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Ja Rule pulls a fast one on Q-C crowd

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| Monday, December 20, 2004 |

Sean Moeller

A New York minute is said to be similar to any other minute, just quicker.

One of the Empire State's native thugs, Ja Rule, gave the Quad-Cities a first-hand demonstration of just how snappy one of those brackets of time can be with his uneventful, 25-minute performance Saturday night at The Mark of the Quad-Cities.

The veteran of street ballads and tales of rough living must run on that kind of clock, thinking that his less-than-half-hour appearance is equal to a standard, acceptably long one from anyone else. He apparently felt that he earned every cent of his take on the $40 tickets. But with opening acts JoJo, Lloyd and Ciara chipping in just 15 minutes a set, more of a show should have been expected from a man trying to win back fans that have drifted to embrace Usher, Lil' Jon and Ludacris in his two-year absence.

What he delivered instead was a half-effort that seemed to be more of an elaborate promotion for an after-show party at Del's in The District, where the 2,500 show-goers were continually reminded Rule would be when the lights came back on.

Rule, known for a husky voice that gives him more commonalities with the Crash Test Dummies than anyone in hip-hop, got through eight songs before picking up his barely sipped bottle of Kristal champagne and calling it an evening. Most of the set was a crowd-participation-heavy take on his past hit collaborations. "I'm Real," his smash single with Jennifer Lopez, came halfway through the night with the audience expected to sing all of J-Lo's parts and Ja appearing every 30 seconds for a chorus.

"Livin' It Up" started the night as part of a two-song medley and was one highlight, however slight it was. The other was a performance of "Wonderful," which should be Rule's second single from new record "R.U.L.E." and deals with the grievances that come when relationships are based on money and materialism. Even without R Kelly there to provide his excellent cameo vocals, Rule gave indications that he has what it takes to retain his clout.

But it won't be a return accelerated with more nights like the one he dropped on us this weekend.

Among openers, JoJo, the 14-year-old with a voice defying her age, showed an impressive stage presence to start the night. But it's her pipes that were and will be her strong suit. Lloyd was forced to rely on barely his chest and abs to get any reaction, and Ciara's strong, crunk 'tude went no where.

Editor's note: The concert review appears in today's paper because the concert was too late for Sunday's press deadline.

Sean Moeller can be contacted at

(563) 383-2288 or at smoeller@qctimes.com.