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here was a time when you could turn on the radio and hear a Ja Rule record at least three times an hour. There was a time when Murder Inc. Records was dominating the rap game. Then came legal troubles, the groupie confessions, and 50 Cent. Next thing you know Irv Gotti is on trial facing potential jail time, Def Jam refuses to distribute the label, and 50 Cent is making videos and songs dissing the entire Murder Inc. family.
We have a mutual friend. Once that mutual friend put us together, we started talking and kicking it and it was all good. There was no beef.
Today, Murder Inc. and Ja Rule have found a new home at Universal records and Ja is getting ready to release his seventh studio album. He’s back dominating the airwaves with his new single “Body,” and finally 50 Cent has become irrelevant to the kid. Sit back and relax as this rap veteran talks about his new album Mirror, his relationship with his wife since Superhead stepped on the scene and what he would do if he saw 50 Cent.
So if you were to see 50 today or tomorrow what would you do or say? I would punch him in his face. (laughs) I’m just fucking with you. You’re asking provoking questions.
To start off, I have to ask where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. I’ve just been working, working, working. I did a couple of film projects, one called Furnace and one called Don’t Fade Away. They should be out some time later next year. I’ve been working on some other business ventures too. One of your business ventures is your own label under Murder Inc., right? Yeah, MPIRE Records, things are going real good with that. I’m still getting my roster together and looking for new artists. Everything is in its early stages but it’s looking real good. Let’s talk about your other business ventures. You are co-owner of starsonpoker.com and the liquor brand Mojito, which I drink often. How did you get into those two industries? Just meeting people and being at the right place at the right time. I met some people that had some good ideas and I enjoy working with good ideas and I had some ideas to go with theirs anyway. We put our stuff together and made things happen, that’s really what it’s all about. Just being at the right place at the right time.
I know you’re probably tired of hearing this guy’s name but I have to ask you about 50 Cent. Where exactly does your beef with him stand? I been over it, I ain’t thinking about homeboy. He’s irrelevant to me right now it doesn‘t even matter. Nothing he says and nothing he does matters to me.
Okay, let’s put 50 to the side and shift into the family life. After Superhead released her tell-all book, what type of effect did it have on your family life? None. My wife’s a very smart woman. She knows better than to feed into that type of bullshit. And she’s from the hood, so, you know. (laughs) She knows how to handle those situations. So how long did your wife hold out on sex after she heard about the book? (laughs) It wasn’t no situation like that, my wife knows what’s up. When you that close to situation and you know what’s going on, you know that shortie just likes to run her mouth. It wasn’t like that at all with me and wifey. Your new single is entitled “Body” so you know we have to get your opinion on the female body. What is your favorite part of the female body and why? I like a woman with real nice sexy legs, a nice stomach and hips. I like the other parts that maybe everybody’s not looking at. Of course I like the T & A. (laughs) But you know, I like lips and I like the other sexy shit. That turns me on. //
What about the clothing line Erving Geoffrey? What’s going on with that? Yeah, we sold half the company to Samsung cause we got a lot of other things going on right now. I started a film production company called Tunnel Vision and Rule Global media. Everything is under that umbrella. Something real big is about to happen! (laughs) I’m going to making some announcements in a couple of weeks, can’t really speak on it too much now though. But it’s going to be very interesting. Let’s get on the subject of your music. How does it feel to get ready to release your seventh album in an industry where a long career is not guaranteed? It feels good to be able to drop my seventh album and still be relevant in the game. People still want to hear what I’ve got to say. It’s a real blessing and it feels good. Do you feel any pressure at all releasing this album, seeing that you have been gone from the game for some time? Not really. I’m a veteran at this. I’ve been here, done that. With this album I’m really just trying to get the music out there to the people. I want my voice to be heard and I’m just here to make good music, that’s all. When The Inc. left Def Jam after the legal troubles, did you think it would take you guys a year to find a new home? I mean, we were going back and forth between Warner and Universal. Obviously we ended up going with Universal but back then I wasn’t really too sure if it was gon’ work. But we’re here now. The new album is entitled Mirror. What’s the significance in that title? I named it Mirror because I feel like that’s the only real place of truth. You know, people look in the mirror and they can’t lie to themselves. This album is a real personal and deep album. I wanted to let the people get a feel for what’s it like to walk in my shoes, so to speak. It’s a real good album though. This is definitely a fan-driven album. Is this album is similar to Venni, Vetti, Vicci? Yeah, I would definitely say that this album is in the same lane as that one. That album was real personal like this one and I had the time to work on it like I did with this one. The fans are going to get the old Ja and some of this new Ja. It’s a real good mixture and I know they’re gon’ like it. You collaborated with former G-Unit member The Game on “Sunset,” right? Well, we didn’t do it together. I sent him the track and he did his part. You know, in this technology era nobody even has to be in the same room.
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Seeing that Game is an ex-member of G-Unit and was affiliated with 50 Cent at one time, how did you two even hook up for a record? OZONE MAG // 57