"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.
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]