Background and Release
The original version of "I'm Real" was recorded by Lopez for her second studio album, J.Lo (2001) which had 14 other tracks. Released on January 23, 2001, J.Lo debuted at the summit of the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 272,000 copies. The album was a commercial success. On July 24, 2001 (Lopez's thirty-second birthday) the album was re-issued, with a murder remix version of "I'm Real" written by Ja Rule included as a new track. The new version, which was also a single from the album, allowed the album to propel from the 90th position of the Billboard 200 back to the top 10 according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Following the release of "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", Lopez's personal sound had shifted away from a pure pop or R&B to more of a Hip-hop sound. Ja Rule praised Lopez while working with her on the track, stating "She's mad cool. She goes in, knocks the sh-- out, no problem I love artists like that," and also said that her audience now wanted a different sound from her, "It's J.Lo now because of 'I'm Real' It's gonna put her in another zone. After this one, they gonna be expecting hot crossover R&B joints from J.Lo. They ain't gonna want the pop version of J.Lo no more, they gonna want the 'I'm Real' version." Rule stated that he enjoyed working with Lopez, and that it was a "real collaboration" by saying "Sometimes when you do a collaboration with an artist it's not real collaborations 'Send me a reel here. I'll fly it back here.' Me and J. Lo's record was a real collaboration."
Read more about this topic: I'm Real (Jennifer Lopez Song)
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