Ja Rule

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins, known as Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City. Known for combining gangsta rap with pop and R&B sensibilities, he emerged as a major artist after signing with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. Between 1999 and 2005, he accumulated seventeen Billboard Hot 100 hits, topped the Billboard 200 with multiple albums, and accumulated over 30 million record sales worldwide by 2018.

Atkins was born on February 29, 1976, in Hollis, Queens. Raised as an only child after his younger sister died in the womb, he was primarily brought up by his grandparents as a Jehovah's Witness while his mother worked as a healthcare worker. When Atkins was twelve, his mother left the faith and was shunned by her congregation, preventing her from seeing him. Atkins chose to live with her despite financial difficulties, and he soon began selling drugs in Hollis.

Atkins began his rap career in 1994 as a member of Cash Money Click under the stage name Ja Rule. After releasing independent and label-backed singles with TVT Records, the group disbanded in 1995. Atkins maintained a partnership with producer Irv Gotti, making guest appearances on tracks by Mic Geronimo, Jay-Z, and DMX. When Gotti created Murder Inc. Records in 1997, Ja Rule became its flagship artist. His debut solo album, Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), featured the hit single "Holla Holla" and earned platinum certification from the RIAA.

Ja Rule reached widespread commercial success with his next two albums, Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001). Both projects debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and achieved triple platinum certifications, selling over 15 million combined copies. They produced major singles including "Between Me and You," "Put It on Me," "Livin' It Up," and the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper "Always on Time." He also featured on Jennifer Lopez's Hot 100 number-one remix of "I'm Real." In 2002, he released the platinum-certified album The Last Temptation, which spawned the top-two single "Mesmerize."

His fifth album, Blood in My Eye (2003), yielded the single "Clap Back," while his sixth album, R.U.L.E. (2004), spawned the top-five hit "Wonderful" and earned gold certification. Following the release of the compilation album Exodus in 2005, Ja Rule departed Def Jam and took a hiatus from recording. In 2007, he established the record label Mpire Music Group, and in early 2011 he began working on the album Pain Is Love 2.

As an actor, Ja Rule starred in films including 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 (2005), and Wrong Side of Town (2010). In 2019, he joined the cast of WeTV's Growing Up Hip Hop: New York. Outside of entertainment, he co-founded the fraudulent Fyre Festival with Billy McFarland, though he was cleared of legal wrongdoing in November 2019. Throughout his career, Ja Rule earned nominations for four Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards.