February 29th – Ja Rule was born Jeffrey Atkins in Queens, New York on this day in 1976.
Ja Rule made his debut on wax in 1995 on Mic Geronimo’s track “Time To Build” which also featured Jay-Z and DMX.
In 1998 Ja Rule collaborated with Jay-Z and Amil on the smash hit “Can I Get A…” from Jay-Z’s Third album “Vol.2 – Hard Knock Life.”
“Can I Get A…” was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1998 Warner Bros hit film “Rush Hour.”
Ja Rule released his debut album “Venni Vetti Vecci” on Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. Records. The album spawned the hits “Holla Holla” and “It’s Murda” featuring Jay-Z and DMX.
Ja Rule released his sophomore album “Rule 3:36” in 2000. The album produced more smash hits for the gruff-voiced MC. He climbed the charts this time with “Between Me And You” (Featuring Christina Milian), “Put It On Me” (featuring Lil’ Mo’ & Vita) and “I Cry” (featuring Lil’ Mo’).
Ja Rule’s third album, “Pain Is Love” was released in 2001. The album went to the top of the charts and sold triple-platinum in the process. “Pain Is Love” contained “Always On Time” (featuring label mate Ashanti), “Livin’ It Up” (featuring Case) and “I’m Real” (The Murda Remix), featuring Jennifer Lopez. The original version of “I’m Real” appeared on Lopez’s 2001 album “J-Lo.”
Ja Rule’s baritone sing-song rap style became a big crossover success with many artists in the industry clamoring to collaborate with him for chart success.
Ja Rule has released three more albums to date, most notably 2002’s “The Last Temptation”, which featured the hits “Mesmerize” (featuring Ashanti), “Thug Lovin’”(featuring Bobby Brown) and “The Pledge” (Remix), which featured Nas and Ashanti, as well as 2004’s “R.U.L.E.” which spawned the hits “New York” (featuring Fat Joe & Jadakiss) and “Wonderful” (featuring Ashanti & R. Kelly).
Ja Rule has also appeared in numerous films including “The Fast And The Furious”, “Back In The Day”, “The Cookout”, “Scary Movie 3” and “Turn It Up” to name a few.
Ja Rule is reportedly working on two new albums for 2012.
Ja Rule has won MTV Music Video, BET and NAACP Image Awards.
