The Last Temptation

Ja Rule

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Def Jam
• ASIN: B00006ZCFJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (240 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,719 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
His inexplicable top-tier popularity notwithstanding, Ja Rule has developed into something of an oddity among today's pack of commercial rappers. Murder Inc.'s eager young cash cow is an MC whose ability to sound like 2Pac conflicts with his urge to sing like Donny Hathaway, and these two seemingly disparate influences firmly butt heads. Songs like the Ashanti-accented "Mesmerize" and the downtempo "Rock Star" showcase Ja's wobbly baritone croon, while "Thug Lovin'" (featuring the authentic thug crooner, Bobby Brown) and "Murder Me" display his patented hip-hop growl. In keeping with Murder Inc.'s domination of mainstream airwaves, the vibe here is strictly midtempo R&B, aside from the exceedingly shrill synth-and-drum-machine styling of the Neptunes-laced "Pop N****s" and the prefab grimness that permeates "The Warning." Young'uns mightn't notice, but the samples utilized on The Last Temptation, including Toto's "Africa" (on "Murder Reigns") and "Funky Sensation" (on the title track), are extremely unsubtle. Those who were raised on foundation hip-hop might do better to look elsewhere. --Rebecca Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Its all been said..., December 8, 2002

By	Cancer (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

...So Im just gonna give him a star to drop this tool's ratings..."it's murda!"...and he's finally killed himself.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How Come You Only Rap With The Inc.?, December 27, 2002

By	Josh (Hampshire, Engalnd) - See all my reviews

When Jay-Z surfaced Ja Rule in 1999, you could tell he would be a big mainstream sucsess. This theory was proven correct on his debut album "Venni Vetti Vecci" which was pure thug rap. He then felt the need to change his style and guest performances from the likes of Jigga, to female artists including the likes of Ashanti. This was purely for commercial sucsess, because on the radio Ashanti is always going to come off really well. The 2000 album "Rule 3:36" was just bareable. "Pain Is Love" was played in my CD player once, and has been collecting dust on the rack ever since. "The Last Temptation" is the shortest yet and the worst yet.

I awarded it three stars becuase Ja Rule has done a good job on tracks like "Thug Lovin'" and "Murder Reigns". Other than that, he's really not bringing anything new to the rap scene. It is blataintly obvious that he bought this out so he could rack a few million so he could have an expensive Christmas. If you read the productional credits in the booklet, you'll see that a lot of samples were taken from tracks written by the likes of Ralph Saadiq. Ja Rule has falen to the level where he doesn't even write his own stuff.

It's quite insulting to major rap fans who spend almost all there money on rap, that Nas would put himself at such a questionable descion to perform with Ja, seeing as he is a rap legend. The use of 2Pac was a good idea, but Ja Rule has to face it: He's not 2Pac and he's not Biggie Smalls. Ashanti was also featured with these rap greats and is possibly the only female to cme off well on this album, besides Charlie Baltimore. I loo forward to her debut album "The Diary". Chink Santana and Alexi are really go nowhere rappers.

I won't be buying anything with Ja Rule on it until he stops the pop and goes back to rap. Don't spend your money on this please, but buy the new Snoop or Jay-Z albums. Ja Rule is just a commercial pop artist at the momment. And why wasn't Irv Gotti featured?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars WANKSTA, March 25, 2003

By	Jason (Montgomery, AL) - See all my reviews

I wish people would stop calling Ja Rule a wannabe Tupac because that is an insult to Tupac. Their names shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. What happened to Ja? He's fallen a long way since "Holla Holla." Every single he releases now is a collaboration with some female singing about relationships. Does Ja think his fan base is stupid? Does he think no one will notice that he is just remanufacturing the same song over and over. Ja should just release an R&B album where he is singing on every track because you know that's all he wants to do. You can put Ja Rule in the same category as LL: former hard rappers who lost their street cred by trying to pass pop records off as hip-hop. ...