R.U.L.E.
{{for|the university|Royal University of Law and Economics}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = R.U.L.E.
| type = Album
| artist = Ja Rule
| cover = Rulealbumcover.jpg
| alt = Closeup of Ja Rules' face looking serious
| released = November 9, 2004
| recorded = 2003–04
| studio =
| genre = Hip hop
| length = 71:30
| label = {{hlist|The Inc.|Island Def Jam|Def Jam}}
| producer = *Irv Gotti {{small|(also exec.)}}
- Ja Rule {{small|(also exec.)}}
- Cool & Dre
- Chink Santana
- Jimi Kendrix
| prev_title = Blood in My Eye
| prev_year = 2003
| next_title = Exodus
| next_year = 2005
| misc = {{Singles
| name = R.U.L.E.
| type = studio
| single1 = Wonderful
| single1date = September 27, 2004{{cite magazine|title=Ja Rule: 'Wonderful'|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1573|page=43|date=September 17, 2004}}
| single2 = New York
| single2date = October 27, 2004
| single3 = Caught Up
| single3date = May 24, 2005
}}
}}
R.U.L.E. is the sixth studio album by American rapper Ja Rule; it was released on November 9, 2004, by The Inc., Island Def Jam Music Group and Def Jam.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/R-U-L-E-Ja-Rule/dp/B00064X2QY/|title=R.U.L.E.: Ja Rule: Music|website=Amazon.com|access-date=March 6, 2012}} The album debuted at number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 165,000 units in its opening week.{{cite web|first=Joe|last=D'Angelo|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1493813/eminem-shreds-the-competition-even-with-a-premature-encore.jhtml|title=News : Eminem Shreds The Competition, Even With A Premature Encore|publisher=Country Music Television|date=November 17, 2004|access-date=March 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022171900/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1493813/eminem-shreds-the-competition-even-with-a-premature-encore.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 22, 2012}} The album was certified Gold and sold over 658,000 copies in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://reuters.com/article/us-jarule/rapper-ja-rule-releasing-first-album-in-3-years-idUSN0720752020071007|title=Rapper Ja Rule releasing first album in 3 years|last=Mitchell|first=Gail|work=Billboard|via=Reuters|date=October 7, 2007|access-date=August 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216085021/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jarule/rapper-ja-rule-releasing-first-album-in-3-years-idUSN0720752020071007/|archive-date=February 16, 2018|url-status=live}}
Singles from the album include "Wonderful" featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti; the top 20 song "New York" featuring Jadakiss and Fat Joe, and the song "Caught Up" featuring Lloyd.
The album was also made in a heavily edited version removing profanities, drugs and violent content: it removes the skits "Weed" and "Stripping Game". This version of the album became the most edited album other than his previous album Blood in My Eye (2003).
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000301772|pure_url=yes}}|title=R.U.L.E. - Ja Rule|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=August 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228190333/https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000301772|archive-date=February 28, 2023|url-status=live}}
|rev2 = Entertainment Weekly
|rev2Score = C+{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2004/11/26/rule/|title=R.U.L.E.|last=Gunatilaka|first=Timothy|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=November 26, 2004|access-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120115812/https://ew.com/article/2004/11/26/rule/|archive-date=November 20, 2015|url-status=dead}}
|rev3 = HipHopDX
|rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.489/title.ja-rule-r-u-l-e|title=Ja Rule - R.U.L.E.|last=Tindal|first=K.B.|website=HipHopDX|publisher=Cheri Media Group|date=November 24, 2004|access-date=April 3, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106191430/https://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.489/title.ja-rule-r-u-l-e|archive-date=January 6, 2016|url-status=live}}
|rev4 = RapReviews
|rev5 = USA Today
|rev5score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2004-11-08-listen-up_x.htm|title=Elton John's 'Peachtree Road': An unforgettable joy ride|last=Jones|first=Steve|newspaper=USA Today|publisher=Gannett|date=November 8, 2004|access-date=August 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604104716/https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2004-11-08-listen-up_x.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}
}}
R.U.L.E. garnered favorable reviews from music critics but some questioned if this was a return to form after the disappointing Blood in My Eye. K.B. Tindal of HipHopDX called the album Ja's best since Rule 3:36 and Pain Is Love, concluding that "The Inc. will always be Murder Inc. no matter what and Ja will always be at the head of the fam so get used to it, he's back." Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews gave a mixed review, stating "[T]his is not an overwhelming strong album lyrically, but it's a pleasant enough one to listen to musically - and from Ja Rule that's enough to get by." Timothy Gunatilaka of Entertainment Weekly found love ballads like "Passion" and "Wonderful" suitable for Ja Rule, concluding that they "suggest he might want to stick to raspy romanticism." AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier said that the album continued the depletion of Ja's relevance in hip-hop, stating, "And so the downfall goes—tragic, indeed, or not, depending on how affecting you find the pathos at work." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club found Ja's reliance on emulating "2Pac's tortured-thug persona" to craft mildly amusing "overwrought melodrama" overlong throughout the record and exacerbated further through "anonymous production, irritating skits, and [the kind of] raspy shower-stall warbling."{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/purple-haze-1798200322|title=Purple Haze/R.U.L.E.|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|author-link=Nathan Rabin|newspaper=The A.V. Club|date=January 17, 2005|access-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514232256/https://www.avclub.com/purple-haze-1798200322|archive-date=May 14, 2022|url-status=live}}
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title= R.U.L.E. |year= 2004 |type= booklet |publisher= The Inc., Def Jam}}
{{Track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = The Inc. Intro
| note1 =
| writer1 = Jeffrey Atkins
| extra1 = Ja Rule
| length1 = 2:20
| title2 = Last of The Mohicans
| note2 = featuring Black Child
| writer2 = {{hlist|Atkins|Ramel Gill|Andre Parker|Irving Lorenzo}}
| extra2 = {{hlist|Chink Santana|Irv Gotti}}
| length2 = 4:24
| title3 = Wonderful
| note3 = featuring R. Kelly & Ashanti
| writer3 = {{hlist|Atkins|Lorenzo|Kendred Smith|Robert Kelly}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti}}
| length3 = 4:31
| title4 = What's My Name
| note4 = featuring Ashanti
| writer4 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo|Bob James}}
| extra4 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti}}
| length4 = 4:26
| title5 = New York
| note5 = featuring Fat Joe & Jadakiss
| writer5 = {{hlist|Atkins|Joseph Cartagena|Jason Phillips|Andre Lyon|Marcello Valenzano|Lorenzo|Lawrence Parker}}
| extra5 = {{hlist|Cool & Dre|Irv Gotti{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length5 = 4:18
| title6 = Stripping Game
| note6 = skit
| writer6 =
| extra6 =
| length6 = 1:15
| title7 = The Manual
| note7 =
| writer7 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo}}
| extra7 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti|Francion Corbett{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length7 = 4:18
| title8 = Get It Started
| note8 = featuring Claudette Ortiz
| writer8 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo}}
| extra8 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti}}
| length8 = 4:00
| title9 = R.U.L.E.
| note9 =
| writer9 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith||Lorenzo|Phalon Alexander|Brandon Casey|Brian Casey}}
| extra9 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti}}
| length9 = 3:37
| title10 = True Story
| note10 = skit
| writer10 = Richard Wilson
| extra10 = Dat Nigga Reb
| length10 = 0:30
| title11 = Caught Up
| note11 = featuring Lloyd
| writer11 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo|Bryan Attmore}}
| extra11 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti|Boogz{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length11 = 4:29
| title12 = Gun Talk
| note12 = featuring Black Child
| writer12 = {{hlist|Atkins|Gill|A. Parker|Lorenzo}}
| extra12 = {{hlist|Chink Santana|Irv Gotti}}
| length12 = 4:30
| title13 = Never Thought
| note13 =
| writer13 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo}}
| extra13 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti}}
| length13 = 4:42
| title14 = Life Goes On
| note14 = featuring Trick Daddy & Chink Santana
| writer14 = {{hlist|Atkins|A. Parker|Maurice Young|Lorenzo}}
| extra14 = {{hlist|Chink Santana|Irv Gotti}}
| length14 = 4:52
| title15 = Weed
| note15 = skit
| writer15 = {{hlist|Wilson|Artie Green}}
| extra15 = {{hlist|Dat Nigga Reb|Milwaukee Buck|Artie Green}}
| length15 = 1:55
| title16 = Where I'm From
| note16 = featuring Lloyd
| writer16 = {{hlist|Atkins|Lloyd Polite|A. Parker|Green|Demetrius McGhee|Lorenzo}}
| extra16 = {{hlist|Chink Santana|Demi-Doc|Artie Green|Irv Gotti}}
| length16 = 5:11
| title17 = Bout My Business
| note17 = featuring Caddillac Tah, Black Child & Young Merc
| writer17 = {{hlist|Atkins|Raymond Grant|Richard Grant|Lorenzo|Taheem Crocker|Gill|Jeffery Crocker|Simon Haseley}}
| extra17 = {{hlist|DJ Twinz|Irv Gotti{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length17 = 3:39
| title18 = Passion
| note18 =
| writer18 = {{hlist|Atkins|Smith|Lorenzo}}
| extra18 = {{hlist|Jimi Kendrix|Irv Gotti|Boogz{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length18 = 8:37
}}
{{track listing
| headline = Japan bonus track
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title19 = Better Days
| note19 =
| writer19 =
| extra19 = Jimi Kendrix
| length19 = 4:37
}}
Notes
- {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a co-producer.
- "Stripping Game (skit)" and "Weed (skit)" were removed from the edited version of the album.
Sample credits
- "What's My Name" contains samples from the "Farandole", written and performed by Bob James.
- "New York" contains interpolations from "100 Guns", written by Lawrence Parker.
- "Stripping Game (skit)" contains dialogue from the motion picture The Players Club.
- "R.U.L.E" contains interpolations from "They Ain't JE", written by Phalon Alexander, Brandon Casey, and Brian Casey.
- "Bout My Business" contains a sample of "Hogan's Thing", written and performed by Simon Haseley.
Personnel
- Ja Rule – executive producer
- Won "Engineer to the Stars" Bee Allen – engineer (1, 4, 6, 8-10, 15, 17)
- Milwaukee "Protools King" Buck – engineer (2-5, 7-9, 11-14, 16, 18), mixing (1, 6, 10, 15)
- James "J Mellow" Clark – keyboard and bass guitar (17)
- Francion Corbett – additional programming (7)
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Supa Engineer DURO – mixing (2-4, 7, 12-14, 18)
- Irv Gotti – executive producer
- Terry "T-Mac" Herbert – assistant engineer (2-4, 7-9, 11-14, 16, 18), assistant mix engineer (1, 6, 10, 15), additional vocals (1)
- Gavin "YG" Johnston – assistant engineer (1, 4, 6, 8-10, 17)
- James Johnston – guitars (7)
- Demetrius "Demi-Doc" McGhee – bass guitar (3, 7, 16), keyboards (13, 16), organ (3), strings (3), additional keyboards (3, 7, 11, 18), additional bass guitar (18), additional strings (18)
- Giselle Moya – additional vocals (13)
- Alexi Panos – additional vocals (11)
- Mimi "Audia" Parker – assistant mix engineer (8)
- Shawn Smith – guitars (13)
- Brian Springer – mixing (5, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17)
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|award=Silver|artist=Ja Rule|title=R.U.L.E.|certyear=2004|id=5317-777-2|access-date=May 7, 2015}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|award=Gold|artist=Ja Rule|title=R.U.L.E.|certyear=2005|relyear=2004|access-date=May 7, 2015}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ja Rule}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Albums produced by Irv Gotti
Category:Albums produced by Chink Santana