“KNOW THY SELF…” is one of the oldest, philosophical statements that can be traced back to Ancient Egyptian times that still resonates people who are lovers of knowledge and are in pursuit of spiritual oneness. It is a creed that knows no boundaries and people from all walks of life gravitate to its simplistic truth. When it comes to music, nowhere does this belief have more meaning than in hip-hop, where the drive to stay true one’s artistry is the ultimate goal. And, there is only one rap artist within the 21st century that this declaration of faith could not have spoken to more than The Inc./Empire/Motown Universal recording artist Jeffrey Atkins a.k.a. Ja Rule. Backed by a new label and a fresh perspective on his career and personal life, Ja Rule is ready to reclaim his longtime reign in hip-hop with his latest album, The Mirror.
“I called it the Mirror because originally I was going call it Love is Pain,” recalls Ja Rule. “My 3rd album was called Pain is Love (Island Def Jam, 2001), and I named it that because where I was at the time and what I’d been through––going through a lot struggles and sacrifice to get this point in my career and to receive the love from the people––to me, that was the first album where I got love from the people. So, I originally felt I needed to call this album, Love is Pain, because after going through struggles of gaining the love of the people, they took it right back. They say after you achieve that love, people love to see you fall. But, as I started to record some songs (for this album) it began to get deeper than that. I wanted the people to realize how I felt and what I went through, during this whole transition. I mean you will never really know what I was going through, because what people think and what it really was, is two different things. So by calling this album The Mirror, I want people to really get a glimpse on what it is to be Ja Rule and the album is a reflection of that.”
