Blood in My Eye

Blood in My Eye is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ja Rule, 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 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. Reviews for the record were mixed, with critics skeptical of Ja's lyrical skills as a hardcore rapper. 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]

Blood in My Eye
Studio album by Ja Rule
Released	November 4, 2003
Recorded	2002-2003
Genre	East Coast hip hop gangsta rap hardcore hip hop
Length	44:56
Label	Murder Inc. Def Jam
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
"Clap Back" Released: October 14, 2003

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	45/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
RapReviews	5.5/10[7]

Blood in My Eye garnered mixed reviews from music critics. 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 stick 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

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Murder Intro"		Ja Rule Irv Gotti	0:26
2.	"The Life" (featuring Hussein Fatal, Caddillac Tah and James Gotti)	Jeffrey Atkins Bruce Washington Taheem Crocker James Floyd Kendred Smith Irving Lorenzo	Jimi Kendrix Irv Gotti	4:35
3.	"Clap Back"	Atkins Scott Storch Lorenzo	Scott Storch Irv Gotti (co.)	4:57
4.	"The Crown" (featuring Sizzla)	Atkins Andre Parker Lorenzo Miguel Collins Bobby Dixon	Chink Santana Irv Gotti	3:45
5.	"Kay Slay" (Skit)		Ja Rule Irv Gotti	0:18
6.	"Things Gon' Change / 2 Punk Ass Quarters (Skit)" (featuring Black Child, Young Merc and D.O. Cannons)	Atkins Smith Lorenzo Ramel Gill Jeffery Cracker Gerard Fields	Jimi Kendrix Irv Gotti	4:01
7.	"Race Against Time II"	Atkins Smith Lorenzo	Jimi Kendrix Irv Gotti Boogz (co.)	3:53
8.	"Bobby Creep" (Skit)	Richard Wilson Lorenzo	Rebel Irv Gotti	0:44
9.	"Niggas & Bitches"	Atkins Winston Thomas Lorenzo	BlackOut Irv Gotti	4:34
10.	"The INC Is Back" (featuring Shadow, Sekou 720 and Black Child)	Kyle Robinson Sekou Branch Gill Atkins Lorenzo	Sekou 720 Irv Gotti	5:22
11.	"Remo" (Skit)	Wilson Lorenzo	Rebel Irv Gotti	1:13
12.	"Blood In My Eye" (featuring Hussein Fatal)	Atkins Washington Smith Lorenzo Thomas Allen Harold Brown Morris Dickerson Leroy Jordan Lee Levitin Charles Miller Howard Scott	Jimi Kendrix Irv Gotti	2:25
13.	"It's Murda (Freestyle)" (featuring Hussein Fatal)	Atkins Washington Lorenzo	Irv Gotti	3:36
14.	"The Wrap (Freestyle)" (featuring Hussein Fatal)	Atkins Washington Lorenzo Albert Johnson Kejuan Muchita Tajuan Perry	Irv Gotti	5:09

 • (co.) Co-producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 79 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 98 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 92 UK Albums (OCC)[12] 51 US Billboard 200[13] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] 100

See also

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2003

References

1. D'Angelo, Joe (November 17, 2004). "Eminem Shreds The Competition, Even With A Premature Encore". Country Music Television. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
2. "Reviews for Blood In My Eye by Ja Rule". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
3. Birchmeier, Jason. "Blood in My Eye - Ja Rule". AllMusic. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
4. Endelman, Michael (November 21, 2003). "Blood in My Eye Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
5. Lindon, Beccy (November 7, 2003). "CD: Ja Rule: Blood in My Eye". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
6. 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. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (November 4, 2003). "Feature for November 4, 2003 - Ja Rule's "Blood in My Eye"". RapReviews. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
8. Rule 3:36 (booklet). Murder Inc., Def Jam. 2003.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Ja Rule – Blood in My Eye". Hung Medien.
10. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Ja Rule – Blood in My Eye". Hung Medien.
12. "Ja Rule | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
13. "Ja Rule Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
14. "Ja Rule Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
15. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2004". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.