Actors - Ja Rule

	Actors - Ja Rule

Jeffery Atkins (born February 29, 1976 in Hollis, Queens), better known as Ja Rule is an American rapper.

Early career

First guest appeared on Time to Build along with Jay Z and DMX off of Mic Geronimo's debute The Natural. Appeared alongside 0-1 and Chris Black aka' Jody Mack as part of Cash Money Click (not to be confused with Cash Money Records) By 1998, he had signed to Def Jam Recordings, and his first major appearace was alongside Jay-Z on the song "Can I Get a...". In 1999, he released his solo debut, Venni Vetti Vecci, with the lead single being "Holla Holla". This album was undisputably Ja Rule's best, with every track full of raw lyrics and emotion. In Ja's later work he appeals to the mainstream listener, but it is this album that cemented Ja Rule as a Wanna-be gangster rapper, Later Recalled by 50 Cent In the Song Wanksta.

Rule 3:36

In 2000 Ja Rule released Rule 3:36, his second album. The first single was "Between Me and You" featuring Christina Milian. The song was a cross over smash hit and was followed up by the even more successful "Put It On Me" featuring Lil Mo. They followed that song with "I Cry" also with Lil Mo.

Pain Is Love

In the fall of 2001, after "I Cry" had run its course, Ja Rule released "Livin' It Up", the first single from his third album, Pain Is Love. The song, which featured guest vocals by R&B singer Case, went on to become another smash hit for the rapper thanks in part to its familiar sample of Stevie Wonder's "Do I Do". The follow up single and video, "Always On Time", was released in December of that same year and was even bigger than "Livin' It Up", becoming Ja Rule's biggest pop radio hit to that point. The song and video were also notable as they introduced the public to singer Ashanti, who was the featured singer on the single's chorus. The album included 'So Much Pain', a respectful tribute to 2Pac, in which Ja Rule mixed his own lyrics in with 2Pac's in the first couple of verses. These verses were followed by a full verse of 2Pac's, however unlike other rappers such as 50 Cent, Eminem and Obie Trice, Ja Rule never tried to pretend he was actually hising with the deceased 2Pac. 2Pac's verse is introduced with poignant echoes, signifying Ja Rule's respect of 2Pac, and demonstrating his desire to create a distinction between his own verses and 2Pac's. The beat for the introductory song 'Dial M for Murder' was sampled to Cam'Ron who said the beat was too "crazy" for him not to use it.

'The Last Temptation'

Although this album sold plenty of copies, it is undoubtedly Ja Rule's poorest album lyrically, however it does include some noteworthy songs. 'Thug Lovin' and 'Mesmerize' are mainstream classics, and it was these songs, as well as 'Livin it Up' from his previous album, which led 50 Cent to criticize Ja as a commercial sellout. This criticism could not have been any LESS hypocritical, since 50 Cent does alot OF what he criticized Ja Rule for doing - singing on hooks - most notably on songs such as 'Window Shopper', 'Candy Shop', and 'Just a Lil Bit'

What's Going On

Just days before the tragedy of September 11th, around the same time that "Livin' It Up" was breaking big, the American supergroup lineup known as the "All Star Tribute" was recording a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", in order to raise international AIDS awareness as well as money to combat the disease. It was to be released in December. After 9/11, however, the song was rush-released to radio and to MTV; its video having been hastily thrown together "home-movie" clips from the very recent studio recording of the song. The song went on to become associated with the terrorist attacks and the subsequent war in Afghanistan more so than with AIDS. However, in December, the song was re-released as planned, with several new versions/remixes of both the song and the video, in order to benefit AIDS charities as originally planned. Ja Rule had a significant part in the song. He, along with Nelly, Eve, and Fred Durst, added their own original rap lyrics about the disease to the song. Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, and Gaye's own daughter, Nona, among others, sang the original lyrics to Gaye's song.

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