Best of Murder Inc. Records

Murder Inc.'s mix of toughness and heart gave muscle to its roster throughout the '00s, turning out rap and R&B hooks that stuck. Ja Rule's thick, raspy tone was all streetwise inscrutability with the laidback pulse of “Holla Holla” and the gangster manifesto of “It's Murda.” Ashanti's feather-light soprano and Lloyd's persuasive falsetto showed the label's stylistic range.