After hearing the infectious styles of Holla, I was expecting good things from Ja Rule’s first album, Venni Veti Vecci. Unfortunately, I was left severely disappointed by, what to tell the truth was a pretty poor attempt. I could see the same happening with Rule 3:36. After having heard Between Me And You, and Put It On Me, on Westwood, I was very impressed and I was hoping to hear the rest of the album along the same lines. Luckily I was nowhere near as disappointed.
1999 – Ja Rule’s entrance into the game did not go down to well. Venni Veti Vecci wasn’t too great.
Ja Rule has taken a lot of criticism for sounding too much like DMX, but I think that on this album he proves his real emcee skills, and that he’s not short on lyrical skill either. From the intro onwards, where I admit he sounds quite similar to the X, Ja Rule lights it up with some pretty stunning tracks. Most notably, like I’ve said, there’s Between Me and You with a nice hook, and some good vocals ably provided by Christina Milian, and Put It On Me where Rule shows he can do a bit of everything. I cry featuring Lil’ Mo is a great chill tune with real quality. There is a lot of diversity shown on this joint, and no doubt something that most hip-hop fans would like. He moves from some chill R’n’B style tracks, to some hardcore thug-life tunes, where he frequently drops his signature word “MURDA”.
People regularly compare the voice of Ja to that of DMX.
Overall this is a good solid hip-hop album, that marks a great improvement to the frankly poor first effort. One more thing before I finish, check out the skit at track 15, where Rule drops a phat ass freestyle. This is a good album, and a must if you’re a Rule fan. Thumbs Up!!!! 2001 – Thankfully, Ja’s second attempt is a lot better. 3:36 shows this young rapper has developed his style in the last year or so.
Reviewed By Hip Hop Network for HipHopHotSpot.Com
