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.

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!

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.

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.

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'.