''Pray IV Reign'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

rapper

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, released on March 24, 2009, under E1, Columbia,

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, Ether Boy Records, Splash Records and BG Records. The album, his first not to be released under

Diplomat Records Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label founded by record executives and rappers Cam'ron and Jim Jones. History In the early 2000s, Dipset was very popular for having star rappers with radio hits like Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, a ...

, also serves as his first under a

major record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

. The album includes

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

from

Ron Browz Rondell Edwin Turner (born December 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Ron Browz (), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer from Harlem, New York. He gained major recognition for his production work on fellow New York rapp ...

Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B record producer from Washington, D.C. He is known for co-producing albums including '' Ashanti'' (2002), by singer of the same name, as well as its follow-up, '' Chapter I ...

No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), known professionally as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well a ...

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Working predominantly in contemporary R&B and hip hop, he has released six studio albums and written songs for artists ...

, Michael Crawford, Triple-A and Young Seph. Jones' fourth album also features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from Ron Browz,

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of now-defunct hip-hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group coho ...

, NOE, Mel Matrix, Rell,

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

, Ryan Leslie, Chink Santana, Bree-Beauty, Starr, Rowana and Oshy.

Background

The album, originally titled ''Back 2 Back'', was his first album with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album cover was photographed b
Thi Chien
There are several different album covers. The first version is the original cover, the second, third and fourth are all the original cover, but with different colored backgrounds, such as red, green and blue. The fifth cover is the Deluxe Edition with a close up of Jim Jones' face.

Music

In a 2008 listening session, a few tracks were revealed. The "Intro" was originally titled "Across 110th Street" and "How to Be a Boss" was originally titled "Follow this Blueprint". On the sixth track, titled "Frienemies", Jones' addresses his strained relationships with

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

and

Max B Charley Wingate (born May 21, 1978), better known by his stage name Max B (short for Max Biggaveli), is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo ''Public Domain'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'' series of mixtapes, and introduc ...

. "My My My" is a song he recorded his deceased friend Stack Bundles. Jim Jones says he likes to call this track "Emotionless Pt. 2", referring to a previous single of his taken from his third album '' Hustler's P.O.M.E.'' (2006). According to Jim Jones, "My My My" is one of the hardest songs for him perform because of his emotions. The passing of friend and fellow American rapper Stack Bundles, was one of the main inspirations for the album ''Pray IV Reign''. A track that was rumored to be on the album was the remix to

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

's "

Electric Feel "Electric Feel" is a song by the American rock band MGMT, released as the second single from their debut studio album '' Oracular Spectacular'' (2007) on June 23, 2008. The single was released as a 7" and CD single, and later on 12" vinyl. "Elect ...

Release and promotion

On July 8, 2008, Jones' released a song titled "The Good Shit", featuring production from

and a guest appearance from fellow

ByrdGang Joseph Guillermo Jones II (born July 15, 1976), better known by his stage name Jim Jones (or Jimmy Jones), is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of now-defunct hip-hop group the Diplomats (also known as Dipset), wh ...

member NOE. It was intended to be the album's first single when it was titled ''Back 2 Back'', but was instead used for promotional purposes. "

Pop Champagne "Pop Champagne" is a song by American Hip hop music, hip hop recording artist Ron Browz, originally released independently in June 2008. It is most famous for a remix with fellow American rappers Jim Jones (rapper), Jim Jones and Juelz Santana tha ...

", a song Jones recorded with Ron Browz and

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were an American hip hop collective formed in the summer of 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York City. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Ze ...

cohort

, was leaked online in the summer of 2008. It quickly became a club banger and

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

, peaking at #22 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. The song was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

on September 4, 2008. The song proved to be Jones' second most successful single to date, behind his 2006 hit "

We Fly High "We Fly High" is a song by American rapper Jim Jones, released as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment)'' (2006). The song is Jim Jones' highest-charting single to date, charting at number ...

". In October 2008, Jim Jones released a promotional video for the album, rapping his verse on his

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

's "

Day 'n' Nite "Day 'n' Nite" is the debut single by American rapper Kid Cudi. The song was written and produced by Cudi alongside his longtime collaborator and friend, Brooklyn-based producer Dot da Genius. It was issued as Cudi's commercial debut single on Fe ...

". Jim Jones initially wanted to release the album on December 9, which was coincidentally the same date

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

was going to release ''

The Blueprint 3 ''The Blueprint 3'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation and Roc-A-Fella, through distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. It is the third album in the ''Blueprint'' series ...

'' and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

was going to release ''

Before I Self Destruct ''Before I Self Destruct'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released November 16, 2009, on Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records, Interscope Records and Universal Music Group. The album is his final solo ...

''. To promote the album, Jones worked with

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1994, and co-founded the fashion retailer Rocawear with the former in 1999. Early life ...

and director J. Kyle Manzay to stage the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

''Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones''. The “Hip-Hop Monologues” is a musical theatrical experience, co-written by Jim Jones, using the music from ''Pray IV Reign'', as the platform. An ensemble of professional

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

s portray various characters from Jones’ past, while Jones performed his new songs in the context of a scripted story. The two-day only play pulled in a packed audience of fans, media, and celebrities. Infused with a live band the performance "Gives you that live instrumentation feel — more like a real Broadway type of feel as opposed to just seeing a hip-hop track. So, you’ll get to hear both the real music from off of the album and then the band comes in and it takes over and it gives you that really funky feeling" said Jones of the play. On January 1, 2009, a song titled " Na Na Nana Na Na" was premiered and on February 17, was released to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. It serves as the album's second single and features up-and-coming singer Brittney Taylor AKA Bree-Beauty. Jim Jones also teamed up with

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

, to promote the album as well. On March 2, 2009, Jim Jones appeared on BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' to premiere the music video for " Na Na Nana Na Na". Later on in the show he announced that from March 2 to March 24, he would be announcing a new item out of his "Swag Bag". The goal for the fans was to keep track of all the items announced each day and once you've collected all the items, you had to log on to BET.com/JimJones on Friday, March 20 to enter the contest for a chance to win Jim Jones’ "Swag Bag". Who ever entered all 24 items correctly won the "Swag Bag" and its items. Jones partnered with

, which had a "Countdown to Jim Jones Pray IV Reign". On February 17, they released the second single " Na Na Nana Na Na". On March 3, they released "Precious" featuring vocals and production from

, on March 17, the song titled "Frenemies" was released, and on March 24, the entire album was released. The

from ''Pray IV Reign'', "

", which spent two weeks as America's #1 urban single, was also incorporated into the countdown and was already available for sale.

Reception

Critical response

XXL gave the album a 4/5, stating that the album is an extreme improvement with many heartfelt tracks, but many disappointments. XXL complimented the lead single, "

", "My My My", and the promo singles "Precious" and "Frenemies", but disliked the second single " Na Na Nana Na Na", "Pop Off" and "This Is the Life". Alex Thornton of HopHopDX liked the songs "How to Be a Boss" with Ludacris saying it stole the show, "Precious" with Ryan Leslie and "My My My". He also liked the lead single "

" but like most critics he hated the second single " Na Na Nana Na Na"

Commercial performance

The album debuted at #9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 42,982 copies sold in its first week released.

Track listing

;Leftover tracks *"Trippin" (featuring Laylee) *"Shorty" (featuring NOE and Rell) *"Religion" *"Fast Money" (featuring Mel Matrix and Sandman) *"Uptown" (featuring Rell) *"My Life" (featuring Chink Santana and NOE) *"Catch Up" (featuring Oshy) ;Sample credits *"Intro" contains a interpolations from the composition of "Sunday and Sister Jones", taken from '' Quiet Fire'', written by

Gene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer, producer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart wit ...

, as performed by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

. *"Frienemies" contains an interpolations from the composition of " Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" as performed by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. *The

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

for "This Is the Life" was originally used by

Yung Berg Christian J. Ward (born September 9, 1985), known professionally as Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper. Ward began rapping under the stage name Iceberg in 2001, at the age of 14. His career was cut short, due to his time ...

and

Ray J William Ray Norwood Jr. (born January 17, 1981), known professionally as Ray J, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, television presenter, and actor. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California, he is the younger brother o ...

on a song, titled "Exotic". *"Jackin' Swagga from Us" contains a sampling elements from "

Paper Planes A paper plane is a toy airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocke ...

" as performed by

M.I.A. Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed in ...

, and is an alternative version of "

Swagga Like Us "Swagga Like Us" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, released on September 6, 2008, in the United States as the fifth single from T.I.'s sixth album ''Paper Trail'' (2008). The track was also initially slated ...

", a collaborative song of

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

and

(featuring

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

), taken from T.I.'s album, ''

Paper Trail ''Paper Trail'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper T.I., released September 30, 2008, on Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges ...

'' (2008).

Charts

Pray IV Reign: The Mixtape

Jim Jones released a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, titled ''Pray IV Reign: The Mixtape'', on March 3, 2009, to promote the album. Most of the songs on the mixtape are tracks that failed to make the album's final track listing.
/ref>

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray Iv Reign 2009 albums Jim Jones (rapper) albums E1 Music albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Chink Santana Albums produced by Ron Browz Albums produced by Ryan Leslie Albums produced by No I.D.