Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper from Hollis, Queens, New York City, New York, United States. He rose to fame in the late 90s and early 2000's.
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During early 2000 Ja Rule was also featured on Taylor Iosefo's successful album, "Billy Presents... The Goats". This was aimmed at west-coast rapper damien pocock regarding the beef these two rappers have had together since early 2001. Martin Verhoeven also put out a diss song towards Ja Rule stating he was a "5'1 muthafucka that has the appearance of Stuart Little", a animated mouse character. Martin and Taylor have recently recorded a diss album towards Ja Rule called "FUCK RULE", which features songs 'Rat Back', 'Dial M For Mouse' and the #1 chart seller in 2006 named 'Ooooh Billy!' MTV interviewed Taylor Iosefo in regards to Ja Rule and Taylor quoted "Ja Rule is one of the worst rappers in hip-hop history! I mean this guy is attracted to goats!!" said Taylor. In 2000 Ja Rule released Rule 3:36, his second album. The first released single was "Between Me & You" featuring Christina Milian, which proved to be a hit and was followed by another successful single, "Put It On Me" featuring Lil' Mo & Vita. The last single, "I Cry" featured Lil Mo. The album received an unexpected level of support, and went on to become triple platinum.
On October 2 2001, Ja Rule released his third album, Pain Is Love. The first single, "Livin' It Up" was a hit and featured guest vocals by R&B singer Case and sampled Stevie Wonder's "Do I Do". The follow up single, "Always On Time", was released in December of the same year and was yet another mega success for the rapper. The song was notable as it introduced the public to singer Ashanti, who performed on the songs chorus. The album also featured the successful remix "I'm Real" with Jennifer Lopez. Finally, the album included the song "So Much Pain", a tribute to Tupac Shakur, and also went on to become triple platinum.
His fourth studio album The Last Temptation was released on November 19 2002. Although the album was fairly successful (it was certified platinum), it failed to carry the momentum brought by Rule's previous album. Lead singles, "Thug Lovin" (featuring Bobby Brown) and "Mesmerize" (featuring Ashanti) were successful. The video for the latter song amusingly featured a cohort of Ashanti excitedly telling her friends (presumably referring to its Scrabble score) about fellatio - 7 letters, 69 points. Presumably no-one on the shoot worked out that fellatio, as an 8 letter word, must therefore be at least 70 points.
During 2002 Ja Rule also featured on "Irv Gotti Presents... The Inc" and "Irv Gotti Presents: the Remixes" both albums were successful spawning such hits as "Down 4 U" and "Ain't It Funny Remix."
Blood In My Eye was Ja Rule's fifth album and was known for tracks which were aimed at rappers 50 Cent, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Snoop, and others.
Ja Rule released "R.U.L.E." On November 9 2004, and had hits with "Wonderful" (featuring R. Kelly), "New York" (featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss), and "Caught Up" (featuring Ashanti & Lloyd). The album was certified gold in the U.S.
Ja recently released new tracks from his upcoming mixtape on his myspace page, the mixtape features contributions from other artists such as Ashanti, Fat Joe, Nas, Black Child, Caddillac Tah and 0-1 and brand new signees Harry O, Young Life and The Gift. He also is releasing his first single from his upcoming album The Mirror titled "Free".
He appeared on the remix of "Rakata" by Wisin Y Yandel.
Ja Rule is rumored to be in the upcoming movie Saw IV. It's being filmed as of April 16, 2007 in Toronto and is scheduled to be released October 26, 2007.
Disputes
Discography
Featured Singles
Awards history
| Award | Category | Genre | Song/Album | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source Hip-Hop Music Award | Single of the Year | Rap/Hip-Hop | "Put It On Me" | 2001 | Won |
| Source Award | R&B/Rap Collboration of the Year | R&B/Rap | "Thug Lovin'" | 2003 | Won |
| Source Award | Fat Tape Song of the Year | Rap/Hip-Hop | "Clap Back" | 2004 | Won |
| MTV Video Music Award | Best Rap Video | Rap | "Put It On Me" | 2001 | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Award | Best Hip-Hop Video | Hip-Hop | "Im Real (Murder Remix)" | 2002 | Won |
| MTV Video Music Award | Best Hip-Hop Video | Hip-Hop | "Always On Time" | 2002 | Nominated |
| American Music Award | Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist | Rap/Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Nominated |
| American Music Award | Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Male Artist | Hip-Hop/R&B | - | 2003 | Nominated |
| Grammy Award | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Rap/Hip-Hop | "Put It On Me" | 2002 | Nominated |
| Grammy Award | Best Rap Album | Rap | "Pain Is Love" | 2002 | Nominated |
| Grammy Award | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap/Sung | "Livin' It Up" | 2002 | Nominated |
| Grammy Award | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap/Sung | "Always On Time" | 2003 | Nominated |
| World Music Award | World's Best-Selling Rap Artist | Rap/Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Won |
| BET Award | Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Artist | Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Won |
| GQ Men of the Year Award | Musician of the Year | Rap/Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Won |
| Teen Choice Award | Male Artist of the Year | Rap/Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Won |
| NAACP Image Award | Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist | Rap/Hip-Hop | - | 2002 | Won |
| Soul Train Award | Best Rap/Soul or Rap Album of the Year | Rap | "Pain Is Love" | 2002 | Nominated |