Ja Rule

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins was born on February 29, 1976, in Hollis, a section of the Queens borough of New York City. Atkins' father left the family when he was very young. 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 twelve and was therefore shunned by her former congregation including her parents, meaning she was no longer allowed to see her son. Atkins and his mother decided they would rather live together even if it meant struggling to pay bills. Not long after moving in with his mother, 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 the 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 number 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 number 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) in 2001 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 number 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 number 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 number 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 number 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 number 1. The first, "Livin' It Up", featuring Case, was released in July 2001 and reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also achieved success in the United Kingdom, reaching number 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 number 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. 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 number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Source Award for "Fat Tape" song of the year. It peaked at number 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 number 7 and selling 166,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead single, "Wonderful", featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti, peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was followed by the street anthem "New York", featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss, which charted at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single was the love song "Caught Up", featuring Lloyd, which failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 100. The RIAA certified R.U.L.E. Gold on January 14, 2005, Hiatus, departure from Def Jam, decline of The Inc. Records (2005–2009) , Texas, May 13, 2005 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. 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. at Barclays Center in 2024, pictured here with the NY Liberty's Ellie the Elephant Acting In the early 2000s, Ja Rule ventured into acting. His first film was Turn It Up, a buddy movie with Pras. He had a minor role in 2001's The Fast and the Furious and co-starred alongside Steven Seagal in Half Past Dead. He then appeared in several movies including Assault on Precinct 13 with Ethan Hawke, The Cookout with Queen Latifah, and Back in the Day with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier. In 2013, he starred opposite Adrienne Bailon in ''I'm in Love with a Church Girl''. 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 August 2015, Ja Rule collaborated with footwear businessman Steve Madden on a new line of men's sneakers called Maven x Madden, which were released for sale by fall 2015. In 2016, Ja Rule co-founded Fyre Media, Inc., a talent booking agency, with Billy McFarland. In April 2017, the venture touted its Fyre Festival in Hamilton, Bahamas, as a luxury event, but it was fraudulent, disappointing hundreds of ticket-buyers. Rule and McFarland faced a $100 million class action suit. In 2020, Ja Rule developed a live-streaming app called Iconn Live. The app debuted on Apple TV in November 2022. 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. Flipkick claims to be "the first company to offer cryptographic authentication of physical works of art sold as and linked to NFTs." To inaugurate the platform, Ja Rule listed for auction a painting he commissioned in 2012 by artist Tripp Derrick Barnes depicting the Fyre Media Inc logo. The painting was listed with an estimate of $600,000. In June 2023, Ja Rule launched a premium wine label called Rose Vine Cellars. In January 2025, Ja Rule launched a new whiskey brand called Amber & Opal. ==Personal life==

Atkins earned his GED while in prison in February 2012. In February 2021, Atkins completed the four week online course Entrepreneurship Essentials at Harvard Business School and shared a photo of his certificate of completion on Twitter. Family In April 2001, Ja Rule married Aisha Murray. The couple has three children. Religion Raised as a Jehovah's Witness for most of his childhood, Ja Rule identifies as a Christian. He "reconnected with God" in 2013 while promoting the movie ''I'm in Love with a Church Girl''. He was baptized, along with his wife, in 2013. ==Philanthropy==

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. ==Legal issues==

In 2003, he allegedly punched a man in Toronto, who later sued him. He received a $1,200 fine after pleading guilty to assault. In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving Murder Inc. led to a fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule and Leon Richardson. 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. The court rejected Ja Rule's argument that the gun was illegally obtained evidence. 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. On March 8, 2011, Ja Rule's surrender date for his two-year prison sentence was set for June 8. He 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. He 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. By July 1, 2017, Ja Rule faced more than a dozen lawsuits filed by ticket buyers and investors in the failed Fyre Festival and his partner in the venture, Billy McFarland, had been indicted for fraud. In November 2019, charges were reportedly dropped against Ja Rule in connection with the lawsuits. On February 28, 2024, Ja Rule was denied entry into the United Kingdom, days before his UK tour was due to start in Cardiff. He cited his criminal record as the reason for the refusal. ==Feuds==

50 Cent Before signing with Interscope Records, rapper 50 Cent engaged in a well-publicized feud with Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. 50 Cent claimed that the feud began in 1999 after Ja Rule spotted him with a man who robbed him of his jewelry and also because Ja Rule was "trying to be Tupac". In response, Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent released the track "Return of Ja Fool" on Lloyd Banks' mixtape Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 4, Gang Green Season Starts Now. In early 2018, after four years of taunting Ja Rule, 50 Cent reiginited the beef after he publicly dissed him on ''Big Boy's Neighborhood'', leading to Ja Rule retaliating on Twitter the next day. Shady/Aftermath The conflict started after 50 Cent signed to Shady Records and Aftermath in 2002. Ja Rule and Irv Gotti expressed dissatisfaction with Eminem and Dr. Dre for signing an artist with whom they were in conflict and threatened to take action against them if they released any 50 Cent tracks deprecatory of Murder Inc. The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released "Loose Change" attacking 50 Cent, Eminem and Dr. Dre. The song also includes lyrics that insulted Eminem's family (most notably his then 7-year-old daughter Hailie Jade) and acquaintances. Busta Rhymes joined the conflict when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003" with Eminem and 50 Cent. The song, which is a remake of 2Pac's song "Hail Mary", was done partially as a response to Ja Rule's remake of another 2Pac track, "Pain" (re-titled "So Much Pain") and because they felt Ja Rule was “imitating” 2Pac. Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" 2Pac songs he produced, including those on Loyal to the Game. DMX After Murder Inc. broke up in 1999 due to animosity between DMX and Jay-Z, DMX accused Ja Rule of copying his signature "gruff style", and the two subsequently fell out. On the single "Where the Hood At?", DMX disses Ja Rule by replicating lyrics from other Ja Rule songs, referring to Ja Rule's controversy of being labeled as homophobic in the lyrics such as "I show no love to homo thugs" or "Last time I checked, you niggas having sex with the same sex". Ja Rule responded with several disses on his album, Blood in My Eye, including "Clap Back". DMX said that he wanted the dispute to end when he was released from jail in 2005: "Irv Gotti|[Irv] Gotti came to me in jail and said I want to make peace with you and him. I was like, 'All right, Gotti, let's do it man." DMX and Ja Rule finally ended their feud at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors. Kurupt By his association with DMX, Ja Rule was brought into the beef between DMX and Kurupt, being dissed on Kurupt's 1999 song "Callin' Out Names". Ja Rule responded with "Still INC" featuring Black Child and Cadillac Tah, a freestyle over Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E." beat. The two eventually squashed their beef on the set of the movie Half Past Dead in 2002. Foxy Brown 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. During a Thanksgiving week interview in 2002, while on Doug Banks In the Morning, Ja Rule stated that he "[couldn't] stand Foxy Brown." Brown reportedly heard Ja Rule's comments via a radio while she was helping her mother clean her house. In the record, Brown targeted Ja Rule and Eve with homophobic remarks. In September 2009, Ja Rule and Foxy Brown ended their beef at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors, where they celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of their former label, Def Jam Recordings. The feud was squashed after both rappers shared a photo with ex-labelmates DMX and Ludacris. Lil' Mo In January 2003, while co-hosting 106 & Park: Prime, singer Lil' Mo sent a shout-out to 50 Cent, just seconds after she premiered a Ja Rule video. Ja Rule and the Murda, Inc., clique were outraged. In May 2003, Mo released a freestyle track attacking Ja Rule, where she interpolated the Dr. Dre lyrics "used to be my homie, used to be my ace, now I can't stand you, yeah I wanna slap the taste out your mouth", used in his 1993 Eazy-E diss track "Fuck wit Dre Day". In April 2003, Lil' Mo sparked additional controversy, complaining of receiving neither recognition nor payment for her contributions to Rule's records "I Cry" and "Put It on Me". Mo told MTV News, "Those two records ["I Cry", "Put It on Me"] ruled 2001. The whole world knows that ... If I speak the truth, I can't apologize. I helped that brother sell 3 million records, and I don't have a plaque [for Rule 3:36]." In 2010, the two reconciled. In 2011, the two reunited and recorded a track together titled, "U & Me". ==Discography==

Studio albums • Venni Vetti Vecci (1999) • Rule 3:36 (2000) • Pain Is Love (2001) • The Last Temptation (2002) • Blood in My Eye (2003) • R.U.L.E. (2004) • Pain Is Love 2 (2012) ==Filmography==

Film Television Documentary ==Awards and nominations==

;American Music Awards ;BET Awards ;BMI Pop Awards ;GQ Men of the Year Awards ;Grammy Awards ;MTV Europe Music Awards ;MTV Video Music Awards ;NAACP Image Awards ;Soul Train Music Awards ;Teen Choice Awards ==References==