Ja Rule - Free ft. Ashley Joi

With his upcoming release The Mirror, rap powerhouse Ja Rule will be eight albums deep in a career spanning over ten years. Unfortunately, it seems apparent that musical growth eludes Mr. Atkins after lending an ear to his new, yet formulaic, single Free.  The subject matter of the song is cliché to say the least (“If you truly love something you should set it free. And if it comes back to you it’s truly yours”).

Over a melodic piano loving beat Ja flows as if he were a Bone-Thug that got lost at the Crossroads. With that said, the real upside to this otherwise textbook Ja Rule joint is the angelic loveliness that is Ashley Joi’s voice! The Detroit-bred songstress brought the harmony that Ja, even with his newly adopted rapping style, couldn’t properly execute. Suppose as one star becomes listless another can create its own spotlight.