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, he signed with Murder Inc Records to release his debut album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first single “Holla Holla.” Until 2005, Ja Rule released numerous hit songs which peaked within the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, including his number one hit “Always on Time” (featuring Ashanti), his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m Real (Murder Remix)” and “Ain’t It Funny”—both of which topped the Hot 100—as well as “Between Me and You” (featuring Christina Milian), “Mesmerize” (featuring Ashanti), and “Wonderful” (featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti).

Venni Vetti Vecci (1999) was met with critical and commercial success, receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); he followed up with 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.

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