Pain Is Love
| Pain Is Love | ||||
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Def Jam | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Ja Rule chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pain Is Love | ||||
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Pain Is Love is the third studio album by American rapper
2003
.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 59/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7/10[5] |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10[6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
Pain is Love received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 59, based on 10 reviews.[2]
AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised the album for fine-tuning the formula set by Rule 3:36 of having R&B crossover singles and hardcore rap tracks to balance out the whole record.[1] An editor from HipHopDX said that hardcore tracks like "Dial M for Murder" and "Worldwide Gangsta" felt like forced attempts to bring back Ja's thug persona, but praised the album for having tracks that contain ear-grabbing lines and good beats, saying that "Pain Is Love is another positive establishment that will indeed create more popularity and more fan acknowledgement for Ja Rule."[8] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews found Ja's singing voice on some tracks intolerable but gave the album credit for containing tracks that display Irv Gotti's producing talents and Ja's adequate lyricism, concluding that, "Ja Rule will live up to the latter half of his name and dominate the charts for the latter half of 2001 with an album that is undoubtedly his most solid release to date."[6]
Soren Baker of the 2Pac, specifically on the penultimate feature track "So Much Pain" concluding that "even at less than his best, 2Pac still conveys a sense of urgency and purpose that illustrates incontestably the huge chasm separating the real deal from a canny imitation."[9]
Commercial performance
Pain Is Love spawned two number one hit singles and managed to debuted at number one on the US
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pain Is Love" (skit) | 1:18 | |||
| 2. | "Dial M for Murder" |
|
|
| 5:03 |
| 16. | "Pain Is Love" |
| Irv Gotti | 5:04 |
Notes
- some editions of the album add the song "Put It on Me" as track 17.
- ^[a] signifies a co-producer
Sample credits[13]
- "Dial M for Murder" contains interpolations of "Castle Walls", written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by Styx.
- "Livin' It Up" contains excerpts from "Do I Do", written and performed by Stevie Wonder.
- "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" contains an interpolation of "All Night Long" written by Rick James and performed by Mary Jane Girls.
- "So Much Pain" contains excerpts from "Pain", written by 2Pac featuring Stretch.
Personnel
- 7 Aurelius– instrumentation and mixing (2, 4-8, 10-12, 14, 16)
- Milwaukee Buck – engineer (2-8, 10, 11, 14-16)
- Paul Bushnell – bass guitar (4, 6, 7)
- Ashanti Douglas – additional vocals (5)
- Supa Engineer Duro – mixing (3)
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Irv Gotti – executive producer, mixing (2-8, 10-12, 14-16)
- Darcell Lawrence – production coordinator
- Ja Rule – executive producer
- Glen Marchese – mix engineer (4-7, 15)
- Anthony Mazza – guitar (2, 4, 6, 7, 11)
- Marty Osterer – bass guitar (10)
- Carl "Butch" Smalls – percussion (2, 16)
- Brian Springer – engineer (12), mix engineer (2, 8, 10-12, 14, 16)
- Gimi Taylor – bass guitar (2)
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[49] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[50] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[51] | Gold | 40,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[52] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[53] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[11] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also
- List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2001
- List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2001
- List of number-one albums from the 2000s (New Zealand)
References
- ^ a b c Birchmeier, Jason. "Pain Is Love - Ja Rule". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Pain Is Love by Ja Rule". Metacritic. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ Browne, David (October 8, 2001). "Pain Is Love". Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "Musicians Craft Sounds That Transcend Pop". Los Angeles Times. September 30, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ Brickner-Wood, Brady (July 17, 2022). "Ja Rule: Pain Is Love Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (October 2, 2001). "Feature for October 2, 2001 - Ja Rule's "Pain Is Love"". RapReviews. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ Sprague, David (October 2, 2001). "Recordings: Ja Rule, Pain Is Love". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on October 31, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ DX Staff (October 12, 2001). "Ja Rule - Pain Is Love". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (October 3, 2001). "Review: Ja Rule: Pain Is Love". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ Dansby, Andrew (October 10, 2001). "Ja Rule Lands Second No. 1". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "2002 Grammy Winners". MTV News. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
- ^ Def Jam. 2001.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Hung Medien.
- Pandora Archive.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love" (in French). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ja Rule Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. February 14, 2002. Archived from the original on February 14, 2002. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 9. February 23, 2002. p. 12. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Hung Medien.
- GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ja Rule". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Ja Rule Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "Ja Rule Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 12, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2001 in Canada". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ^ "The Official UK Albums Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2001". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2001". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2002". ARIA. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2002". Ultratop. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Rapports Annuels 2002". Ultratop. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2002 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 12, 2004. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2002". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2002" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2002". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2002". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". Music Canada.
- ^ "Dutch album certifications – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 5, 2022. Enter Pain Is Love in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2002 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love Show". Recorded Music NZ. June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
- ^ "British album certifications – Ja Rule – Pain Is Love". British Phonographic Industry.
