Ja Rule attends the Kool Kids Foundation Celebrity Golf Outing at Cedar Hill Country Club on July 15, 2025 in Livingston, New Jersey.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jacksonere>> attends the Grand Opening of the brand new Planet Hollywood NYC hosted by Robert Earl, Alec & Hilaria Baldwin, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Boy George on March 11, 2025 in New York City.
Key Takeaways
- Ja Rule reflects on how his feud with 50 Cent fractured New York’s Hip Hop scene.
- He says rap beefs often block collaboration and rarely benefit the culture.
- Ja Rule emphasizes that both he and 50 Cent made lasting contributions to Hip Hop.
Ja Rule is getting candid about one of the biggest rap feuds of all time — his long-running beef with 50 Cent — and how it changed the landscape of New York Hip Hop.
During a new episode of Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, “7PM in Brooklyn,” the “Mesmerize” hitmaker opened up about why he believes rap beefs don’t do the culture any good. "I don't think Hip Hop beefs are good for the culture," he explained. "Big and 'Pac both got killed. Me and 50's s**t was me and 50's s**t. [JAY-Z] and Nas had their thing. You know how much business and things they probably could have did as men if that little rift or tiff didn't happen? Then, you look at Kendrick and Drake, nothing good is coming out of any of these things. What did it ever bring Hip Hop?”
Ja Rule kept it real when bringing it back to his own beef with his fellow Queens native. He went on to say, “Me and 50’s s**t, that s**t f**ked up New York Hip Hop. It really did because it separated a lot of n**gas in New York.”
Ja Rule says both he and 50 Cent deserve respect for their impact
While being transparent about the fallout, he also stood firm in his pride as an artist. “I feel like I was the better rapper,” he said. “I felt like I made the better records. I feel like my records aged better, still. So, that’s how I feel inside. I don’t know how everybody else feels.”
Still, the 49-year-old acknowledged that time has given him perspective. “At the end of the day, you’ve gotta kinda love both or you gotta kinda respect both,” he said of himself and the “Candy Shop” hitmaker. “You don’t gotta love both, but you gotta respect both. You gotta appreciate both, and that’s just what it is.”
Ja Rule and 50 Cent’s feud dragged on for more than two decades, playing out through diss tracks, interviews, and social media. The G-Unit creator fired shots on songs like “Your Life’s on the Line,” “Wanksta,” “Back Down,” and “Hail Mary 2003,” while the Murder Inc. artist responded with records such as “Loose Change,” “Clapback,” and “So Hot.” Even though it’s been a while since they went at it in songs, they’ve kept the feud going online.