Exodus

Ja Rule has established his imprint in the hip-hop, pop and R&B hierarchy

Multi-platinum The Inc./Def Jam recording artist and certified box office sensation Ja Rule has been at the epicenter of hardcore hip-hop’s entry into the mainstream over the last half-dozen tumultuous years. With U.S. sales of his first six albums in excess of 10 million units, and worldwide sales topping the 13 million mark, Ja Rule has established his imprint in the hip-hop, pop and R&B hierarchy. Adding to his roles as recording artist, businessman, fashion designer, philanthropist and political activist – Ja Rule has also established a successful career in movies (The Fast and The Furious, Shall We Dance, Assault On Precinct 13). Ja Rule released an album a year from 1999 through 2004, and with no new full-length planned for 2005, The Inc. opted to keep the yearly release streak running with the eighteen-track Exodus compilation. Though it's best suited for casual fans, containing between two and four cuts from each album, it also features an intro, an outro, and a full-blown single-worthy track that were all laid down in 2005.

New songs, hit singles and tracks covering every year of Ja Rule’s success

The opener Exodus (Intro) has Ja Rule recollecting on years past, talking about his rise in the rap game and the ups and downs his label has experienced, Irv Gotti finishes off the track with some words of his own. Me has Ja Rule addressing the haters, and artists who hated on his style then copied it. Ja Rule closes off this release with Exodus (Outro), talking about being who he is, the hate he experienced, and the case the feds have been pursuing the Inc on. The founders of Ja Rule's label Murda Inc were acquitted in that money laundering case. At the heart of Exodus are the hit singles and tracks covering every year of Ja Rule’s success – starting with banging Holla Holla, his first breakthrough single of 1999, and Put It on Me (feat. Vita), his first #1 entry on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart the following year. Over the next four years, Ja Rule amassed an astounding track record of collaborations with the biggest names in pop, R&B and hip-hop as he rode the top of the charts with (among others) I Cry (featuring Lil’ Mo), Livin’ it Up (featuring Case), Always On Time (featuring Ashanti), Thug Lovin’(featuring Bobby Brown), Mesmerize (featuring Ashanti), New York (featuring Fat Joe & Jadakiss), and Wonderful (featuring R. Kelly & Ashanti). Other guests include DMX & Jay-Z (on It’s Murda); J-Lo & Caddillac Tah (on Ain’t It Funny); and Ron Isley aka Mr. Biggs (on heartfelt Daddy’s Little Baby).

Exodus is a solid and well put together greatest hits album

Ja Rule’s long-distance run is collected for the first time in his career on his 7th album. Casual fans of his music have never been able to get a collection of his hit tracks together before this. It's hard to believe that Ja Rule had so many hits, but he did. Done in chronological order for the most part, Exodus allows listeners see where it went right for Ja Rule, where it went wrong, and then back to where it went right again. From the hardcore rapper who blushed at comparisons to Tupac, to the sensitive fellow singing thug serenades, to the buddy of Fat Joe, the man who gave him back his figurative bandana and sagging jeans. The Inc. and Def Jam deserve some credit for waiting until the ideal moment; releases like this tend to be either premature or fluffed out with unnecessary remixes and phoned-in features. Exodus is a solid and well put together greatest hits album. Fans can expect to see Rule with a new name (Loki), new distribution deal and new album in 2006.