Ja Rule

"Jeffrey Atkins" redirects here. Not to be confused with Jeffery Atkins.

Ja Rule
Atkins in 2016
Atkins in 2016
Background information
Birth nameJeffrey Bruce Atkins
Also known asJah
Born (1976-02-29) February 29, 1976 (age 48)
Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
DiscographyJa Rule discography
Years active1994–present[4]
Labels
Formerly of
Spouse
Aisha Murray
​
(m. 2001)​
Children3

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr.[5] (born February 29, 1976),[1] better known by his stage name Ja Rule (/dʒɑː ruːl/), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop and R&B sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla". In 2001, he peaked the Billboard Hot 100 on three occasions with his single "Always on Time" (featuring Ashanti) and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's songs "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" and "Ain't It Funny".

Critically and commercially successful, Venni Vetti Vecci (1999) received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and was followed by his second and third albums, Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001), both of which peaked atop the US Billboard 200. With over 15 million combined sales, both also received triple platinum certifications by the RIAA and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "Put It on Me" (featuring Lil' Mo and Vita) and "Livin' It Up" (featuring Case). He followed up with his 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 and spawned the top two-single "Mesmerize" (featuring Ashanti), while R.U.L.E. received gold certification and spawned the top five-single "Wonderful" (featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti). 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.[6][7] Earlier that year, he joined the main cast of WeTV's Growing Up Hip Hop: New York. As an actor, he has also starred in films such as Turn It Up (2000), The Fast and the Furious (2001), Half Past Dead (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), The Cookout (2004), Assault on Precinct 13, Back in the Day (both in 2005), Furnace (2007), and Wrong Side of Town (2010).

  1. ^ a b c Birchmeier, Jason. "Ja Rule | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  2. ^ Halnon, K. (2013). The Consumption of Inequality: Weapons of Mass Distraction. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 51. ISBN 9781137352491.
  3. ^ "Ja Rule Set for Prison Sentencing". Billboard. June 8, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rules of the Game 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Ja Rule on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  6. ^ Wheeler, Andre (November 19, 2019). "Ja Rule cleared of wrongdoing over Fyre festival disaster". The Guardian. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Fyre Festival: where are they now three years later?". ABC News. April 23, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2022.