Ja Rule

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr. (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known as a leading figure in 2000s hip hop for his blending of gangsta rap with commercially-oriented pop 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". Ja Rule peaked the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 thrice in 2001 with his single "Always on Time" (featuring Ashanti) and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" and "Ain't It Funny". His encompassing singles, "Put It on Me" (featuring Lil' Mo and Vita), "Mesmerize" (featuring Ashanti), "Livin' It Up" (featuring Case) and "Wonderful" (featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti) have each peaked within the top ten of the chart and spawned from commercially successful album releases.

''Venni Vetti Vecci'' (1999) saw critical and commercial success, received 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 the US ''Billboard'' 200. Selling over 15 million combined units, both also received triple platinum certifications by the RIAA and remain his bestselling albums. He followed up with his respective fourth, fifth and sixth albums ''The Last Temptation'' (2002), ''Blood in My Eye'' (2003), and ''R.U.L.E.'' (2004); ''The Last Temptation'' received platinum certification, while ''R.U.L.E.'' received gold certification. Ja Rule has been nominated for two American Music Awards and four Grammy Awards with respective collaborators Lil' Mo, Vita, Ashanti and Case. 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. In November 2019, he was cleared of any legal wrongdoing from his role in the festival. Earlier that year, he joined the main cast of WeTV's ''Growing Up Hip Hop: New York''. As an actor, he has also starred in films such as ''Turn It Up'' (2000), ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), ''Half Past Dead'' (2002), ''Scary Movie 3'' (2003), ''The Cookout'' (2004), ''Assault on Precinct 13'', ''Back in the Day'' (both in 2005), ''Furnace'' (2007), and ''Wrong Side of Town'' (2010). Provided by Wikipedia