Exodus (Explicit Version)

Album Review

Ja Rule released an album a year from 1999 through 2004, and with no new full-length planned for 2005, The Inc. opted to keep the yearly release streak running with the Exodus compilation. Though it's best suited for casual fans, containing between two and four cuts from each album — apart from Blood in My Eye, which is represented only by "Clap Back" — it also features an intro, an outro, and a full-blown single-worthy track that were all laid down in 2005. If you're a hardcore fan, you'll probably want the new material just to have it, and there's also the "Murder Remix" of Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny," which was previously attainable on the original single and J to Tha L-O!: The Remixes. Otherwise, this is a straightforward trip through Ja Rule's catalog, containing the biggest hits ("Holla Holla," "Always on Time," "Wonderful," "Mesmerize") and a couple stronger album cuts ("It's Murda," "Daddy's Little Baby"). Since only two of the proper studio albums offer substantial worth beyond the singles, Exodus renders the remainder of them obsolete to all but the most intense followers. The Inc. and Def Jam deserve some credit for waiting until the ideal moment; releases like this tend to be either premature or fluffed out with unnecessary remixes and phoned-in features.