed this song together at the MTV VMA’s last September. Another duet on the CD is a remake of Tupac Shakur’s “So Much Pain,” which includes part of the original. According to Billboard.com, Ja Rule says, “I did it a long time ago, right after Pac died. It was a record that I wanted to make and needed to make. A lot of people haven’t heard the record because – although it was on the Above The Rim soundtrack, it was only on the cassette version. I feel it was one of Pac’s best records.” I really like Ja Rule’s version of the song.

Back

Current Issue

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June