Grade: B
Ja Rule won’t be lavishly celebrating the release of his new album, “Pain Is Love 2,” seeing as he is still behind bars for gun possession. “PIL2” surprisingly differs from his past R&B influenced albums. With raw and explicit lyrics, Ja Rule conveys the story of his fall from fame and the harsh, dark reality of his celebrity experiences. Hardcore, heavy beats are meshed with various collaborations, similar to his past collaborations with Ashanti and Jennifer Lopez. Ja Rule is sometimes drowned out by the music and featured artists, which is a good thing since the songs’ lyricism isn’t stellar. Overall, the album is a decent comeback for the forgotten millennium rapper.