Customer Reviews

Pain Is Love

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

Ja Rule, the raspy voiced rapper (just like DMX) is back with his third full-length album "Pain Is Love". Though his second album "Rule 3:36" had more pop appeal with songs like "Between Me And You" w/ Christinia Milean and "Put It On Me" w/ Vita than his first "Venni Vetta Vecca", he moves way closer to being a pop act on this album.

The first song you hear would tell you otherwise, though. "Dial M For Murder" is a hardcore rap track that would make you think Ja was going back to his roots on his first album, but, really, the next song tells you completely different. "Livin' It Up" w/ Case is a fun little party song that adepts well to pop radio, making it the first single was a wise decision by Rule, because it made the track an instant success. The following track "The Inc." also tells you Ja is trying to go hardcore rap, but, once again, the following track "Always On Time" w/ Ashanti makes you think he's going pop again.

The next song, "Down A** B***h" w/ Charli Baltimore, is lingering on the edge of pop and rap, but the next song "Never Again" brings it down to the rap world. Rapping about murdered friends and broken relationships, this is not a friendly radio song. The following track is also not radio freindly, the hardcore rap thrash "Worldwide Gangsta" is a pop fans worst nightmare.

The pop appeal re-enters on the huge hit remix of Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" and just keeps on going in "Smokin' And Ridin'". The dark appeal returns on tracks like "X" w/ Missy "Misdemeaner" Elliott and "So Much Pain" but are taken over by more pop tracks like "Lost Little Girls" and "Pain Is Love".

Ja Rule's skits, however, are very clever and funny, differing majorly from the skits off "3:36". "Leo", a comic stab at Miss Cleo, the "so-called physic" is very funny. The skit "Big Remo" is quite funny as well. The intro "Pain Is Love (Skit)" is more darker but is OK.

So, in all, Ja Rules "Pain Is Love" is his best yet. A nice blend of pop and rap. However, i fear, on Ja's next record, he might cross all the way over to the pop world.

Ja Rule has changed a lot since his first album, Venni Vetti Vecci. It was real rap - no singing or pop songs. "Holla Holla" was the song that got me into Ja Rule. After that, Ja released Rule 3:36. I could tell he was getting more "pop" on this album. It didn't have the gangsta beats that Venni Vetti Vecci features. On Pain Is Love, he comes out with an even more pop-strung CD. This CD is meant for mainstream. Some songs, such as "Never Again," are ruined by Ja singing. "Pain Is Love" ft. 2pac is a remake of the "Pain" song on the Above the Rim Soundtrack. Ja Rule tries to rap like 2pac, and he does a decent job of it, but let me tell you, he is no 2pac. This song is still very good, though. "Dial M for Murder" is another great track. It is a hardcore track with a good beat. Besides for these songs and the collaborations with the Murderers, this CD is meant for mainstream. Well, I guess it sells. =( If you like pop rap, then buy this, but if you like gangsta rap, buy Ja's first CD, Venni Vetti Vecci, and stay away from this CD.

This Cd is awesome.My favorites are ''Always on Time'',''I'm Real'' and ''livin it up'',though there are other good songs too.
Here is my track-by-track:
Dial m for murder:2 don't really like this one.It leaves something to be desired.
livin it up:5 Unbelievable!Rule raps well in this one and he cleverly uses stevie Wonder excerpts to make it even better.
INC:1 Yuck!One of the only bad things about the album.
always on time:5 Amazing vocals by the girl he features(ashanti, or something?)and the best lyrics of any song on the album,plus he shows he can really bring it in this one My personal favorite!Down a** b***H:4 better edited.nice job with the vocals,Rule.
never again:5 another great song with great lyrics!
X:5 AWESOME song he does with missy elliot.Cool beat,rapping, and chorus.
i'm real:5 great arrangement of the jlo smash.Lyrics are nice,with acatchy chorus that sticks in your head.
All others are pretty cool, and the skits are tight.that's all!

At it's best, rap can scour your cranium with red-hot lyrics and blistering beats. It can raise political awareness, yet also provide the perfect soundtrack for a night out. Some artists are able to handle this dichotomy; 2Pac is a perfect example. He was able to speak eloquently about social deterioration ("Keep Ya Head Up," "To Live and Die in LA") , while bragging about his sexual prowess ("I Get Around") and violent lifestyle ("California Love").

<<Pain Is Love>> is truly the lowest rap can go. Not content with perpetuating black gangsta stereotypes (the cleverly titled "Dial M for Murder"), or giving us perhaps the worst Stevie Wonder rip-off since "Gangsta's Paradise" (the absolutely mindless "Livin' It Up"), Ja Rule must also subject us to some of the degenerate singing imaginable (the beauty/beast 'duet' of "I'm Real). From it's start (how many more Prince Paul-style skits do we need?) to its end (an attempt at redemption that rings hollow in light of statements elsewhere on the album), <<Pain is Love>> highlights the decline of what used to be a potent and relevant art form.

Like all other American creative art, rap has been put on the assembly line, packaged, and commercialised. The media has long known the profitability of perpetuating stereotypes, so why would they stop here?

This is my first Ja rule album after I heard Livin it up and always on time with ashanti I had to buy this album. I Like many songs Ja Says the same things over and over talking about Doing gangsta things But I think he really doesnt do all that But he has a way of making it sound cool. Dial m for murda,Livin it up,the INC, and always time are my favorite songs Tweet and missy elliot are on this cd to my surprise on the song called x and all of the murder inc family too I've enjoyed listening to this cd it hasn't come out of my cd player since I got it. I like to hear one song at a time cause It gets boring if you listen to it through Get this if your into that gangsta gangsta stuff Other wise Just listen to all the hits on the radio I hope next time The rule would leave the skits out cause there boring and the cd would have flowed better without them.

Ok, this is a pretty good album for those who aren't allowed to buy the explicit content one. You can still enjoy songs with words being blocked out.

this is my review for jarule
ever since jarule has come out in 1995 i think he has the courage
to be the new person that is not jayz or dmx or 2pac
when jarule brought when i cry featuring lilmo i thourght it really touched peoples heart and i think put it on me for the ladies has made the music industry enjoy it very well.

Ok lets see... I bought this CD for my girlfriend cuz she loves radio and chart music... I recorded it for myself before giving it to her... =)
My conclusion about this album is that although there are a couple of listenable songs on it and this is because of one main reason. The beats... Ja Rules rap is nothing spectacular and I could honest to god pull better raps out of (explicit)...
DMX, who on his diss to Ja Rule called 'Do you' explains that he wouldn't have got big without DMX and now that he thinks he's all hot (explicit), he dumps everyone he needed.
He's a pansy no talent rapper who can't sing OR rap if his life depended on it. I'd like to even SEE him try to freestyle, it would be good for a laugh. What do you mean do better than this? It's not like he even did any of the producing, he's a stupid rapper who can barely rhyme and people eat it up becuase of the stupid duets he does (mace, J.Lo, Ashanti), i mean, can the guy even hold up a song on his own? well, he sure does try, but he fails consistantly on this shameful album. Ja Rule is doing to rap what Limp Bizkit has already done to Nu Metal. I can't believe this cd was just certified 3x platinum. How dumb ARE people?...

On this rather unusual album, Ja has successfully found his originality. His raspy voice is very uncommon and can become slightly irritating after a while, but other than that, I thought that it wasn't a bad album, but there was room for improvement. Unfortunately, I found that there was too much unnecessary vulgar language. I mean, yes you're allowed to express your personal feelings in your songs, but I am sure you can find many other more useful words to replace these profanities. However, I do have quite a few favourite tunes on this album, which include LIVIN' IT UP, LOST LITTLE GIRL and ALWAYS ON TIME.
Ja Rules' collaboration with Jennifer Lopez and have produced some really cool remixes. `I'M REAL' remix was the first of many and I love this song. I'm not a real fan of Jennifer Lopez but since she has started working with Ja I have paid more attention to her work. She's not an exceptional singer and she hasn't got a special voice, but put Ja Rule and J.Lo together and you can expect something special. If you are a real Rap lover, I think that this is the perfect album for you. But I advise that you take heed of the warning on the front of the CD when it says `explicit content'.

Pain Is Love is Ja Rule's third and most popish offering yet. The masses have embraced this cd that came to stores hot while Put It On Me and Living It Up tore up the radios and tv everywhere. While it is not a terrible cd it is an average piece of work. He has more success but ironically this is his worst album to date.

For one thing most of the beats are not outstanding or even good. They have a pop sound to them, which can be tolerated from Ja Rule in small doses, but on the cd it almost destroys most songs when he tries to be hard. The second gripe is that the skits are pure filler and serve no purpose at all. Why not just delete the skits all together? They do nothing but mess up the flow of the album and it makes the weaker songs clearly evident. Nonetheless, Ja Rule is king when it comes to choosing songs for singles. Livin It Up is a lush remake of the Stevie Wonder classic Do I Do. Case sings pretty well on this song and does it justice. I'm Real feat. Jennifer Lopez is also a banger even though the masses played it till it turned into the natural resource oil. They Played it to death, but it was still a classic song. The current single Always On Time is also blazin hot. Down A$$ B!tch is a nice slowed down change of pace song and is pretty tight to me. However the chorus where Ja says yeah over and over almost ruins it. Now for the bad news: the Wack songs. These songs are so horrible I won't waste my time or your time so I will just list them. Worldwide Gangsta, Smokin & Ridin, X, Lost Little Girl, Pain Is Love. So Much Pain is a disgrace to Tupac's legacy. This is not a good tribute or remake of the song. He steals the flow, parts of the verse, and basically sounds exactly like Pac. The rating is lowered one star because of this.

All in All this is a solid release for Ja Rule fans. This is nothing that will make you keep listening to it in about two years or so but for right now it is ok. An average work from a good artist. I just hope that next time Ja Rule comes correct and drops another classic like Venni Vetti Vecci.