Ja Rule has claimed that it is “statistically impossible” for him to not be considered a top 50 rapper of all time.
Ja was previously left off Billboard and VIBE’s Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list, which ranked JAY-Z as Hip Hop’s finest MC.
The “Always on Time” rapper previously hit out at the list on X, writing: “There ain’t 50 rappers dead, alive or waiting to be born better than me… #ICONN #Vibes @billboard congrats to everyone on the list well deserved but check my resume… #ICONN #Vibes.”
But now he has offered a more in-depth criticism of the list and his exclusion during an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show.
“I’m not a hater. Congrats to everyone on the list,” he said. “[But] these lists, they’re meaningless because music is subjective. You like who you want to like, you know everybody has their favorite artist.
“But my thing was: this is a list comprised by Billboard. They do numbers and statistics, if I’m not mistaken. Ok so, that list is impossible to make without Ja Rule being on it — statistically impossible.”
He continued: “There are artists that don’t have number one records, don’t have number one albums. I’m not knocking anybody on the list because, like I said, music is subjective.
“And when it comes to some of the older artists, you kind of got to go by different metrics because they didn’t have the sales. But I said what I said.”
Watch his comments at the 0:58 mark below.
In their criteria for the list, Billboard and VIBE looked at an artist’s achievements including sales and certifications, cultural impact, longevity, lyrics and flow.
In the late ’90s and early ’00s, Ja Rule was one of the most notable artists in all of Hip Hop, best known for a string successful hits including “Always on Time,” “I’m Real,” “Mesmerize” and “New York.”
Over the course of his career, Ja sold over 30 million records and clocked up two Billboard Hot 100 number one singles.
He has not released an album since 2012’s Pain is Love 2, which only debuted at No. 197 on the Billboard 200, but he is currently working on a new album which he’s calling a “classic.”
Other commercially successful artists to be left off the Top 50 Rappers list include Nelly, Fat Joe, The Game, Big Boi and Talib Kweli.
Men lie, Women lie, Numbers lie.
…and I’m gay🌈🍌💋
Men lie, Women lie, Numbers lie
Ja rule better than Jay z
Your crack dealer must be rich
Jah on point. Same way it impossible for King Tekashi not to be King of New York.
Gross
Eu quero que se foda essa lista , um dos maiores da cena Ice cub disse que essa tal Billboard é formada por ” brancos porcos que não sabem nada de rap” ja rule dominou as parados nos anos 2000 , como ele pode n está na lista dos 50 maiores do rap? M faz sentido, n levem em consideração essa maldita lista, ja rule é um dos melhores rapperes de todos os tempos, a história prova isso, e esse novo album do ja, será incrivel, como todos os outros, msm que n seja um sucesso comercial, pq os grandes clássicos do Rap nem sempre venderam muitos discos, vc tem que considerar outros fatores atem de vendas, letra, métrica, sentimento , o que as linhas te trazem de bom ..enfim, ja rule é um dos melhores e ponto.
Your comment is too harsh man. It’s 2023. There is nothing wrong if your father loves another man and your mom wants to go through a process of sex change. You gotta live with your time man.
If we going by numbers of #1s & sales he isn’t lying
If we going by numbers of #1s & sales he isn’t lying
Dude buried his nose in too much powder lately. Between a “rapper” known for making mostly songs with RnB singers and an underground rapper rhyming his ass off on some grimy beats with hardcore and conscious lyrics, the math is simple: I pick the latter. Therefore there I can name dozens of rappers better than Ja Rule. Idgaf about him selling millions of records. Drake does too but he’s still considered a fruitbowl dropping vagina bombs on records and making music for shopping.
When it comes to Billboards criterias he actually is supposed to be on the list. I know you love 50 too much to admit it. But it`s true.
Dude hasn’t had a hit in nearly a quarter century
When does a person realize their own insignificance. Ja need to sit down. You’re done, Son. 50 took care of that. LMAO
Make the list long enough and even I can claim to be a top rapper.