Background
The album is his first album with Columbia Records. The album was originally titled Back 2 Back. Jim Jones released a promotional video for the album, rapping his verse on the remix to Kid Cudi's hit single "Day 'n' Nite". Jim Jones initially wanted to release the album on December 9, which was coincidentally the same date Jay-Z was going to release The Blueprint 3 and 50 Cent was going to release Before I Self Destruct.
To Promote the album Jones worked with Damon Dash and director J. Kyle Manzay to stage the play 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 actors 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.
Jim Jones teamed up with BET to promote the album as well. On March 2, 2009, Jim Jones appeared on 106 & Park to premier the video for "Na Na Nana Na Na". Later on in the show he announced from March 2 to March 24, he will 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.
iTunes had a "Countdown to Jim Jones Pray IV Reign". On February 17, they released his second single "Na Na Nana Na Na". On March 3, they released "Precious" featuring vocals and production from Ryan Leslie, on March 17, "Frenemies" was released, and on March 24, the entire album was released. The lead single from Pray IV Reign, "Pop Champagne", which spent two weeks as America's #1 urban single, was also incorporated into the countdown and was already available for sale.
The album cover was photographed by Thi Chien. There are many different album covers. The first version is the normal cover, the second, third and fourth are all the same normal cover, but different colored backgrounds, such as red, green and blue. The fifth cover is the Deluxe Edition with a close up of Jim Jones' face.
Read more about this topic: Pray IV Reign
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Pilate with his question “What is truth?” is gladly trotted out these days as an advocate of Christ, so as to arouse the suspicion that everything known and knowable is an illusion and to erect the cross upon that gruesome background of the impossibility of knowledge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)