Ja Rule ‘Believe’ Video: Rapper Takes Backlash in Stride — Exclusive
Before he "went upstate," as they say, in June, to begin serving a two-year prison sentence for gun possession and tax evasion, Ja Rule finished recording vocals for 'Pain Is Love 2' -- or 'PIL2' -- the long-awaited comeback record he'll drop Feb. 28. He also shot a video for the single 'Believe,' and The BoomBox has the exclusive premiere.
"You can lock my body, contract my mind/ My thoughts keep escaping," the Queens MC raps, seemingly anticipating his incarceration.
In the clip -- a fast-paced montage interspersed with vintage performance footage and religious imagery -- Ja is a free man, but he appears hemmed in by chain-link fences and his oppressive urban environment.
Produced by lauded beatmaker 7 Aurelius, Rule's collaborator on some of his biggest early-'00s hits, 'PIL2' is a sequel of sorts to 'Pain Is Love,' the rapper's multi-platinum 2001 third album. This time out, Ja and Seven have created a concept record -- the story of an artist who takes one pill and becomes massively successful but then swallows another and experiences the downside to fame.
Ja is no stranger to such rap-game pitfalls, having fought a public battle with 50 Cent, and on 'Believe,' he takes it all in stride.
"What's progression if you've never been through backlash?" he raps.
Watch Ja Rule's 'Believe' Video
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Watch 'Ja Rule Speaks from Prison'
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