Rapper Ja Rule performed in Kingston, Jamaica for the first time along with Ashanti 20 years after his hey day back to back appearances at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay. In 2002 as part of a legal requirement the Murda Inc. front man had negotiated a plea deal in an obscenity case after he used swear words during a performance the previous year at Sumfest according to MTV.
Fast forward to Saturday night (November 26) at Sabina Park, Rule and Ashanti took fans down memory lane as they perform a music video infused set at “Yush” which placed patrons smack in the middle of the BET 106 & Park era.
Ashanti dressed in a Jamaican colored half body suit with a glistening smile and a toned body showed out her vocal skills on songs like Foolish, Mesmerized and Always On Time which had its 21st anniversary the same night.
“Always on Time” spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February and March 2002, becoming Ashanti’s first Hot 100 number-one single and Ja Rule’s second. In 2009, it was named the 33rd-most-successful song of the 2000s on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the 82nd-most-successful song of the 2000s on the Hot 100.
Ja Rule, who got a lifeline from his Verzuz victory with Fat Joe belted out Billboard No. 1 hits like “Put It On Me,” “Living It Up,” and “I’m Real,” the song he got in trouble for 20 years ago, as the crowd sang word for word. Both him and Ashanti have developed a set where they perform together and individually in a hour and a half synergy that allowed the crowd to enjoy the show at a digestible pace.
The Jam packed Cricket grounds also had in the audience watching former Yush headliner Bounty Killer & producer/singer Leftside.
Coppershot, Bambino, Ritchie Feelings, Kurt Riley and more kept the temperature of the early 2000s going before and after Ja Rule and Ashanti’s set.
The feedback on social media is that they both exceeded expectations with a spectacular set.
One person said: “Ja rule and Ashanti gave an excellent performance. That should be the standard for international acts.”
Ashanti was in her melodies, raw as ever and Ja Rule rapped all his lyrics.. They surpassed what I expected .. Yush kickstart di christmss
— 4-4-2 (@bon_delero) November 27, 2022
Doing the production last night for top tier artists like Ashanti and Ja rule shows me what a different level their art is on. Lights, Audio , Screens…everything in sync with the performances #toptier
— Deane Shepherd (@Zideane) November 28, 2022
Ja Rule and Ashanti did not disappoint this morning. 👏🏾 They still got it man!
— Zhané Padmore (@zhanepadmore) November 27, 2022
