In the early 2000s, Ja Rule and Ashanti hopping on a track together practically guaranteed a chart-topper. вЂњBetween Me & YouвЂќ is a late night jam populated by booming bass drum hits and a star-making chorus from Christina Milian. On the song вЂњBetween Me & You,вЂќ Ja Rule once again goes the romantic route, but this time he opts for raunchy details instead of a sappy celebration of his partner. ItвЂ™s a vulnerable moment in a discography of gritty street tales, with Ja singing in the chorus, вЂњWhat would I be without my baby?/The thought alone might break me.вЂќДҐ. While the track remains a certified banger in this revived era of New Jack Swing-inspired rap, it was a cultural touchstone upon its release, blending the sugary vocals of J-Lo with the rumbling melodies of Ja.ДЄ hit from 3:36, вЂњPut it On MeвЂќ is an unrepentant love song and a dedication to Ja RuleвЂ™s real-life girlfriend. In 2001, Ja Rule recruiting Jennifer Lopez for an вЂњIвЂ™m RealвЂќ remix was as big as news got. ItвЂ™s an emotional number that proves the versatile power of JaвЂ™s approach.Д§. Accompanied by Lil MoвЂ™, Ja goes personal on the track, mourning his lost friends and the trauma he had to experience to get to the top of the charts. On вЂњI CryвЂќ from Ja RuleвЂ™s 2000 breakthrough Rule 3:36, he leans further into the melding of mainstream gangsta rap and neo-R&B. That meditation on fame was well-earned-by then, Rule had branched out into reality television, film acting, and entrepreneurship, proving his savvy as an agile survivor of rap beefs and career shifts alike.WeвЂ™re suckers for a well-placed sample, and itвЂ™s hard to imagine anything better than Ja Rule crooning over a sample of TotoвЂ™s вЂњAfrica.вЂќ It veers dangerously close to saccharine, but Ja imbues the song with enough emotion and visceral detail to keep its street credentials intact. He ended an eight-year recording hiatus with 2012вЂ™s musically expansive PiL 2. RuleвЂ™s profile rarely flagged in those years thanks in part to gossip- and music-generating feuds with 50 Cent among others, which he stoked on his back-to-basics, trash-talking Blood in My Eye. The offbeat romantic simultaneously kept his street cred burnished with gritty tales of gangsta glory like 'New York', from his sixth album in as many years, 2004вЂ™s R.U.L.E. The song was not only Christina MilianвЂ™s debut, but also the first in a successful string of thug-love duets Rule recorded with female R&B singer-songwriters including Ashanti ('Always on Time', 'Mesmerize') and Jennifer Lopez ('I'm Real', 'Ain't It Funny').

label boss Irv Gotti, Rule drove into radio-friendly territory with 'Between Me & You'. The following year, riding over spartan beats by Murder Inc. Rule exploded as a solo artist in 1999 with the platinum Venni Vetti Vecci and its frothy yet fiercely braggadocious single, 'Holla Holla'. He then cut his teeth as a guest alongside a rap rogueвЂ™s gallery-from Jay-Z and DMX to Method Man and LL Cool J-that pointed toward his future dual status as rugged spitter and gruff crooner.

Born Jeffrey Bruce Atkins in Queens, New York, in 1976, the gravel-voiced MC kicked off his career making boom-bap with Cash Money Click. Rough yet lovable Ja Rule emerged during hip-hop's late-'90s boom and evolved into a pop phenomenon for nearly all platforms.

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