''The Last Temptation'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

. It was released by Murder Inc. and

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. Originally scheduled for a 2003 release, the album was ultimately released on November 19, 2002. This album contained singles such as "Thug Lovin'" (featuring

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

), " Mesmerize" (featuring Ashanti) and "The Pledge (Remix)" (by Ashanti featuring

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

, Ja Rule and

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

). "Murder Reigns" was also released as a single titled "Reign" in select territories outside of North America, such as

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. The song "Pop Niggas" gained some attention after it was reported to be talking in part about

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

was featured in the song, but not credited. Other guests featured on the album include: Bobby Brown, Ashanti, Nas, Alexi,

Charli Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known as Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Charli Balti ...

, 2Pac, Caddillac Tah,

Celeste Scalone Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

, Eastwood,

Crooked I Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage names Crooked I and Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked") is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a for ...

, Young Life &

Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B musician and producer from Washington, D.C. His achievements include co-producing '' Ashanti'', the debut album from the singer of the same name, as well as working on he ...

. The album was successful, moving 237,000 units in its first week, but less than his previous ''

Pain Is Love ''Pain Is Love'' is the third studio album by American rapper Ja Rule. Executive produced by Irv Gotti, it was released on October 2, 2001 by Murder Inc. Records and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Although, the album received a mixed receptio ...

''. On December 13, 2002 the album was certified Platinum. "Mesmerize" is ranked at #45 on ''Blender'''s list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever", but was the most successful single from the album, reaching number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 12 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The album also received criticism from fans, saying that the album sounded too commercial, and that Ja Rule was selling out: in addition, many artists that Ja Rule was feuding with, such as

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger (formerly Dat Nigga Daz and commonly Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and ga ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released th ...

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He was signed to fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records in 2002, where he released the albums ''Cheers'' (2003) and ''Second Round's on Me'' (2006). Trice formed his own record ...

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

, and DMX said that Ja Rule was trying to be just like

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, which fueled the rivalries even more. Though neither its debut nor lifetime sales ever matched those of ''Pain Is Love'', ''The Last Temptation'' is Ja Rule's third highest-selling album to date.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Sample credits * "Thug Lovin'" – Interpolates portions of "

Knocks Me Off My Feet "Knocks Me Off My Feet" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album '' Songs in the Key of Life''. It was not released as a single, though it was released as a B-side to " I Ain't Gonna Stand for ...

" performed by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

* "Mesmerize" – Interpolates portions of "

Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) "Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)" is a Soul music, soul song songwriter, written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed that was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul musical ensemble, group the Stylistics. The Stylistics original version An R&B ...

" performed by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

* "The Pledge (Remix)" – Contains a sample and elements of " So Many Tears" performed by

* "Murder Reigns" – Contains a sample of "

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

" performed by Toto * "Last Temptation" – Contains a sample of "

Funky Sensation "Funky Sensation" is a song released in 1981 by American singer Gwen McCrae. The song was written by Kenton Nix who also wrote " Heartbeat" for Taana Gardner. It was produced by Nix and Henry Batts. "Funky Sensation" peaked at number 22 on the '' ...

" performed by

Gwen McCrae Gwen McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943) is an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit record, hit "Rockin' Chair (Gwen McCrae song), Rockin' Chair". Life and career 1960s–1970s Gwen was the youngest of five children, She began performi ...

* "Murder Me" – Contains a sample of "

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

" performed by

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/ R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq ...

* "Rock Star" – Contains a sample of " I Belong to You" performed by

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

* "Destiny (Outro)" – Contains a sample of "Midnight Sunshine" performed by

The Soul Children The Soul Children was an American vocal group who recorded soul music for Stax Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They had three top 10 hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart – "The Sweeter He Is" (1969), "Hearsay" (1972), and "I ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Temptation, The 2002 albums Ja Rule albums Albums produced by Irv Gotti Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by Cool & Dre Def Jam Recordings albums