Ja Rule has acknowledged that his fusion of Hip Hop and R&B has been a major influence on music today, particularly with artists like Drake.
During a recent interview with The Shade Room, Ja Rule chatted about his career, his past beef with 50 Cent, family life, and more. It was at one point in the conversation that the host stated that “Ja Rule walked, so Drake could run,” and asked the Queens native if he agreed.
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Although Ja Rule recognizes the impact of his music, he emphasizes that all musicians “borrow from each other.”
According to the former Murder Inc. rapper, Hip Hop love ballads have existed for quite some time, and he noted popular tracks such as “I Need Love” by LL COOL J and Method Man and Mary J. Blige‘s “All I Need.”
However, Ja also pointed out what set him apart from the other artists is that he not only made the music his own, but he offered it consistently, and not on a one-off basis as the others did.
The rapper also credits himself with creating the Hip Hop duet. “You didn’t really know who’s record it was,” he began.
He continued: “Like when you listen to ‘I’m Real’ is that Ja Rule’s record or is it Jennifer’s record?”
In other Ja Rule news, the rapper recently angered some fans of female rap following his comments regarding Nicki Minaj’s place within Hip Hop and the amount of competition she’s faced.
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In another segment of the same interview, the “Mesmerize” rapper ended up ruffling some feathers when speaking about his belief surrounding the lack of superstar women rappers in the Nicki Minaj era of dominance.
“I think Nicki gets proper praise,” began. “Her place in the game is solidified. It’s solid. There were no female MCs out and about until Nicki came back out. Before her, the last one was like Lauryn Hill.”
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Although, Ja has credited Nicki for opening the door for the current generation of female rappers to have a run “like they’ve never had before” in Hip Hop.
“And before her was like Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte and before her it’s even further back,” he continued. “The female MC — they’re having a run like they’ve never had before. To me, in my opinion, Nicki reopened that door.”
