Blood in My Eye

Blood in My Eye
Studio album by Ja Rule
Released November 4, 2003
Recorded 2002–03
Genre East Coast hip hop, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop
Length 44:56
Label
Producer Irv Gotti
Ja Rule chronology
The Last Temptation
(2002)		 Blood in My Eye
(2003)		 R.U.L.E.
(2004)
Singles from Blood in My Eye
  1. "Clap Back"
    Released: October 14, 2003

Blood in My Eye is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ja Rule; it released on November 4, 2003, by Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album was originally planned to be released as a mixtape. The release of the album took place during the feud with Shady/Aftermath rappers 50 Cent, G-Unit, Eminem, D12, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, along with artists including DMX and Busta Rhymes and was entirely dedicated to dissing them. The album was named after George Jackson's radical book of the same name.

Hussein Fatal of Outlawz, Cadillac Tah, James Gotti, Sizzla, Black Child, Young Merc, D.O. Cannon, Shadow, and Sekou 720 are listed as guest appearances on this album. Blood in My Eye debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 139,000 copies in the United States.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic45/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
The Guardian[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
RapReviews5.5/10[7]

Blood in My Eye garnered mixed reviews from music critics, skeptical of Ja's lyrical skills as a hardcore rapper. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 45, based on 8 reviews.[2]

Beccy Lindon of The Guardian called the record "a rough, back-to-basics rap album", noting that it is filled with guest verses from hardcore rappers and devoid of R&B artists, concluding that it is "more concerned with answering critics and continuing the backbiting with the Death Row camp."[5] Jon Caramanica, writing for Rolling Stone, commended Ja for breaking away from his usual love duet formula to deliver shots at other rappers but said that "the boasts here feel utterly tired. And so does the attitude."[6] Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly found the album to be "a dull slog with a dearth of hooks and a surfeit of gangsta clichés."[4]

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews criticized the narrow-minded lyrical takedowns and suggested that Ja sticks to mainstream R&B/hip-hop duets, despite crediting the production and collaborations with Hussein Fatal, saying that, "All things considered though, this short 45 minute album will not solve Ja's problems, nor will it restore him to chart dominance."[7] AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier called it "a very focused and heartfelt album", much more than his debut Venni Vetti Vecci, but felt that Ja worked better as a mainstream rapper crafting "catchy pop-rap tracks with grimy posturing and singalong hooks." He added that listeners would not get much out of the record, saying "there are only two quality songs, a lot of redundant trash-talking, and an overall sense of ridiculousness that pervades."[3]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Murder Intro"Ja Rule, Irv Gotti0:26
2."The Life" (featuring Hussein Fatal, Caddilac Tah & James Gotti)Jimi Kendrix, Irv Gotti4:35
3."Clap Back"Scott Storch, Irv Gotti4:57
4."The Crown" (featuring Sizzla)Irv Gotti, Chink Santana3:45
5."Kay Slay (Skit)"Ja Rule, Irv Gotti0:18
6."Things Gon' Change / 2 Punk Ass Quarters (Skit)" (featuring Black Child, Young Merc & D.O. Cannon)Jimi Kendrix, Irv Gotti4:01
7."Race Against Time II"Jimi Kendrix, Irv Gotti3:53
8."Bobby Creep (Skit)"Irv Gotti, Rebel0:44
9."Niggas & Bitches"Irv Gotti, Blackout Movement4:34
10."The INC Is Back" (featuring Shadow, Sekou 720 & Black Child)Sekou 720, Swizz Beatz5:22
11."Remo (Skit)"Irv Gotti, Rebel1:13
12."Blood In My Eye" (featuring Hussein Fatal)Jimi Kendrix, Irv Gotti2:25
13."It's Murda Freestyle" (featuring Hussein Fatal)Irv Gotti3:36
14."The Wrap Freestyle" (featuring Hussein Fatal)Irv Gotti, Hussein Fatal5:09

Charts

See also

References

  1. ↑ D'Angelo, Joe (November 17, 2004). "Eminem Shreds The Competition, Even With A Premature Encore". CMT. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Reviews for Blood In My Eye by Ja Rule". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Birchmeier, Jason. "Blood in My Eye - Ja Rule". AllMusic. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Endelman, Michael (November 21, 2003). "Blood in My Eye Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Lindon, Beccy (November 7, 2003). "CD: Ja Rule: Blood in My Eye". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (November 19, 2003). "Ja Rule: Blood In My Eye". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  7. 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (November 4, 2003). "Feature for November 4, 2003 - Ja Rule's "Blood in My Eye"". RapReviews. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Ja Rule – Blood in My Eye". Hung Medien.
  9. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Ja Rule – Blood in My Eye". Hung Medien.
  11. ↑ "Ja Rule | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  12. ↑ "Ja Rule Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Ja Rule Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2004". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.