Reign (song)

"Reign" (originally known as "Murder Reigns"^[2] and also known as "The Reign"^[3]) is a song by American rapper Ja Rule, released in June 2003^[1] as the third and final single from his fourth studio album, The Last Temptation (2002). It was written by Ja Rule, 7 Aurelius and Irv Gotti and produced by the latter two. The song contains vocals from Celeste Scalone and samples "Africa" by Toto, thus crediting band members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro as co-writers.^[2] In the UK, the song was titled "Reigns" (dropping the "Murder" in line with Murder Inc. Records' then-rebrand to The Inc. Records^[4][5]) and released as a double A-side with "Clap Back",^[6] the first single from Ja Rule's 2003 album Blood in My Eye.

"Reign"
Single by Ja Rule
from the album The Last Temptation
Released	June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30)[1]
Studio	Right Track (New York City)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:02
Label	Murder Inc. Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Jeffery Atkins Irv Gotti 7 Aurelius David Paich Jeff Porcaro
Producer(s)	Irv Gotti 7 Aurelius
Ja Rule singles chronology
"Mesmerize" (2002) "Reign" (2003) "Clap Back" (2003)

Music video

The song's music video dramatizes the January 2003 raid of Murder Inc. Records' offices in New York City by the FBI over the label's connections to drug lord Kenneth McGriff. It contains a cameo by Patrick Swayze as one of the FBI officers. The video also depicts a trial in which Irv Gotti and Murder Inc. are exonerated by a jury.^[7]

Track listing

Australian and European CD single^[8]

1. "Reign" (radio) – 4:08
2. "Reign" (album version) – 4:02
3. "Reign" (instrumental) – 4:33

UK double A-side single^[9]

1. "Clap Back" – 4:57
2. "Reigns" – 4:02
3. "Clap Back" (instrumental) – 5:05
4. "Clap Back"/"Reigns" (music video)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Reign" Chart (2003) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 5 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 10 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 14 Germany (GfK)[13] 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 35 Scotland (OCC)[15] with "Clap Back" 15 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[6] with "Clap Back" 9 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[17] with "Clap Back" 3 US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[18] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Reign" Chart (2003) Position Australia (ARIA)[19] 29 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 64 Germany (Media Control GfK)[21] 31 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 52 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 189

Certifications

Certifications for "Reign"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24]	Platinum	70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[25]	Gold	150,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.