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Ja Rule
Ja Rule
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As the flagship artist for producer Irv Gotti's Def Jam-affiliated Murder Inc. label, Ja Rule became one of the rap industry's most commercially successful artists during the early 2000s, working closely with the hitmaking producer and his stable of talent. Born Jeffrey Atkins on February 29, 1976, in Queens, NY, Ja Rule established himself with Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), a hardcore debut album similar in style to the rugged thug rap then popularized by DMX and the Ruff Ryder collective. On his second album, Rule 3:36 (2000), he began collaborating with female R&B singers, and a string of radio-friendly hits resulted ("Between Me and You," "Put It on Me," "I Cry"). Pain Is Love (2001) followed the same template, serving up a few rap-R&B hybrids for the singles ("I'm Real," "Livin' It Up," "Always on Time," "Down Ass Chick") and filling out the album with hardcore rap.

Throughout the summer of 2002, Ja Rule was at his most popular, featured on not only his own hits but also as a featured guest on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Mary J. Blige's "Rainy Dayz." Near the end of the year, he released his fourth album, The Last Temptation (2002), which again paired him with R&B vocalists for its singles, this time with Bobby Brown ("Thug Lovin'") and Ashanti ("Mesmerize"). Ja Rule began to be mocked by 50 Cent around this time, and beefs ensued between the two rappers' camps; for instance, over the beat of 2Pac's "Hail Mary," 50 Cent teamed up with his associates Eminem and Busta Rhymes for a stinging mixtape freestyle dissing Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. Increasingly susceptible to the criticism as his music fell out of public favor, Ja Rule returned with as much vengeance as he could muster for Blood in My Eye (2003) and R.U.L.E. (2004). Though the latter spawned a Top Five hit single, "Wonderful," a rap-R&B hybrid featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti, both albums were met with general indifference, becoming the first of Ja Rule's albums to fall short of platinum certification.

Exodus (2005), a best-of collection, brought Ja Rule's tenure with Def Jam to a close. From 2005-2007, as Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. operation fell into shambles, Ja Rule was quiet; he charted no songs on the Billboard Hot 100 during this time period. Toward the end of 2007, he attempted a comeback, first with "Uh-Ohhh!"; featuring Lil Wayne, who was perhaps the hottest rapper of the moment, the song nonetheless stalled at number 106 on the Billboard 200. A couple other singles ("Body," "Sunset") also failed to garner significant airplay, and the planned November 2007 release of The Mirror was pushed back. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

Ja Rule
As the flagship artist for producer Irv Gotti's Def Jam-affiliated Murder Inc. label, Ja Rule became...
Songs: 2, Videos: 1, Playlists: 0, Blog Posts: 0, Polls: 0, Battles: 0

Most Popular Music Videos (14)

Mesmerize
(Duration: 5:46)
Jul 14th, 8:46pm
Body
(Duration: 3:49)
Jul 16th, 4:34am
The Pledge
(Duration: 3:57)
Jul 14th, 9:10pm
Caught Up
(Duration: 3:57)
Jul 25th, 9:46pm
Caught Up
(Duration: 3:57)
Jul 28th, 6:27am
The Pledge
(Duration: 3:57)
Jul 14th, 9:45pm
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Fan Comments

Jun 30th, 5:46pm
الغنيه روعه
Jun 6th, 1:10pm
your Finally coming to Australia and evan though im pregnant me and my boo are going to see you...
Cant wait to see you at the big top in luna park Australia...
Apr 9th, 5:54am
nice music fam...
Feb 16th, 11:10pm
The Biggest Star on this planet .. INC records 4ever
Jan 17th, 5:11am
I still got luv for Ja..no matter what!
Jan 16th, 11:42pm
THANK FOR THE ADD
Jan 8th, 7:11pm
he has a new mix tape I can't find "Atkins Files Vol. 1 can some one send it too me?!
Dec 19th, 11:34pm Last edited Dec 19th, 11:56pm.
If this is you Ja i really need you to comeback with some kind of hits because i was always throwing up my M's an always will. Plus i hate 50 and you just coming back will shut his wack self up. No bull I always was real an down for the Inc regardless i hope this is the real JA and you come back on the scene hard.
Dec 10th, 2:47am Last edited Dec 10th, 2:49am.
OK WHOEVER SAID THAT THIZ ISNT THE REAL JA RULE U R DUMB BCUZ THIZ IZ IMEEM JUKEBOX AND HE DOES HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON IMEEM THE TERM FOR THAT WOULD BE CONSIDER "NETWORKING & PROMOTION" HE MAYBE NOT READ UR RESPONDZ BUT IM SURE HIS PERSONAL ASSISTANT CAN!
Nov 28th, 3:56pm
I'm not like you