Ja Rule is becoming vulnerable with his fans. The Hip-Hop artist recently sat down with the co-hosts of Revolt TV’s Black Girl Stuff, where he revealed his true feelings on how fans seemingly turned their backs on him at the peak of his career. According to the former chart-topper, he doesn’t feel as though he “deserved” that treatment.
Thanks to Irv Gotti’s belief in him, Ja Rule was introduced to the world. After a failed stint with the Hip-Hop group Cash Money Click in the 90s, the Queens native found solo success in 1999 when his debut single “Holla Holla” took over the airwaves. Soon, the rapper began to live at the top of the charts with multiplatinum releases, including the #1 single “Always on Time” with his Murder Inc. labelmate, Ashanti. Ja Rule’s artistry landed him multiple accolades and award nominations. He is a four-time Grammy nominee and a two-time American Music Award nominee.
However, he has not taken any home. But the rapper has a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, and a VMA. Additionally, he was listed as the Musician of The Year at the 2002 GQ Men of the Year Awards. But in addition to the high highs, Ja Rule ultimately suffered from low lows as well. He feuded with a few artists throughout his career, but his most famous battle has been with rap rival 50 Cent. Once fans chose sides in their beef, it was clear that 50 Cent would be coming out on top. Unfortunately, Ja Rule struggled to rise above the drama and maintain the level of stardom and chart domination he once achieved.
While speaking on Revolt’s Black Girl Stuff, Ja Rule broke his silence while discussing the Murder Inc documentary. Explaining his stance, the rapper shared he did feel abandoned and still struggles with the belief that he did something to deserve the treatment from the fans. However, while the world seemingly caved in on him, Rule states it’s time to return to the love. ‘Music is subjective. You don’t have to like Ja Rule. You don’t have to like whoever. It was like a big culture shock to me. Even my success was the same thing. It’s like one day I was just a kid from Hollis Queens in the hood and a week later I was a huge star […] I went through that and I felt like it was unwarranted,” the rapper stated. Ja Rule went on to say he didn’t do anything but make great music for his fans.
Do you think fans in hip hop abandoned Ja Rule? Do you think 50 Cent ended Ja Rule’s career?
