Ja Rule is one of the most widely-known rappers in the world. Since his debut in 1999, the singer has gone from strength to strength, making waves in the music industry and further afield including dabbling in acting, fashion, and consumer products.
After a career as long and as infamous as Ja Rule’s, how much is the rap legend worth?
Who is Ja Rule?
Ja Rule was born in 1976 in Queens, New York. He first launched into the public eye in 1994 when he joined the group Cash Money Click. This band ⏤ comprised of Ja Rule, Chris Black, and O-1 ⏤ had decent success with the independently released single “Get Tha Fortune” and got some attention on MTV. The band was forced to break up, however, when Black was sent to prison in 1995. Rule quickly rebounded, joining Def Jam records and making himself at home at the label after appearing on several tracks.
His debut single, “Holla Holla,” landed in 1999. This was quickly followed by his debut album Venni Vetti Vecci. Both were critical and commercial successes and Rule followed them up with his second album, Rule 3:36, in 2000. During the early 2000s, Rule quickly cemented himself as a mainstream star, even branching out into movies like Turn It Up in 2000.
It was during this time that Rule explained the origin of his stage name, telling an MTV interviewer that, “My rap name is my initials from my actual name, Jeff Atkins. The Rule got slapped on by a friend of mine. Everyone used to call me Ja, and my man just threw on Rule. He used to be like, ‘Ja Rule, what’s up?’ I just ran with it.”
Rule continued to release albums until 2005, when he took a hiatus from music. He wouldn’t break this hiatus until 2012, with the release of Pain Is Love 2. However, when the album was released, Rule was in prison, having been sentenced in 2011 for attempted possession of a weapon and for failing to file taxes.
When Rule was released in 2013, he returned to music and moved into other ventures, including clothing and liquor. He also set up Fyre Media, Inc, a talent booking agency with Billy McFarland. Fyre Media, Inc. would hit the headlines in 2017 when its highly-promoted Fyre Festival failed.
How much is Ja Rule worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ja Rule is worth $4 million, making him a multi-millionaire. This is only fitting for a trailblazing artist who has been behind several top albums, and while most of his money likely comes from his musical success, Rule is also the author of the 2014 memoir Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man, which undoubtedly had a hand in some of his more recent financial success.
Rule is still an active performer, recently appearing at the 2022 Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, NC, alongside fellow stars Ashanti and Lil Baby. You may have also recently heard him on the Hamilton Mixtape during Ashanti’s rendition of “Helpless.”
With no signs of slowing down anytime soon, it’s likely that Rule’s net worth will only continue to grow from here on out.
