Ja Rule is a multi-talented American entertainer. Several of his tracks, such as “Between Me and You,” “I’m Real,” and “Always on Time,” have charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
The songs “Holla Holla,” “Between Me and You,” “I’m Real (Murder Remix),” “Ain’t It Funny,” “Always on Time,” “Mesmerize,” and “Wonderful” are among Ja Rule’s most popular. Among the artists he’s collaborated with are Jennifer Lopez, Christina Milian, Ashanti, and R. Kelly. He’s been in films like The Fast and the Furious and Scary Movie 3, and he even starred in 2004’s The Cookout with Queen Latifah.
Early Life
Ja Rule’s real name is Jeffrey Bruce Atkins, and he was born on February 29, 1976, in Queens, New York. His parents, Debra and William Atkins brought him up in the Hollis area. His parents’ busy schedules meant that Ja Rule spent a lot of time with his grandparents, who were devout Jehovah’s Witnesses.
After abandoning his faith at the tender age of 12, he quickly became involved in the Hollis drug trade. He was often getting into fights because of how little he was. Instead of graduating high school, Ja Rule got his GED in 2012.
Career
His professional life began in 1994 when he joined Cash Money Click. Shortly thereafter, he switched to using the moniker “Ja Rule” as his stage identity. A handful of the group’s songs, including 1994’s “Get Tha Fortune,” were produced independently. Their member Chris Black’s arrest and subsequent jail led to TVT records dropping the band and hastily disbanding them after only a year on the label.
Success
On Mic Geronimo’s “Time to Build,” which also featured Jay-Z and DMX, Ja Rule had his first appearance as a solo artist. In 1998, Rule joined Def Jam and was featured on Jay-“Can Z’s I Get A…” Once his first album, Venni Vetti Vecci, was published in 1999, it quickly climbed to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart.
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Both of his platinum-certified follow-up albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums lists. After its release on November 19, 2002, his fourth studio album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and yielded two Top 10 singles. 2005 and 2004 saw the release of his fifth and sixth studio albums, respectively.
Leaving Def Jam in 2005 after releasing his sixth studio album and greatest hits collection, Ja Rule went on vacation until he announced in February 2011 that he had begun recording Pain is Love 2. It came out a year after he began serving a two-year term for tax evasion and gun possession. It wasn’t until May of 2013 that he was finally set free.
Ja Rule and Gotti established Murder Inc Records soon after Ja Rule’s release from prison. Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man, his autobiography, was published in 2014. Shortly after, he announced his eighth studio album, but its release date was postponed indefinitely.
In December of 2016, Ja Rule had an appearance on The Hamilton Mixtape, where he rapped the Hamilton verse to Ashanit’s song Helpless. In June of 2018, Ashanti stated that she and Ja Rule are working together on a new album.
Networth
Ja Rule is estimated to have a $5 million net worth. Previously, he had a total of $30 million in assets, but that was all under constant surveillance as he battled charges of gun possession and tax evasion in court, even going to jail. Ja Rule’s current estimated net worth is $5 million.
Personal Life
There is a marriage between Ja Rule and Aisha Murray. Britney (born in ’95), Jeffrey (born in ’00), and Jordan (born ’03) are the couple’s children (b. 2005).
Accolades
Aside from his three Source Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, one World Music Award, one BET Award, one GQ Men of the Year Award, one Teen Choice Award, and one NAACP Image Award, Ja Rule has been nominated for four Grammys and has won one.
Legal Problems
Rule settled a case out of court in 2003 after he punched a guy in Toronto. In 2004, he was taken into custody for marijuana possession and driving while his license was revoked. He was taken into custody on charges of firearm and narcotics possession in 2007. In the end, he spent nearly two years in federal jail for crimes related to firearms and tax evasion. He allegedly owes the government $3 million in unpaid taxes from 2004 to 2006.
Feuds
Ja Rule’s beef includes those with 50 Cent and G-Unit Records, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Shady Records, Aftermath, Foxy Brown, and Lil’ Mo. In 1999, after finishing a video shoot in Queens, Ja Rule had a very public feud with 50 Cent, who apparently did not like Ja Rule “receiving so much love” from the town of Hollis.
Ja Rule claims he hit 50 Cent with a bat during their confrontation in Atlanta. Black Child, one of Ja Rule’s artists on Murder Inc., got into another altercation with 50 Cent in New York City, stabbing him multiple times. Each rapper publicly stated that they have resolved their fight in May of 2011.
Festival Fyre
The “Fyre Festival,” which Ja Rule helped plan, was supposed to take place on a deserted island in the Bahamas around the end of April 2017. That thing ended up being a major catastrophe. Event goers, some of whom spent thousands on tickets, were abandoned on a garbage-strewn gravel lot with scant provisions and just FEMA disaster tents for shelter.
By the time the festivalgoers arrived on the island, most of the scheduled musical performers had canceled after hearing about the conditions at the festival. On May 1, 2017, a festivalgoer sued Ja Rule and his festival partner, Billy McFarland, for $100 million in a class-action lawsuit.