This may be a surprise to kids out there, but there was once a time long ago when Ja Rule was more than a punchline. In fact, he used to be one of the biggest music stars in the world. Now, all he is a once-famous rapper that’s on his way to the clink.
One day there will be a movie about his epic decline. Until then, here’s our retrospective on the career of Ja Rule.
Can I Get A…- Remember those days when Black movies had major soundtracks that were more important than most albums? Rush Hour was one of those movies and Jay’s “Can I Get A…” was the main attraction. The song featured a gruffly-voiced newcomer. After Ja’s verse, the rest was history.
Holla, Holla – Ja rode the momentum from “Can I Get A…” to release his smash first single “Holla, Holla”. It was loud, shiny and bootyfull. Yes, he sounded like DMX and looked like a little chihuahua but the world was still Ja crazy.
106 & Park – No, Ja Rule never hosted the show but it seemed like it. “Between Me & You” was number one on the show for what seemed like four years and Ja Rule had a chokehold on every episode. We’re surprised his name wasn’t on the credits.
Ashanti – We can thank Ja Rule for the also formerly famous Ashanti. She came on the scene with “Always On Time” and never looked back. Now, Ashanti is Nelly’s main squeeze and Ja is hoping nobody in the slammer wants to sing one of those duets with him in the shower.
Lights, please – We don’t know why anyone thought Ja Rule could act. And we’re not sure anyone in Hollywood actually cared. But Rule was a certified movie star…sorta…appearing in a Fast And The Furious flick and starred alongside Steven Segal in Half Past Dead. Sadly, he was somehow overlooked for an Oscar.
Ja And J. Lo – There was possibly no bigger point in Ja’s career than when he was writing melodies for Jennifer Lopez. Ja was on mainstream media outlets and benefitted from the rub of being next to J. Lo. He’s probably not the only rapper to get a benefit from a J. Lo rub now that we think about it. *wink*
The DMX Beef –DMX used to love Ja Rule. Then that crack took over his mind and one of the most bizarre feuds in Hip-Hop ensued. Two guys that sound alike sent really lame disses to each other. Maybe they can write from their respective cells and make up.
50 Cent – The beginning of the end. Ja was getting stale with his sing-songy tracks and he’d all but lost his murderous edge. 50 Cent, a new rapper who had just survived nine gunshots took his disagreements with Ja to the radio and dissected the Murda Inc. representer in an embarrassingly lop-sided feud. By the time “Wanksta” dropped, Ja had to conceded defeat.
The Intervention – So…this was awkward. In order to make sure the soft 50 Cent feud didn’t escalate into violence, Ja Rule set up a meeting between him, Fiddy and Farrakhan. The whole thing was hard to watch and came off as a sad publicity stunt from someone trying to hold on to his fame.
Um…- We’re not quite sure what happened, but Ja rolled into a club looking like an extra from The Hurt Locker and found himself knee deep in snow bunny fun times. Ja didn’t care who was watching, so he didn’t stop groping and touching and making the rest of the world really uncomfortable. He can take solace in the fact that this Becky is at least hotter than Chelsea Lately.
End Of The Road – It’s been over for Ja Rule for a few years now. His albums have bricked. He could barely fill a kitchen with his concerts. To put the final nail in the coffin, Ja has to go to jail for two years. Damn, Ja. It was all good a week ago five years ago.
