Ja Rule's second single, "Between Me and You", featuring Christina Milian, was released in June 2000 as the first single from his second studio album and became his first major crossover hit, earning Top 40 airplay and reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album's next single, "Put It on Me", featuring Vita and Lil' Mo, was released in December 2000 and became one of the biggest hits of 2001, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first top 10 hit for both Ja Rule and Vita.
The video for "Put It on Me" also topped the MTV Video Countdown for a week, and became the first music video to be retired on BET's 106 & Park after spending more than 60 days on the countdown.
The video also ranked #1 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2001.

Ja Rule's second album, Rule 3:36, was released on October 10, 2000, and took a much different artistic direction to Ja Rule's previous work, including Venni Vetti Vecci, eschewing the hardcore hip-hop style he had become known for in favour of a mainstream-oriented pop-rap sound to greater success, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 276,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Ja Rule's first number one album.
The album later went on to be certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The success of Rule 3:36 promoted Ja Rule to international status, and made Murder Inc. one of the biggest labels in the United States.
The same success followed with his third album, which spawned three top 10 singles, two of them reaching #1.
The first, "Livin' It Up", featuring Case, was released in July 2001 and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It also achieved success in the United Kingdom, reaching #5 on the UK Singles Chart.
The second single, "Always on Time", was released in October 2001 and marked the first major guest appearance for Murder Inc's youngest artist Ashanti, and became both Ja Rule and Ashanti's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100.
The remix of Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" featuring Ja Rule was included on the album and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks, beginning September 8, 2001, and also topped the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
The song was a staple of R&B/hip hop and pop radio during the summer and fall of 2001, spending fifteen weeks total in the top five of the Hot 100.
In 2009 the single was named the 30th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.
The album's fourth single, "Down Ass Bitch" featuring Charli Baltimore was also successful, reaching #21 on the Hot 100.

Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love, on October 2, 2001.
Like its predecessor, Pain Is Love topped the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 361,000 copies and is certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
The album also received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Rap Album.
By 2007, 3.6 million copies of Pain Is Love had been sold.

The Last Temptation, Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002.
It spawned two hit singles, "Thug Lovin'", featuring Bobby Brown, which peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Mesmerize", a duet with Ashanti that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Last Temptation debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 237,000 copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2002.
Ja Rule's second single, "Between Me and You", featuring Christina Milian, was released in June 2000 as the first single from his second studio album and became his first major crossover hit, earning Top 40 airplay and reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's next single, "Put It on Me", featuring Vita and Lil' Mo, was released in December 2000 and became one of the biggest hits of 2001, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first top 10 hit for both Ja Rule and Vita. The video for "Put It on Me" also topped the MTV Video Countdown for a week, and became the first music video to be retired on BET's 106 & Park after spending more than 60 days on the countdown. The video also ranked #1 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2001.
Ja Rule's second album, Rule 3:36, was released on October 10, 2000, and took a much different artistic direction to Ja Rule's previous work, including Venni Vetti Vecci, eschewing the hardcore hip-hop style he had become known for in favour of a mainstream-oriented pop-rap sound to greater success, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 276,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Ja Rule's first number one album. The album later went on to be certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The success of Rule 3:36 promoted Ja Rule to international status, and made Murder Inc. one of the biggest labels in the United States. The same success followed with his third album, which spawned three top 10 singles, two of them reaching #1. The first, "Livin' It Up", featuring Case, was released in July 2001 and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also achieved success in the United Kingdom, reaching #5 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Always on Time", was released in October 2001 and marked the first major guest appearance for Murder Inc's youngest artist Ashanti, and became both Ja Rule and Ashanti's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The remix of Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" featuring Ja Rule was included on the album and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks, beginning September 8, 2001, and also topped the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song was a staple of R&B/hip hop and pop radio during the summer and fall of 2001, spending fifteen weeks total in the top five of the Hot 100. In 2009 the single was named the 30th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. The album's fourth single, "Down Ass Bitch" featuring Charli Baltimore was also successful, reaching #21 on the Hot 100.
Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love, on October 2, 2001. Like its predecessor, Pain Is Love topped the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 361,000 copies and is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album also received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Rap Album. By 2007, 3.6 million copies of Pain Is Love had been sold.
The Last Temptation, Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002. It spawned two hit singles, "Thug Lovin'", featuring Bobby Brown, which peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Mesmerize", a duet with Ashanti that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Last Temptation debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 237,000 copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2002.
Ja Rule