| Ja Rule | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Birth name |
Jeffrey Bruce Atkins |
|
Born |
February 29, 1976 |
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Genres |
|
|
Occupation |
Rapper, actor |
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Years active |
1993-present |
|
Labels |
Mpire, Fontana, Def Jam, Murder Inc. |
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Associated acts |
DMX, Irv Gotti, Jay-Z, Lil Mo, Memphis Bleek, Mic Geronimo |
Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born 29 February 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and actor from Queens, New York. He debuted in 1999 with the album Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla". From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had several hits that made the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to The Inc. Records, which was formerly known as Murder Inc. and was led by Irv Gotti. Due from hits with his fellow collaborators, Ja Rule has earnt four Grammy nominations, and has earned six top-ten albums, with Rule 3:16 in 2000 and Pain Is Love in 2001 topping the Billboard 200 selling 370,000 copies in its first week.
Ja Rule has also had several well-publicised feuds with other rappers, in particular with 50 Cent. The feud between the two rappers began in 1999 and carried on for several years. Ja Rule's 2003 album Blood in My Eye was dedicated entirely to dissing 50 Cent and other artists on the Shady/Aftermath label, such as G-Unit, Eminem, D12, Dr. Dre and Obie Trice. The feud took a tremendous toll on Ja Rule's popularity and his career is yet to recover. Ja Rule has sold over 16.5 million albums in the US and 34.7 million albums worldwide.
Discography[]
- 1999: Venni Vetti Vecci: 1,800,000 US & 3,000,000 worldwide
- 2000: Rule 3:16: 3,600,000 US & 6,100,000 worldwide
- 2001: Pain Is Love: 4,300,000 US & 9,500,000 worldwide
- 2002: The Last Temptation: 2,400,000 US & 4,100,000 worldwide
- 2003: Blood in My Eye: 480,000 US & 1,500,000 worldwide
- 2004: R.U.L.E.: 700,000 US & 1,500,000 worldwide
- 2009: The Mirror: 180,000 US & 250,000 worldwide
- 2012: Pain Is Love 2: 35,000 US
- 2015: Genius Loves Company: 27,000 US