Ja Rule Talks 50 Cent, Rick Ross, And Maintaining Financially

There was once a time when Ja Rule’s music dominated urban radio, but that has long since changed. Many hip-hop fans attribute Ja’s stalled career to 50 Cent, but in a recent interview with Vibe.com, the former The Inc. (née Murder Inc.) recording artist downplayed the impact his very public beef with the G-Unit captain had on his position as one of the biggest stars in hip-hop:


“Really, I feel that my situation was an unfair situation. A very unique, very odd situation. Nobody ever seen anything like that in hip-hop, you know? I laugh when I see people say shit like, ‘Yo, [50 Cent] kilt Rule, but he didn’t kill Ross.’ No disrespect to Ross, but he did 180-something [first week sales of Teflon Don]. I went platinum with R.U.L.E. after I made Blood In My Eye. I look at shit like that and… I don’t know, take it how you want to take it. I was a much bigger selling artist than just platinum so I guess that’s why people felt I took a hit. But the music industry was taking a hit at that time, too. You can’t really judge it or try to make an issue out of it, or an excuse. It just is what it is.”


During the course of the interview, Ja was also questioned about how he’s been able to maintain financially in the years since federal authorities seized the assets of The Inc. Records because of allegations that money from drug trafficking helped the company’s founder, Irv Gotti, break into the music business:

“It was a tough time, but like I said, I keep my hands in a lot of things. I don’t like to talk about it. I keep pushing it, stay in the background and make my money off it. Sometimes when you have a dark cloud over your head you stay inside. You don’t come out and get wet. That’s kind of what I’ve been going through the last couple of years. Now when the sun come out, I come out, smile and everybody is like, ‘Wow.’ [Laughs] The touring has been great for me, overseas running around killing it for the last four, five years. Having a great time. Also looking deep into the markets and getting them ready for my new releases, my new artists and stuff like that.”

Despite the past drama, Ja’s career prospects look promising, as he has his own label, and both a reality show and sitcom currently under development. Now I’m all for Ja making a musical comeback, but he’s on his own with that sitcom situation. With the exception of Will Smith and Queen Latifah, rappers and sitcoms are usually a recipe for a hot pile of mess (does the Method & Red show ring any bells?).

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