Album Preview: Ja Rule – “P.I.L. 2 (Pain is Love)”

By The Voice
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

As it currently stands, there is a lot of regret, disappointment, and “what ifs…” surrounding the career of Ja Rule. His downfall came following his record-breaking peak and Ja Rule has spent nearly a decade trying to regain what he lost. In 2007, it seemed as if Ja Rule would do just that, before the rug was pulled from under his feet. After losing the momentum, which was clearly behind him during this period of time, fans were upset.

Since 2007, there have plenty of announcements from Ja Rule, discussing his comeback effort. After nearly five years of announcements, the people have given up on Ja Rule. The final nail in the coffin was when Ja Rule was sent to prison during the summer of 2011. No one knows better than Ja Rule how high the odds stacked against him are. There are many who are fans of the former Murder Inc. rapper who would like for him to end things now.

Ja Rule understands where those concerns come from, but he feels as though he can rise and take over the game the way he did previously. From the sound of his new album, Rule may be able to do just that. In an attempt to recapture the time in which he truly dominated the game, Ja Rule has named his latest album, which will be an independent release, P.I.L. 2 (Pain is Love). Considered a sequel to his dominant 2001 album, Ja Rule is calling the album “pill,” as in the pill which saved hip hop.

Throughout his career, Ja Rule was never considered a strong lyricists. However, there were few artists who put as much passion and energy into their work than Ja Rule. This passion, perhaps fueled by the doubters and the impending prison sentence, is at an all-time high on his latest album. Following a string of delays, which date back to 2007, Ja Rule has finally returned with his comeback album. While the albums may have changed, the mission remains the same. Ja Rule has a major chip on his shoulder and it is expressed each time he picks up the microphone on his latest album.

Track listing