Ja Rule advises Drake on moving forward from the Kendrick Lamar rap beef and says people wanting him to lose is more cultural than hip-hop.
Ja Rule was a guest on Hot 97 radio, where he appeared on the ‘Tap In With TT’ podcast, hosted by TT Torrez, who also serves as HOT 97’s Vice President of Artist and Label Relations and Music Director. The Queens rapper talked about many topics, including Irv Gotti’s death, the Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud, and his beef with 50 Cent.
When asked by TT Torrez what he thinks Drake should do now, amidst all the noise and heat from the beef, Ja Rule, who also has experience with rap beef, said he believes everyone’s opposition to Drake is more of a cultural issue than a hip-hop one.
“Drake’s in a position right now, and I’ve noticed the position well. He’s in a position where 2+2 is like adding up to 7, and he just doesn’t understand it. He’s like, how can I be the hottest motherfucker for 10 years, and now everybody wants me to lose? So he’s not understanding the dynamics of that… It’s crazy because it’s a cultural thing more than a hip-hop thing. Black culture and community are tough.”
Ja Rule has his own experience when it comes to rap beef, as he has been involved in several feuds with the likes of 50 Cent, DMX, Eminem, Kurupt, Foxy Brown, Lil’ Mo, and many others. His most notable beef, which has been ongoing for 26 years, is the one with 50 Cent, which, according to Ja Rule, started because of a video shoot in Queens. He claims 50 Cent did not like Ja Rule “getting so much love” from the neighborhood.
The 49-year-old rapper’s beef with 50 Cent had a similar effect to Drake’s situation in the Kendrick Lamar beef. The feud overshadowed his music and also damaged his image, with most hip-hop fans seeing 50 Cent as the winner. These factors, coupled with bad business decisions and legal issues, led to the rapper’s massive decline.
Ja Rule, however, believes his beef with 50 Cent would’ve taken a different direction if social media had existed when it started.
“I kind of wish I had the internet when I had my beef going on,”
Ja said,
“They would’ve seen things in real-time, you know what I’m saying? They would’ve seen who this guy is in real-time, and then it would have been a different outlook on what this is. You would’ve been like, ‘Oh, now I get it. This guy’s a f***ing fraud.’ You don’t get a chance to see that, feel that.”
He continued,
“Nowadays, with the internet, sometimes you get to feel too much. With the Drake and the Kendrick beef, you got these guys that break down the whole f***ing battle lyric for lyric. I don’t know if this is good or bad … We just live in a different time right now.”
Ja’s beef with 50 Cent has resulted in a loss of respect in the eyes of the Hip Hop community as many people regularly bring up his defeat to disrespect him, which is almost the same situation that Drake is facing now after the Kendrick Lamar beef.
