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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Back to Basics, 16 Nov 2004
2003: 'Blood in My Eye'. This seemed like a return to form for the fallen rapper Rule. despite pretty much dedicating the whole album to dissing the Shady/Aftermath clique, it featured some very hard hitting 'rap' tunes, such as 'Clap Back' and 'N***az & B****es', and none of the R n'B/Hip-Pop that he had been previously slammed for. Things were looking up.2004: 'R.U.L.E'. Something went wrong. In the process of trying to redeem himself, Jeffery Atkins has somewhat regressed, producing an album that, composition wise, seems like an inferior version of 'Pain is Love'. Shame. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Rule Hater, I own all of his albums and do like them all, to an extent, but I just feel that this is a slightly half-hearted effort. In my humble oppinion, the aforementioned 'Pain is Love' is his finest work to date, despite many seeing this as the start of his downfall. And this just doesn't measure up. After a promising start with 'Last of the Mohicans', the album wanes in the middle, with a medlee of virtually identical songs, finally picking up towards the end. On the rap side there is the hot joint 'New York', 'Gun Talk' and 'Bout My Business', but most of the rest is Hip-Pop, interspersed with the obligatory pointless skits. I can't pinpoint a single flaw that brings this album down, but on the whole, it is just a rather unremarkable album; even Gotti's production seems to have slipped, perhaps due to that fact that he doesn't solo produce any more, always co-working with other DJ's. So overall, if you liked the first single 'Wonderful', I'm sure you'll find lots to like here, but if like me you were hoping for an actual rap album, then go for something like Obie Trice's 'Cheers', DMXs 'Grand Champ', or even, dare I say it, Lloyd Banks 'Hunger for More', which are all much better balanced albums. Anyway, to summarise, here are my individual track breakdowns: 1. The Inc Intro(skit): N/A - Pointless emotional intro
2. Last of the Mohicans: 4/5 - Great beat, dodgy chorus
3. Wonderful: 3/5 - OK for chilling to, but too similar to 'Mesmerized'
4. What's My Name: 5/5 - Great Party Track, nice beat
5. New York: 5/5 - Definition of a banger. Rule's voice tears up the chorus!
6. Stripping Game(skit): N/A - Baffling skit, again pointless
7. The Manual: 2/5 - Sounds like a Craig David joint, weak chorus
8. Get it Started: 2/5 - Sounds like a BEPs joint, aka rubbish
9. R.U.L.E: 3/5 - Pretty unremarkable, out of tune chorus too
10.True Story(skit): N/A - Bored of skits, so haven't bothered listening to it!
11.Caught Up: 3/5 - Too R n'B, catchy enough though
12.Gun Talk: 3/5 - Sinister beat, reminiscent of something from 'Venni, Vetti, Vecci'. Still unremarkable though
13.Never Thought: 3/5 - More R n'B, fairly cool beat though
14.Life Goes On: 4/5 - Smooth beat, and soulful collaboration
15.Weed(skit): N/A - Who gives...
16.Where I'm From: 5/5 - Awesome soulful track. Nice beat, heartfelt lyrics and a great chorus from Lloyd
17.Bout My Business: 4/5 - Good beat. Funny hearing Caddilac Tah and Black Child trying to be Ja Rule though.
18.Passion: 4/5 - Interesting production, very Neptunes-esque, good lyrics too.
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