56 Facts About Ja Rule

Ja Rule signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci, which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla".

Ja Rule has been nominated for two American Music Awards and four Grammy Awards with respective collaborators Lil' Mo, Vita, Ashanti and Case.

From 1999 to 2005 Ja Rule had seventeen Hot 100 hits, chiefly produced by Irv Gotti, and 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.

Ja Rule's 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.

Ja Rule 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".

Ja Rule later appeared on the song "Usual Suspects" from Mic Geronimo's second album Vendetta in 1997, alongside The Lox, DMX and Tragedy Khadafi.

Ja Rule had a brief cameo in the video for "Walk in New York" by Queens hardcore rap group Onyx.

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.

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 topped the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love, on October 2,2001.

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.

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.

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.

In 2007, Ja Rule founded record label Mpire Music Group.

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".

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".

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.

On September 18,2013, Ja Rule released a track titled "Fresh Out Da Pen".

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.

In October 2015, Ja Rule announced that he and Gotti had partnered with Paramount Pictures on a TV drama series based on the history of Murder Inc.

In February 2016, Ja Rule announced that his upcoming eighth studio album would be titled Coup De Grace and would be his last album.

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.

Ja Rule's first film was a buddy movie with Pras, Turn It Up; he appeared in a minor role in The Fast and the Furious.

Ja Rule appeared in several movies including Back in the Day with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier and Half Past Dead as Steven Seagal's co-star.

Ja Rule starred in the movies The Cookout with Queen Latifah and Assault on Precinct 13.

In 2006, Ja Rule launched a liquor company, The Mojito.

In May 2015, Ja Rule partnered with Billy McFarland, the CEO of the credit card service company Magnises, to become its creative head and spokesman.

In 2020, Ja Rule developed a live-streaming app called Iconn Live.

In 2021, Ja Rule partnered with a team of software engineers to launch Flipkick, a platform focusing on selling physical works of art as non-fungible tokens.

In June 2023, Ja Rule launched a premium wine label called Rose Vine Cellars.

Ja Rule "reconnected with God" in 2013 while promoting the movie I'm in Love with a Church Girl.

Ja Rule was baptized, along with his wife, in 2013.

Ja Rule partnered with Pencils of Promise to build a 6-unit classroom block for a school in Ghana, the construction project was finished in April 2025.

Ja Rule received a $1,200 fine after pleading guilty to assault.

On July 1,2004, Ja Rule was arrested for driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana.

In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne, who served eight months in prison during 2010 for attempted possession of a weapon stemming from the arrest.

On December 13,2010, Ja Rule received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted possession of a weapon after the aforementioned 2007 arrest.

Ja Rule was first sent to Rikers Island, then later to a state facility in Upstate New York.

In July 2011, Ja Rule received an additional 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion, to run concurrently with his state term, failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in earnings between 2004 and 2006.

Ja Rule was released from state prison on February 21,2013, but was immediately taken into federal custody for the tax case, for which he had less than six months remaining on his sentence.

Ja Rule was held in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center and was set to be released on July 28,2013.

Ja Rule was released from prison early on May 7,2013.

On February 28,2024, Ja Rule was denied entry into the United Kingdom, days before his UK tour was due to start in Cardiff.

Ja Rule cited his criminal record as the reason for the refusal.

However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because 50 Cent did not like Ja Rule "getting so much love" from the neighborhood.

The exchange of insult tracks released from both parties culminated in Ja Rule's Blood in My Eye, which was an album that returned additional insults to 50 Cent.

Ja Rule indicated he had plans to write a book surrounding the whole experience.

The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released "Loose Change" attacking 50 Cent, Eminem and Dr Dre.

Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" 2Pac songs he produced, including those on Loyal to the Game.

Ja Rule responded with several disses on his album, Blood in My Eye, including "Clap Back".

In October 2002, rapper Foxy Brown dismissed reports of recording a track with rivals Nas and Ja Rule that was "potentially" deprecatory of Jay-Z.

Brown explained she was particularly angry at Ja Rule's response, having never met him.

Ja Rule rechristened Mo a "bitch", and credited himself with causing her popularity.