HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 07: Rapper Ja Rule attends the New Era In Florida Gaming Event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on December 07, 2023 in Hollywood, Florida. (Photo by Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)

Ja Rule

Ja Rule believes friend and mogul Sean &ldquo;Diddy&rdquo; Combs is experiencing &ldquo;unfortunate circumstances&rdquo; as he faces several lawsuits involving sexual assault allegations. Rule talked to Piers Morgan about Diddy's court case and wished him luck after <a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/50-cent-trolls-ja-rule-for-being-allowed-entry-in-the-uk-ja-rule-claps-back">his denial to the UK</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s another Black man in this industry going through some unfortunate circumstances,&rdquo; explained the chart-topping artist. &ldquo;I wish him luck with everything he&rsquo;s going through &mdash; and if there&rsquo;s victims in this. I can&rsquo;t speak on things that I don&rsquo;t know about, Piers &hellip; but I wish everybody love.&rdquo;
https://youtu.be/gEEorJP7204?si=Eak1FgcW0p-DDLqt&nbsp;
While Rule briefly discussed Diddy, he shared his thoughts on his belief in the justice system and false accusations.&nbsp;
"I believe in justice and I believe in the punishment fitting the crime," he said. &ldquo;If people get convicted of the things these people are saying then they should be put in jail. But I also believe, on the flip side, if people are lying about these things they should also be taken to court, tried and be put in prison as well.&rdquo; &nbsp;
Diddy&rsquo;s former bodyguard, Gene Deal, has alleged a past sexual situation involving Ja Rule and Diddy in interviews. But the validity of the allegations has never been confirmed.&nbsp;
Several entertainers have been redacted in the sexual assault lawsuits; however, Ja Rule was not among the names.&nbsp;
50 Cent and Ja Rule are feuding again. Rule recounted a previous fight with 50 Cent to <a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/ja-rule-recalls-beating-50-cent-up-in-a-fight">Piers Morgan</a> and then expressed his best wishes to his rival.
Ja Rule is working on a&nbsp;<a href="https://hot97.com/hot-news/ja-rule-apologizes-for-his-decade-long-hiatus-ahead-of-his-new-album">new album</a>, which will be his first in a decade.

Ja Rule Defends Diddy In New Interview: “I Wish Diddy Luck”

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Ja Rule became a pioneer in the hip-hop industry years ago when he dropped his first album, Veni, Vetti, Vecci back in 1999. During a time when the new millennium was upon us, music had to change to adjust to the times. Ja Rule came prepared. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 184,000 copies in its first week. This is all the reason why he plans on celebrating its 25th anniversary."Next year marks the 25th anniversary of Ja Rule and my first album Veni, Vetti, Vecci," he told Hot 97. "On June 1st, I'm going on a world tour for 25 years of Ja Rule and it's gonna be out of this world."While he did not specify details, Ja did spend some time focusing on the status of hip-hop 24 years after he first stepped on the scene. <h2 id="h-ja-rule-s-impact">Ja Rule's Impact</h2>Just at the top of the month, The Game appeared on Apple Music's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRmdjpqpyO4">Bars and Nuggets</a> podcast where he acknowledged the rapper's impact on the industry. “You know, Ja was Drake before Drake," he explained. "You know what I’m saying? He had the radio — he had the hits on the radio." https://twitter.com/SaycheeseDGTL/status/1677022508690595842?s=20Ja says that although he is flattered by the flowers given to him, he believes every artist is their own individual person with their own skin in the industry. "I obviously thank Game for the compliment," he began. "But I think everybody has their moment in time and in hip-hop. My time was my time. Drake's time is his time. Everybody has their thing."With this year being the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Ja Rule knows that there were people before him who influenced his work and that hopefully his work did the same. He says that his influence on the industry was specific to his experience and is grateful he was able to contribute what he could to the next generation. "It could never be another Drake. Drake is Drake. There could never be another Ja Rule. Ja Rule is Ja Rule. We all, in music, are fans of each other's music and I just hope and pray that my catalog and my contribution to hip hop, if it influenced anybody to do anything dope, I'm more than happy about that," the rapper shared.<h2>Keeping A Legacy Going</h2>Ja Rule's love for hip-hop doesn't stop at his ability to influence a generation. He is now giving artists he has grown to respect when he was coming up, the stage to share their stories as well as help them really make a profit from it. One of Ja's newest business ventures, <a href="https://iconn.live/">ICONN Live App,</a> gives creators the ability to profit from their own content. "The original thought of the app was really to help content creators monetize their content," he detailed. "We have all these platforms —Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter —and they own all the content. They take advantage of the content creators in ways that I just didn't think was fair."Therefore, he stepped in to lend a helping hand. The app is a live-streaming entertainment marketplace. There, you can catch one-of-a-kind free live broadcasts and pay-per-view events, including his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vibesconcerts/?hl=en">VIBES concert series.</a>VIBES concerts are live, in-person events with some of hip-hop's greats. They are only streamed on the ICONN Live App. When discussing the series, Ja says he just wanted to give artists a space to tell their stories."I wanted to showcase the legends, man. Some of my heroes that I grew up on. The reason why I rap," he recalled. "But the real basis of VIBES is to be intimate. It's an intimate concert and it's iconic artists doing their classic albums. Telling the stories behind the music."<h2>The Future Of Ja</h2>Along with ICONN Live and the VIBES concert series, Ja is busy with many other business ventures. He recently launched his own exclusive luxury wine, Rose Vine Cellars in partnership with Wines that Rock and Ross Reedy.Additionally, he says that he has invested in a few businesses such as Limewire, Big Crunch and is even a partial owner of a Texas pickleball team. However, he is most excited about his philanthropic work. "I also do a lot of charitable work that doesn't get talked about. I just recently gave money to HBCUs. We did Morgan State, Howard and Spellman. We have a few more that we want to do as well," he shared. Ja Rule concluded by sharing how important it is to tend to the youth of our nation. "Let's keep, creating great athletes and, and great musicians. But also on the flip side of that, let's also give them the business acumen that they need. Even lower grades of schools like high schools and middle schools because our kids need that."

EXCLUSIVE: Ja Rule Reveals New Tour, Addresses The Game, and Talks To The Status of Hip-Hop

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50 Cent never passes up the opportunity to troll Ja Rule. In recent headlines, 50 laughed at Ja’s recent performance that featured him in action with paramedics and a stretcher on set. On Thursday, 50 labeled the "Clap Back" rapper a "stupid ninja" following Ja’s performance, which began on a stretcher before he walked up to the mic to start his opening song. Apparently, fans weren’t deceived by the parody, and 50 utilizing his laughing emojis to the fullest only contributed more to his mockery of the show. Ja was one of the artists showcased at Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’ music festival in Toronto this past Saturday. Numerous fans online identified how the bit could’ve possibly been influenced by one of Ginuwine’s well-known performances. The "Pony" singer amazed the crowd during his 2003 BET performance on 106 & Park with the doctor drill. This was an era that Ja Rule also dominated, but considering that the reaction from his fans was predominantly negative, maybe it would’ve been better the way it originally was.https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct67pDjMYVE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

50 Cent Clowns Ja Rule’s Stage Stunt, Calls It ‘Stupid’

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The infamous Fyre Festival is back.Billy McFarland confirmed via Twitter that the festival is coming back. "Fyre Festival II is finally happening. Tell me why you should be invited." https://twitter.com/pyrtbilly/status/1645215767552729088?s=20The tweet instantly went viral as people questioned why he'd be having another festival after he was arrested following the first one. "tell me why you shouldn't be in jail.." asked on Twitter user- in which Billy responded, "it's in the best interest of those I owe for me to be working. people aren't getting paid back if i sit on the couch and watch tv. and because i served my time."https://twitter.com/pyrtbilly/status/1645612176684580865?s=20According to <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/news/fyre-festival-sequel-billy-mcfarland-vows-fyre-festival-ii-1235579488/">reports</a>, Billy was released from prison last year. He served four years of a six-year behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of defrauding investors and scamming ticket buyers. He additionally received a hefty fine of $26 million, which he has vowed to find a way to pay.

Billy McFarland Announces Fyre Festival 2.0 After Serving Four Years Behind Bars

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Ja Rule responds to 50 Cent joking that his halftime performance "cursed" the Minnesota Timberwolves.“There’s a curse, there’s a curse on the Timberwolves because somebody made a mistake and they let Ja Rule perform at [a] halftime show and it was the worst shit that ever happened,” said 50 in a recent video with the NBA team. “But what happened is he cursed the Timberwolves. So now we’re gonna get rid of the Timberwolves curse. I got a whole ritual planned to break the curse. So everybody get ready to follow it. You will get a chance to see what I do when the curse is broken.”Ja Rule caught wind of 50's comments and had a response of his own. “#RENTFREE,” wrote Rule in the comments. “Only thing Curtis lifting is his skirt… 50 been on my dick he love my style!!! And now the curse has been extended...”https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cqbknu4IOHo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_linkJa Rule performed for the halftime show back in 2019 and instantly went viral, which is the "curse" 50 is referring to. 50 has since <a href="https://www.complex.com/music/a/beaverfusion/ja-rule-responds-50-cent-minnesota-timberwolves-beef" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnered</a> with the team.https://twitter.com/NotFabyan/status/1099499929003802624?s=20

Ja Rule Claps Back After 50 Cent Joke His Halftime Performance 'Cursed' The Timberwolves

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Fat Joe is disappointed in Ja Rule.We <a href="https://www.hot97.com/hot-news/irv-gotti-reveals-ashanti-nellys-relationship-blindsided-him-amid-seemingly-married-at-the-time">recently reported</a> on Irv Gotti’s visit to N.O.R.E’s Drink Champs where he divulged his relationship with Ashanti. The record executive revealed that he was upset to learn that Ashanti dated Nelly while he was married. Gotti also shared unkind words to describe the singer.Fat Joe took to Instagram to sound off about the explosive interview.https://twitter.com/Cheamane/status/1556797471581474820“Whatever Irv has with Ashanti is 20 years old. I know he was making points that mean a lot to him, but when you keep ranting about somebody, 20 years later, that means he’s not over the young lady”.He did commend the producer while expressing his disapproval. "Irv Gotti did discover her. He did shoot the videos. He signed DMX. He signed Jay Z. The man is a genius, there is no question about that. But he made himself look crazy."The “What’s Luv” rapper also shared his thoughts on Ja Rule’s seemingly passiveness during the interview.“It’s one thing if its on the documentary, but to go to Drink Champs, and to keep calling her a b*tch and disrespecting her…I’m not the brother to stand up for Ashanti. Ja Rule is standing right there”.Ja Rule caught wind of Fat Joe's remarks. "STOP saying I didn't defend sis and all women when I clearly told Gotti stop calling Ashanti/women the B word same way I told Joe at Verzuz. Watch the interview before you talk sh*t. NOW LEAVE ME TF OUT THESE GROWN FOLK BUSINESS"https://www.instagram.com/p/ChC15bQrINn/Twitter users shared their thoughts about Fat Joe's commentary:https://twitter.com/AmourAStar/status/1556953977534701570https://twitter.com/BIGRica_/status/1556839006909960200https://twitter.com/quotethervn/status/1556816788511490050Irv Gotti mentioned in the Drink Champs interview that he discovered Nelly and Ashanti were dating while watching an NBA game. "You wanna hear how I found out?" Irv continued. "I was at home. NBA package, I like watching sports. 'Oh my God, what's this commotion going on in the stadium?'" The sports announcer declared that the commotion in the stadium was caused by Nelly and Ashanti walking in together.Nelly joked about Irv Gotti's comments while co-headling the <a href="https://www.toyota-arena.com/events/detail/my-2000s-playlist">My 2000s Playlist Tour</a>. During the Aug 5th, Oakland, CA tour stop, Nelly appeared to have addressed Gotti's comments on the podcast. Ashanti and Nelly gave a playful performance to their 2008 song "Body on Me". Before exiting the stage, Nelly took a jab at Gotti. "Ayo, I got floor seats to the next game, what's happening?" he asks while Ashanti is walking off the stage. The R&B singer acknowledged the joke by laughing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91iVbP7rNlc