Editing Ja Rule (section)

{{short description|American rapper (born 1976)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Jeffrey Atkins|Jeffery Atkins}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Ja Rule
| image             = Ja Rule in 2016.jpg
| caption           = Ja Rule in 2016
| birth_name        = Jeffrey Bruce Atkins
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1976|2|29}}
| birth_place       = [[Queens, New York City]], U.S.
| alias             = Jah
| occupations       = {{flatlist|
* Rapper
* singer
* songwriter
* record producer
* actor
}}
| discography       = [[Ja Rule discography]]
| years_active      = 1994–present<ref name="Rules of the Game 2"/>
| background        = solo_singer
| genre             = {{flatlist|
* [[East Coast hip hop]]<ref name="allmusic" />
* [[pop rap]]
* [[gangsta rap]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Consumption of Inequality: Weapons of Mass Distraction |last=Halnon |first=K. |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2013 |isbn=9781137352491 |page=51 }}</ref>
* [[hardcore hip hop]]<ref name="allmusic" />
* [[political hip hop]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/470806/ja-rule-set-for-prison-sentencing |title=Ja Rule Set for Prison Sentencing |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 8, 2011 |access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref>
}}
| label             = {{flatlist|
* M-PIRE
* [[Fontana Distribution|Fontana]]
* [[Universal Motown Records|Universal Motown]]
* [[The Island Def Jam Music Group|Island Def Jam]]
* [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]]
* [[Murder Inc. Records|Murder Inc.]]
}}
| past_member_of    = {{flatlist|
*[[Murder Inc. (rap group)|Murder Inc.]]
*Cash Money Click
}}
| spouse            = {{marriage|Aisha Murray|2001}}
{{Infobox person 
| child = yes
| children = 3}}
}}

'''Jeffrey Bruce Atkins'''<ref name="twitter.com">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/jarule/status/952631037523382272|title=Ja Rule on Twitter|website=Twitter.com}}</ref> (born February 29, 1976),<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|title=Ja Rule {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://allmusic.com/artist/ja-rule-p366173/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> better known by his stage name '''Ja Rule''' ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɑː|_|ɹ|uː|l}}), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in [[New York City]], Ja Rule became known for blending [[gangsta rap]] with [[pop rap|pop]] and [[contemporary R&B|R&B]] sensibilities. He signed with [[Irv Gotti]]'s [[Murder Inc Records]], an imprint of [[Def Jam Recordings]] to release his debut studio album ''[[Venni Vetti Vecci]]'' (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "[[Holla Holla]]". In 2001, he peaked the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] on three occasions with his single "[[Always on Time]]" (featuring [[Ashanti (singer)|Ashanti]]) and his guest appearances on [[Jennifer Lopez]]'s songs "[[I'm Real (Murder Remix)]]" and "[[Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)|Ain't It Funny]]".

Commercially successful, ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' received [[RIAA certification|platinum]] certification by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) and was followed by his second and third albums, ''[[Rule 3:36]]'' (2000) and ''[[Pain Is Love]]'' (2001), both of which peaked atop the [[Billboard 200|US ''Billboard'' 200]]. With over 15 million combined sales, both also received [[RIAA certification|triple platinum]] certifications by the RIAA and spawned the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top ten singles "[[Put It on Me (Ja Rule song)|Put It on Me]]" (featuring [[Lil' Mo]] and [[Vita (rapper)|Vita]]) and "[[Livin' It Up (Ja Rule song)|Livin' It Up]]" (featuring [[Case (singer)|Case]]). He followed up with his fourth, fifth and sixth albums ''[[The Last Temptation (Ja Rule album)|The Last Temptation]]'' (2002), ''[[Blood in My Eye]]'' (2003), and ''[[R.U.L.E.]]'' (2004); ''The Last Temptation'' received platinum certification and spawned the top two-single "[[Mesmerize (song)|Mesmerize]]" (featuring Ashanti), while ''R.U.L.E.'' received [[gold record|gold]] certification and spawned the top five-single "[[Wonderful (Ja Rule song)|Wonderful]]" (featuring [[R. Kelly]] and Ashanti). Ja Rule has been nominated for two [[American Music Awards]] and four [[Grammy Awards]] with respective collaborators Lil' Mo, Vita, Ashanti and Case. From 1999 to 2005 Ja Rule had seventeen Hot 100 hits, chiefly produced by [[Irv Gotti]],<ref name="g694">{{cite web | title=Irv Gotti, the founder of Murder Inc Records behind hits with Ashanti and Ja Rule, dies aged 54 | website=Sky News | date=2025-02-06 | url=https://news.sky.com/story/irv-gotti-the-founder-of-murder-inc-records-behind-hits-with-ashanti-and-ja-rule-dies-aged-54-13304210 | access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref> and as of 2018, Ja Rule has sold 30 million records worldwide.

Outside of music, Ja Rule was met with scrutiny for his involvement in the fraudulent [[Fyre Festival]], which he co-founded with [[con artist]] [[Billy McFarland (fraudster)|Billy McFarland]]. In November 2019, he was cleared of any legal wrongdoing from his role in the festival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/nov/19/ja-rule-fyre-festival-lawsuit|title=Ja Rule cleared of wrongdoing over Fyre festival disaster|last=Wheeler|first=Andre|date=19 Nov 2019|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=3 Nov 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/news/fyre-festival-where-are-they-now-andy-king-ja-rule-billy-mcfarl/12177266|title=Fyre Festival: where are they now three years later?|date=23 Apr 2020|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=3 Nov 2022}}</ref> Earlier that year, he joined the main cast of [[We TV|WeTV]]'s ''[[Growing Up Hip Hop: New York]]''. As an actor, he has also starred in films such as ''[[Turn It Up (film)|Turn It Up]]'' (2000), ''[[The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)|The Fast and the Furious]]'' (2001), ''[[Half Past Dead]]'' (2002), ''[[Scary Movie 3]]'' (2003), ''[[The Cookout]]'' (2004), ''[[Assault on Precinct 13 (2005 film)|Assault on Precinct 13]]'', ''[[Back in the Day (2005 film)|Back in the Day]]'' (both in 2005), ''[[Furnace (film)|Furnace]]'' (2007), and ''[[Wrong Side of Town]]'' (2010).