Livin' It Up (Ja Rule song)

"Livin' It Up" is a song by American rapper Ja Rule featuring singer Case. It was officially serviced to US urban radio on September 10, 2001, as the lead single from Ja Rule's third studio album, Pain Is Love (2001), following several weeks of early airplay.^[1] The song, produced by Lil Rob and Irv Gotti, samples Stevie Wonder's 1982 song "Do I Do". Issued through Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records,

"Livin' It Up"
Single by Ja Rule featuring Case
from the album Pain Is Love
Released	September 10, 2001 (2001-09-10)
Studio	The Crackhouse (New York City)
Length	4:20
Label	Def Jam Murder Inc.
Songwriter(s)	Jeffrey Atkins Robert Mays Irving Lorenzo Stevie Wonder
Producer(s)	Lil' Rob Irv Gotti
Ja Rule singles chronology
"I'm Real (Murder Remix)" (2001) "Livin' It Up" (2001) "Always on Time" (2001)

"Livin' It Up" peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and entered the top 10 in Australia, where it peaked at number six. In 2002, "Livin' it Up" received a re-issue in the United Kingdom and reached a new peak of number five on the UK Singles Chart after initially reaching number 27 in late 2001. Retired NBA All-Star Baron Davis and former pornographic actress Sunny Leone make appearances in the video.

Track listings

UK CD single (2001)[2] "Livin' It Up" (LP version) – 4:20 "Livin' It Up" (instrumental) – 4:20 "Put It on Me" (remix featuring Vita and Lil' Mo) – 4:22 "Livin' It Up" (video) UK CD single (2002)[3] "Livin' It Up" (album version) – 4:20 "Livin' It Up" (live at the London Astoria) – 4:51 "Always on Time" (Agent X mix featuring Ashanti) – 5:10 "Livin' It Up" (video) – 4:30

French CD single[4] "Livin' It Up" (radio edit) – 4:18 "Livin' It Up" (video) European maxi-CD and Australasian CD single[5] "Livin' It Up" (radio edit) – 4:18 "Livin' It Up" (instrumental) – 4:19 "I Cry" (featuring Lil' Mo) – 5:18 "Livin' It Up" (video)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Pain Is Love album booklet.^[6]

Studios

• Recorded at The Crackhouse (New York City)
• Mixed at Enterprise Studios (Burbank, California)
• Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)

Personnel

• Ja Rule – writing (as Jeffrey Atkins)
• Robert Mays – writing
• Irv Gotti – writing (as Irving Lorenzo), production, mixing
• Stevie Wonder – writing ("Do I Do")
• Case – featured vocals
• 7 – all instruments
• Lil' Rob – production
• Milwaukee Buck – recording
• Supa Engineer DURO – mixing
• Brian Gardner – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001–2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 6 Australian Urban (ARIA)[8] 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 27 France (SNEP)[10] 32 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 20 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 25 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 29 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 32 Scotland (OCC)[15] 18 UK Singles (OCC)[16] 5 UK Dance (OCC)[17] 6 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[18] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 6 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 4 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[21] 4 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[22] 8 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[23] 4 Chart (2013) Peak position UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[24] 36

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position UK Urban (Music Week)[25] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 79 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard)[27] 51 US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 47 Chart (2002) Position Australia (ARIA)[29] 25 Australian Urban (ARIA)[30] 5 UK Singles (OCC)[31] 112 UK Airplay (Music Week)[32] 40 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 76 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[34] 43 US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 64

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36]	Platinum	70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]	Gold	400,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	September 10, 2001	Urban crossover radio	Murder Inc. Def Jam	[1]
	October 16, 2001	Contemporary hit rhythmic contemporary radio		[38]
United Kingdom	October 29, 2001	12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[39]
Australia	November 12, 2001	CD		[40]
United Kingdom (re-release)	July 22, 2002	12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[41]

References

1. "Island Def Jam Readies Rap Attack". Hits. Vol. 15, no. 757. August 17, 2001. p. 14. First single 'Livin' It Up" is hitting the airwaves now to great early response (Def Jam will go for Urban and Crossover adds on 9/10).
2. Livin' It Up (UK CD single liner notes). Ja Rule. Murder Inc., Def Jam Recordings. 2001. 588 814-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. Livin' It Up (UK CD single liner notes). Ja Rule. Murder Inc., Def Jam Recordings. 2002. 063 978-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
4. Livin' It Up (French CD single liner notes). Ja Rule. Murder Inc., Def Jam Recordings. 2001. 588 841-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. Livin' It Up (European maxi-CD & Australasian CD single liner notes). Ja Rule. Murder Inc., Def Jam Recordings. 2001. 588 741-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. Pain Is Love (US CD album booklet). Ja Rule. Murder Inc., Def Jam Recordings. 2001. 384 586 437-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. "Ja Rule feat. Case – Livin' It Up". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
8. "Issue 627" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 33. August 10, 2002. p. 7. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
10. "Ja Rule feat. Case – Livin' It Up" (in French). Les classement single.
11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Livin' It Up". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
13. "Ja Rule feat. Case – Livin' It Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
14. "Ja Rule feat. Case – Livin' It Up". Top 40 Singles.
15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
17. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
18. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
19. "Ja Rule Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
20. "Ja Rule Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
21. "Ja Rule Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
22. "Ja Rule Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
23. "Ja Rule Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
24. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
25. "Top 40 Urban Tracks of 2001" (PDF). Music Week. January 19, 2002. p. 26. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
26. "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
27. "The Year in Music: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 52. December 29, 2001. p. YE-44. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
28. "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2001". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 9, no. 51. December 21, 2001. p. 48.
29. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2002". ARIA. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
30. "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Urban Singles 2002". ARIA. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
31. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2002" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
32. "Most Broadcast of 2002 – Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music Week. January 18, 2003. p. 31. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
33. "Billboard Top 100 – 2002". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
34. "Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2002". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 12.
35. "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2002". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 22.
36. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
37. "British single certifications – Ja Rule ft Case – Livin' It Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
38. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1423. October 12, 2001. pp. 47, 53. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
39. "New Releases – For Week Starting October 29, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 27, 2001. p. 31. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
40. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 12 Nov 2001" (PDF). ARIA. November 12, 2001. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
41. "New Releases – For Week Starting 22 July 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 20, 2002. p. 31. Retrieved August 26, 2021.