After selling millions of records in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, Ja Rule eventually came under fire for singing in his songs – a style that had become a trademark of his sound. Calling in to Ear Candy Mornings from prison, the former Murder Inc. rapper spoke on artists like Drake and Kanye West using that style in their music, and how he supports it.
“I mean, I love it. I love to hear the melodies in the records. Music is music. I think people get that twisted. ‘Ah this is Hip Hop’ or ‘This is rock’ or ‘This is R&B.’ Hip Hop is the only form of music that can mess with all of those sounds and make for good music,” he said. “So when I hear it in the music, I smile. I love to hear it, I love to listen to Drake, I love Kanye – all of these artists who make good music, because that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about putting on a break beat and rhyming over it. That’s where it started, but things elevate, things change. I think I kind of was in that zone. I wouldn’t say I was ahead of my time, because I sold plenty of records doing that.”
Ja, who released his new album Pain is Love 2 yesterday, received backlash for singing in his songs after engaging in a heated beef with 50 Cent, who ridiculed him for using the style in his music. He hinted that Fif later adopted the same style, but noted that it never went away.
“I’ve got all the accolades for it, so I wouldn’t exactly say it was before anyone’s time. I think people enjoyed it and they loved it, and they’re still loving it. I just think it was a situation that I went through and people were led astray, led to believe that the style wasn’t the hot style or whatever. It’s funny, because it’s like someone told you pizza’s disgusting, pizza’s nasty, pizza’s wack. And then they went and sold pizza, and everybody bought it. It’s kind of that scenario, but I’m glad to hear it in the music.”
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