Kendrick Lamar’s fierce, hard-hitting lyrics showcased at his Pop Out concert on Wednesday, June 19, clearly took aim at Cash Money artists, delivering a blow to Drake’s ego with the support of Dr. Dre and the entire West Coast gang culture. However, Drake is no Ja Rule and will remain relevant as long as he continues to make music for his global fanbase because at the heart of his success is a multi-cultural lifestyle powered by a more inclusive North American brand of hip-hop.
Since the dawn of hip-hop, the top artist has always been a target for challengers who take aim with cutthroat lyrics. Hip Hop is about survival of the fittest. Over the past 30 years, as the culture has matured, we’ve witnessed battles between LL Cool J and Canibus, Jay-Z and Nas, DMX and his demons, and Ja Rule and 50 Cent. The feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent, in particular, propelled 50 Cent to mainstream success, eclipsing his fellow Queens, New York rapper.
Spanning nearly two decades, the rivalry between 50 Cent and Ja Rule is one of hip-hop’s most intense, involving diss tracks, interviews, social media attacks, and physical altercations. Before his rise to fame, 50 Cent was a budding rapper who gained attention for calling out established artists in his 1999 single “How to Rob.” At the time, Ja Rule was already a prominent figure with his platinum debut album, “Venni Vetti Vecci.”
The origins of their feud are unclear, but it escalated after Ja Rule was robbed in Queens in 1999, and 50 Cent allegedly associated with the robber. In October 1999, 50 Cent released “Life’s on the Line,” a diss track aimed at Ja Rule and his label, Murder Inc. This led to a physical fight between the two in an Atlanta nightclub. The feud intensified when 50 Cent was stabbed at the Hit Factory studio by Ja Rule’s crew in March 2000.
In 2002, 50 Cent released “Wanksta,” a track mocking Ja Rule, which became his first major hit and grabbed global attention. Both artists were signed under the Universal Music Group umbrella, Ja Rule with Island Def Jam and 50 Cent with Interscope Records.
Lyor Cohen, Def Jam’s former owner, predicted Ja Rule’s downfall because his music was “too soft,” specifically citing his 2000 album “Rule 3:36.” Despite this, the album went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, blending commercial melodies with gangster rap in songs like “Between Me And You” featuring Christina Milian, “Put It On Me” featuring Vita, “6 Feet Underground,” and “I Cry” featuring Lil’ Mo.
However, Ja Rule’s mistake was not sticking with the music his fans loved. After 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Eminem, D12, and the entire Shady/Aftermath roster criticized him for being a “singing rapper,” Ja Rule released songs like “Clap Back” and the hardcore album “Blood In My Eye” (2003), which alienated his fanbase and caused a dip in sales, even though it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard chart and sold 250,000 units in its first week. He released one last album on Def Jam the following year, “R.U.L.E.,” featuring love ballads like “Passion” and “Wonderful,” but never regained his top position due to perceptions that he lost the beef with 50 Cent and other legal troubles.
Ironically, 50 Cent later embraced the “singing rapper” style, infusing R&B into gangster rap on tracks like “God Made Me Smile” and “21 Questions.”
Drake, who was initially in talks with Cohen to sign with Def Jam, has followed a similar path, making commercial R&B-infused rap music since his debut EP “Room for Improvement” in 2006. However, what sets Drake apart from other rappers like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, and Ja Rule is his ability to dabble in various world music genres and bring them into mainstream hip-hop and the Billboard charts.
Drake’s first three albums, “Thank Me Later” (2010), “Take Care” (2011), and “Nothing Was the Same” (2013), debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and produced several top ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, including “Find Your Love,” “Take Care” (featuring Rihanna), “Started from the Bottom,” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (featuring Majid Jordan).
His fourth album, the dancehall and Afrobeats-influenced “Views” (2016), topped the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks and featured hit singles “Hotline Bling” and his first US number one as a lead artist, “One Dance” (featuring WizKid and Kyla).
Drake’s double album “Scorpion” (2018) produced three US number-one singles: “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What,” and “In My Feelings.” His sixth album, “Certified Lover Boy” (2021), set a record with nine Hot 100 top-ten hits from one album, with its lead single, “Way 2 Sexy” (featuring Future and Young Thug), reaching number one.
In 2022, he released the house-inspired album “Honestly, Nevermind” and a collaborative album with 21 Savage, “Her Loss.” Both this album and his eighth, “For All the Dogs” (2023), produced number-one singles: “Jimmy Cooks” (featuring 21 Savage), “Slime You Out” (featuring SZA), and “First Person Shooter” (featuring J. Cole).
No other rapper has crossed as many genres of music, and Drake is rewarded for it by being the first artist to hit 100 billion streams on Spotify.
