JA RULE

Pain Is Love

Def Jam

Ja Rule is the stereotypical rapper. His music (songs about hos, and ice) and his look (shirt off, thugged out) certainly won’t gain him any creativity points. However, the reason he is a walking stereotype is because that stereotype has sold and earned him millions. With two platinum albums and a slew of hits under his belt, Ja Rule has become perhaps the most mainstream rapper in the game.

Whether it’s his own radio friendly hits like “Put It On Me,” or collaborations with others like “I’m Real,” there hasn’t been a time over the past year where Ja hasn’t been all over MTV and radio. For his third album, Pain Is Love, (a phrase he used on “I Cry,” from his last album) Ja had not one, but two, huge radio hits under his belt before the album even dropped. The summer smash “I’m Real” with Jennifer Lopez and the party pop-hop anthem “Livin’ It Up” both adhere to Ja’s formula of producing (with Irv Gotti’s help) super-friendly radio hits that drive his album sales.

However if one expects an album full of pop hop like the singles, they came to the wrong place. The rest of the album is much more street and dreary than the single fare. The tracks feature Rule’s raspy, baritone, DMX-esque voice laid over hard grinding beats, rapping about the usual: cash, money, cars, hos, cause that’s what a true baller knows. Sure, it’s been heard a thousand times before, but it still sounds good.

Like his last album, there are basically two kinds of songs: the thug song and the love song. This time he manages to combine the two into one, perhaps because some considered him soft after his last album that featured three “love raps” (“Put It On Me,” “Between Me and You,” “I Cry”). This time around when he tells the girl he likes her, he also lets them know that for him it’s “money before bitches,” and that “he’ll fuck you like crazy, and then he’s gone,” in the standout track “Always On Time.” Also, he might like the girl, but “bitch I ain’t doin’ this for nutin,” in “I’m Real,” where he and Lopez’s voices go together like peanut butter and jelly, or better yet a DC-3 and Mountain Dew from Wings. Thug meets love again in “Down Ass Bitch.” Meanwhile, thug stays thug in “Never Again,” “Worldwide Gangsta,” and “Smokin and Ridin,” where Ja gives a shout out “to his nigga Vin Diesel,” referring to his crossover success as a co-star in the summer hit film The Fast and Furious.

Having a slew of guest stars on a hip-hop album is nothing new, but a few of them work exceedingly well. 2pac’s rhyme on “So Much Pain,” an album highlight, succeeds. With purpose, 2pac states “They’ll never take me alive.” Meanwhile Ja spouts (fittingly with 2pac on the track), “I keep drinking Hennessey/ busting out my enemies /Will I live to see 23?” Missy Elliot’s guest spot on “X” is far from memorable, but fine for what it is.

Although it’s far from an ODB album, there is a touch of comedy to freshen the album midway through. The skit “Leo,” about a psychic that is related to – you guessed it, daytime talk show commercial legend Miss Cleo, adds some levity.

Listening to Ja Rule, it is apparent that there is nothing particularly unique about him. With the help of the sharp production of hitmaker Irv Gotti, he churns out song after song that is well produced, but still features relatively simple beats and samples. Some of Gotti’s jumpy electronic-sounding beats sound cool, but still seems minor league compared to a producer like say, Timbaland. Rule’s raspy voice adds to his overall sound to at least give him something unique, and it’s a catchy contrast when accompanied by female vocals (four of his biggest hits use this formula). Since it’s his third album, one would expect Ja Rule to have at least something to say other than the usual hackneyed hip-hop fare. He doesn’t. The closest he comes is “Lost Little Girl,” a track about a pregnant 17-year-old girl. The only thing is, 2pac already had that idea 9 years ago (“Brendas Got A Baby”). The most obvious thing about his new album, and his career in general, is that Ja Rule is more interested in commercial success by producing safe material rather than taking any risks musically.

In Rule’s words: “Blowing back on this Mary Jane/ I’m analyzing the game.” Analyzing Ja Rule it is apparent that he recognizes he has a good thing going with his crossover pop success. He has been successful at that, and this album will continue that trend. But aside from his success, is he any better than the countless rappers who aren’t lucky enough to have Irv Gotti as a producer? Probably not, but hey, for now he might as well be livin’ it up.