Ja Rule

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr. (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known as a leading figure in 2000s hip hop for his blending of gangsta rap with commercially-oriented pop sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first single "Holla Holla". Ja Rule peaked the Billboard Hot 100 thrice in 2001 with his single "Always on Time" (featuring Ashanti) and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" and "Ain't It Funny". His encompassing singles, "Put It on Me" (featuring Lil' Mo and Vita), "Mesmerize" (featuring Ashanti), "Livin' It Up" (featuring Case) and "Wonderful" (featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti) have peaked within the top ten of the chart and spawned from commercially successful album releases.

Venni Vetti Vecci (1999) was met with critical and commercial success, receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); it was followed by his second and third albums Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001), both of which topped the US Billboard 200. Selling over 15 million combined units, both also received triple platinum certification by the RIAA and remain his bestselling albums. He followed up with his respective fourth, fifth and sixth albums The Last Temptation (2002), Blood in My Eye (2003), and R.U.L.E. (2004); The Last Temptation received platinum certification while R.U.L.E. received gold certification. Ja Rule has been nominated for two American Music Awards and four Grammy Awards with respective collaborators Lil' Mo, Vita, Ashanti and Case. As of 2018, Ja Rule has sold 30 million records worldwide.

Outside of music, Ja Rule was met with scrutiny for his involvement in the fraudulent Fyre Festival, which he co-founded with con artist Billy McFarland. In November 2019, he was cleared of any legal wrongdoing from his role in the festival. Earlier that year, he joined the main cast of WeTV's Growing Up Hip Hop: New York.

Early life

Ja Rule was born Jeffrey Bruce Atkins on February 29, 1976, to Debra and Will in Hollis, a section of the Queens borough of New York City. Jeffrey's father left the family when he was very young. Atkins was raised as an only child, as his younger sister, Kristen, died in the womb when Atkins was 5. His mother, Debra, was a healthcare worker, and due to the amount of time she spent working, Atkins was largely raised by his grandparents as a Jehovah's Witness. Atkins' mother left the Jehovah's Witness religion when he was 12. Soon after, Atkins began selling drugs in Hollis.

Career

Cash Money Click (1994–95)

Atkins began his rap career in 1994 with the hip hop group Cash Money Click alongside members Chris Black and O-1. He took the stage name "Ja Rule", telling MTV News that the name came from a friend who addressed him by that name; other friends simply called him "Ja". Together they worked with producer DJ Irv to produce a number of songs, releasing their debut single "Get Tha Fortune" independently in 1994. After the group signed with TVT Records, the song was re-released through the label later that year as the B-side to their second single, "4 My Click". "4 My Click" featured Mic Geronimo and became popular on pirate radio, eventually receiving airplay on Yo! MTV Raps. Plans for the release of the group's eponymous debut studio album were brought to a halt in 1995 after Chris Black was sentenced to five years in prison and the group was dropped from TVT, which led to their third single "She Swallowed It" never officially being released, however it was later bootlegged. With no label, the group disbanded shortly after being dropped.

Solo career and Venni Vetti Vecci (1995–1999)

After being dropped from TVT, Ja Rule maintained a close relationship with DJ Irv, who was working as an executive producer for Def Jam at the time. DJ Irv, now known as Irv Gotti, was hired as an A&R for the label and was able to get Ja Rule a contract with Def Jam. In 1995, he made his first solo appearance on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" alongside Jay-Z and DMX, who were also in their early stages of their careers. He later appeared on the song "Usual Suspects" from Mic Geronimo's second album Vendetta in 1997, alongside The Lox, DMX and Tragedy Khadafi. He also had a brief cameo in the video for "Walk In New York" by Queens hardcore rap group Onyx. Later in 1997, Irv Gotti was granted his own imprint from Def Jam, known as Murder Inc. Records. Ja Rule was promoted as the label's flagship artist, and he continued to make guest appearances on songs by other artists, including Method Man, Redman, Nas, DMX, LL Cool J and Dru Hill. He later appeared on Jay-Z's 1998 hit single "Can I Get A...", for which he wrote the hook. It was originally planned to be Ja Rule's debut single until Jay-Z heard the track and requested it for himself. During this time, he rapped under the slightly modified stage name Jah.

Returning to the Ja Rule name, his debut single Holla Holla was released in March 1999 and became a hit, peaking at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fueled by the success of Holla Holla, Ja Rule's debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, was released in 1999, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200 with 184,000 copies sold in its first week. It eventually reached platinum status in the US due to the popularity of "Holla Holla". A remix of "Holla Holla" was later released, featuring Jay-Z, Vita, Cadillac Tah, Black Child, Memphis Bleek and Busta Rhymes.

Rule 3:36, Pain Is Love and The Last Temptation (2000–2002)

Ja Rule's second single, "Between Me and You", featuring Christina Milian, was released in June 2000 as the first single from his second studio album and became his first major crossover hit, earning Top 40 airplay and reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's next single, "Put It on Me", featuring Vita and Lil' Mo, was released in December 2000 and became one of the biggest hits of 2001, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first top 10 hit for both Ja Rule and Vita. The video for "Put It on Me" also topped the MTV Video Countdown for a week, and became the first music video to be retired on BET's 106 & Park after spending more than 60 days on the countdown. The video also ranked #1 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2001.

Ja Rule's second album, Rule 3:36, was released on October 10, 2000, and went in a much different stylistic direction from Venni Vetti Vecci, changing his almost trademark hardcore hip-hop sound to mainstream-oriented pop-rap, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 276,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Ja Rule's first number one album. The album later went on to be certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The success of Rule 3:36 promoted Ja Rule to international status, and made Murder Inc. one of the biggest labels in the United States. The same success followed with his third album, which spawned three top 10 singles, two of them reaching #1. The first, "Livin' It Up", featuring Case, was released in July 2001 and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also achieved success in the United Kingdom, reaching #5 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Always on Time", was released in October 2001 and marked the first major guest appearance for Murder Inc's youngest artist Ashanti, and became both Ja Rule and Ashanti's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The remix of Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" featuring Ja Rule was included on the album and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks, beginning September 8, 2001, and also topped the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song was a staple of R&B/hip hop and pop radio during the summer and fall of 2001, spending fifteen weeks total in the top five of the Hot 100. In 2009 the single was named the 30th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. The album's fourth single, "Down Ass Bitch" featuring Charli Baltimore was also successful, reaching #21 on the Hot 100.

Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love, on October 2, 2001. Like its predecessor, Pain Is Love topped the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 361,000 copies and is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album also received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Rap Album. By 2007, 3.6 million copies of Pain Is Love had been sold.

The Last Temptation, Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002. It spawned two hit singles, "Thug Lovin'", featuring Bobby Brown, which peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Mesmerize", a duet with Ashanti that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Last Temptation debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 237,000 copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2002.

50 Cent feud, Blood in My Eye and R.U.L.E. (2003–2004)

Shortly after the release of his fourth studio album, Ja Rule's ongoing beef with fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent reached its peak, with both artists taking to radio stations almost daily to trade insults and diss tracks. On January 3, 2003, the Murder Inc. offices were raided by FBI agents and NYPD officers due to accusations of money laundering and drug trades toward Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, who was associated with Irv Gotti. Due to the federal investigation, Ja Rule had a late response in his beef with 50 Cent. By association, 50 Cent's labelmates Eminem, Obie Trice, D12, and Ja Rule's former friends and associates DMX and Busta Rhymes were brought into the feud too. Ja Rule released the diss track "Loose Change" in April 2003, where he attacks 50 Cent, as well as Eminem, Busta Rhymes and Dr. Dre. 50 Cent eventually responded with "Hail Mary", which used the beat from 2Pac's song of the same name and featured Eminem and Busta Rhymes. The beef continued to be highly publicized throughout 2003, and eventually led to Ja Rule meeting with Minister Louis Farrakhan in October, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud.

Ja Rule's fifth studio album, Blood in My Eye, was released on November 4, 2003, under the Murder Inc. label, which renamed itself "The Inc." several days after the album release. The material was intended simply as a mixtape, but was released as an album to fulfill Ja Rule's contractual commitment to Murder Inc. to release one annually. The album was described as a "hate" album directed at various rappers, including 50 Cent, G-Unit, Eminem, Proof, Dr. Dre, DMX, Busta Rhymes and others, and marked a return to the hardcore style Ja Rule had used in his earlier career. It spawned one hit single, "Clap Back", which reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Source Award for "Fat Tape" song of the year. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 200, selling 139,000 copies in its first week of release, and had sold over 468,000 copies in the U.S. by 2008.

Ja Rule's sixth studio album, R.U.L.E., was released in November 2004, debuting at #7 and selling 166,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead single, "Wonderful", featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was followed by the street anthem "New York", featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss, which charted at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single was the love song "Caught Up", featuring Lloyd, which had failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 100. The RIAA certified R.U.L.E. Gold on January 14, 2005, and by October 2007 the album had sold 658,000 copies.

Hiatus, departure from Def Jam, decline of The Inc. Records (2005–09)

On December 6, 2005, The Inc. released Exodus, a greatest hits album whose only new tracks were the song "Me" and intro and outro tracks. Exodus was the last album on Ja Rule's contract with The Inc. After its release, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music. Meanwhile, The Inc. Records was still under investigation because of alleged drug trades with Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. This led to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.'s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Gotti searched for other labels, finally reaching a deal with Universal Records (part of the same company as Def Jam). A few years later The Inc. left Universal Records due to business issues and failure to secure funds for projects. In 2007, Ja Rule founded record label Mpire Music Group.

Pain Is Love 2, prison, and release (2011–2013)

In February 2011, it was announced that Ja Rule had started working on a new album, Pain Is Love 2, to be produced by the producers of the original Pain Is Love album to "recreate magic". Most of the production was to be done by 7 Aurelius (who co-produced "Down Ass Bitch"), while Irv Gotti was to be executive producer. Ja Rule had planned on releasing it on June 7, 2011, but decided to delay the release in order to allow more time to perfect the "level and quality of the records" and to avoid "doing an injustice to [his] fans". A revised release date of October 11, 2011, was also pushed back. During the delay, Ja Rule released a new track, "Falling to Pieces", produced by 7 Aurelius, which samples The Script's "Breakeven". On October 2, 2011, another track, "Spun a Web", was released, also produced by 7 Aurelius and sampling Coldplay's "Trouble". The following day a teaser video premiered on YouTube, and the official video was released on October 11. Pain Is Love 2 was finally released on February 28, 2012, by which time Ja Rule was serving a two-year sentence in prison for gun possession and tax evasion.

Ja Rule was released from prison on May 7, 2013. Alongside Lil Wayne and Birdman, he appeared on the remix of the track "She Tried", which appeared on the N.O.R.E album Student of the Game. On September 18, 2013, Ja Rule released a track titled "Fresh Out Da Pen". The track had first premiered on Hot 97. A few days later he released "Everything". Both tracks were produced by Visionary producers Reefa and Myles William. On September 27, 2013, both tracks were released on iTunes for digital download. In September 2013, it was confirmed that Ja Rule and Gotti had relaunched Murder Inc Records.

Memoir, reality show and future projects (2014–present)

In 2014, Ja Rule released a memoir, Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man, in which he reflected on his past struggles with a difficult adolescence in New York City and everything that followed, from breakout success and destructive rivalries to fatherhood and a two-year prison sentence. In July 2014, Ja Rule announced his eighth studio album, which was eventually pushed back to a 2016 release. Also in 2014, MTV announced that Ja Rule and his family would star in the upcoming reality show Follow the Rules which was co-produced by Queen Latifah. A sneak peek trailer of the show surfaced on the internet in September 2014 and the show premiered on October 26, 2015. In October 2015, Rule announced that he and Gotti had partnered with Paramount Pictures on a TV drama series based on the history of Murder Inc., set to premiere in 2016. In February 2016, Ja Rule announced that his upcoming eighth studio album would be titled Coup De Grâce and would be his last album. In December 2016, he appeared on The Hamilton Mixtape, rapping Hamilton's verse in Ashanti's performance of "Helpless", referencing Lin-Manuel Miranda's impression of him in the last line of that verse. On June 26, 2018, Ashanti confirmed that she and Ja Rule are working on a collaborative album.

On October 15, 2021, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the release of his third studio album, Pain is Love, Ja Rule released the single, "Sincerely, Jeffrey" for all streaming platforms.