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the reawakening of ja rule

guys

spending a night with older, wiser rapper

A crowd of highly sexualized young socialites screams as the rapper Ja Rule steps on stage at Up & Down nightclub in lower Manhattan. Wearing all black with a thick gold chain, the man exudes power and influence, busting out every one of his former hits with enough bravado to rival Kanye. Somehow, Ja Rule still has the magic touch. Most of the people in the audience grew up listening to his music, so now theyโ€™re chanting back verses whenever Ja extends his mic in the air. Iโ€™m standing at an elevated VIP booth sipping Grey Goose with a 23-year-old CEO as well as a dozen or so supermodels, all of us smiling at how this bizarre evening has turned out.

Ja Rule rose to prominence in the wake of hip-hopโ€™s most violent era, dominating the late โ€™90s and early 2000s with top Billboard hits that still play in virtually every nightclub throughout America. When Ja was on top, he was king, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Jay-Z, R. Kelly, and Jennifer Lopez. But after the decline of Irv Gottiโ€™s Murder Inc. (Jaโ€™s label), a highly publicized feud with 50 Cent, and time spent in prison for gun charges and tax evasion, the rapper fell off. It didnโ€™t help that he turned down the opportunity to reprise his role in the second installment of the Fast and Furious franchise. Dave Chappelle and Aziz Ansariโ€™s respective standup bits โ€œWhere is Ja Rule?โ€ found eager audiences, echoing the publicโ€™s amusement in Jaโ€™s absence and sudden career burnout.

The first word that comes to mind now seeing him on stage is hardened. Despite being tonightโ€™s opening act behind ILoveMakonnen, and standing only 5โ€™6 at 39 years old (ancient in rapper years), Ja is in full control of himself and his audience. Every movement is calculated, but also somewhat catatonic. When he busts out โ€œHolla Holla,โ€ his voice sounds raspier than usual, worn down with age.

As he commands the crowd, constructing everyoneโ€™s experience from beginning until end, Ja makes sure to give credit where credit is due, talking up the release of ILoveMakonnenโ€™s new mixtape and occasionally reciting the chorus from โ€œTuesday.โ€ When he closes with โ€œLivin it Up,โ€ itโ€™s obvious to everyone heโ€™s a man who just wants to enjoy himself. Even more impressive is his humility. As soon as Ja walks off stage, he blends into the crowd, letting the headliner become the nightโ€™s shining star. Itโ€™s almost as if heโ€™s passing the torch to a younger generation, smiling as he watches the inevitability of time play out.

Back at our table, Ja remains a powerful presence without ever becoming the center of attention. Blessed to have come so far, there is no ego or bullshitโ€”those days of resentment and beef are long gone. At its core, rapping is a young manโ€™s game, and at some point, artists grow up to focus on the bigger picture: love, family, and legacy. In Jaโ€™s case, prison was the catalyst for this change, putting into perspective his true faults while allowing him to reflect on his identity and spirituality.

Following his release, Ja saw the world with new eyes. Now sober and a born-again Christian, the rapper is taking on projects that challenge him as both an artist and businessman. He started writing screenplays, producing television, pursuing various business deals, and acting in several feature-length films (including the strange independent Christian drama Iโ€™m in Love with a Church Girl).

Later this year, heโ€™ll star alongside his family on MTV reality show Follow the Rules. โ€œFollow the Rules is real fun,โ€ Ja laughs. โ€œMy kids are crazy. Itโ€™s not 100 percent clean cut. My kids are being kids, and Iโ€™m being Dad. Itโ€™s a good show. Itโ€™s a family show, you know?โ€ Executive produced by Queen Latifah and Irv Gotti, the series is a playful look at Jaโ€™s relationship with his wife and his children, a definite standout amidst all the viral content the network rehashes.

In December, heโ€™ll also star alongside Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and John Cena in the raunchy comedy Sisters. โ€œItโ€™s all about rhythm,โ€ explains Ja when I ask how he applies the lessons heโ€™s learned in music to acting. โ€œIn music, you have to have your rhythm when youโ€™re listening to a track and laying your vocals over it. And then when youโ€™re acting, you have to have that rhythm between the actors. You balance off each other; you feed off each other. You have to have that rhythm where you donโ€™t get caught in-between the lines like a deer in headlights.โ€

On May 7, Ja appeared on the television show Fox Business to discuss, among other things, Magnises, a credit card service for which he has become Creative Head and spokesman. Magnises, a company that bills itself as โ€œan exclusive Black Card with special perks & VIP access for millennials,โ€ was founded by 23-year-old college-dropout-turned-CEO Billy McFarland.

Ja Rule has written a feature screenplay titled The Council about the illuminati. When asked whether or not he believes in the organization, he laughs and dodges the question without outright dodging it. โ€œI believe in circles of success. I believe people have their own circles of success and theyโ€™re own little cliques. What Billy has with Magnises is a circle of success.โ€

Last summer, the CEO flew Ja Rule out on a helicopter for a surprise concert in The Hamptons for Magnises members. Theyโ€™re also collaborating on a few future projects, though nothingโ€™s been explicitly stated yet. Whatever the case may be, the friendship is indicative of Jaโ€™s transition into the world of venture capitalism. โ€œOnce you make some money, then you want to know how to make your money work for you, rather than you working for it. Thatโ€™s when you start figuring out that you need to own things. I need to own my masters. I need to own my screenplays. I need to produce and be the guy behind the scenes who has actual ownership of these properties in order to make money in the long run.โ€

To Ja Rule, power means โ€œownership,โ€ but it also requires foresight. โ€œWe all have eyes, but not everyone has vision. You have to have that vision to see whatโ€™s going to be hot tomorrow. I think thatโ€™s what makes people great: being able to see what the public needs and wants tomorrow, not today,โ€ he says. In the โ€™90s, Ja conveyed this vision through music, infusing R&B and hip-hop into a layered production process that churned out some of the decadeโ€™s biggest club bangers. Where will his vision take him, 20 years later? Hard to say, but with acting, writing, television production, and music under his belt, heโ€™s already proven himself to be one of the stronger entrepreneurs to come out of the rap game.

After being dragged through hell and back, Ja Rule is older, wiser, and all the more ready to leave his mark upon the world. โ€œI want to leave something that lasts beyond my life. I want to leave a body of work that will live on beyond me.โ€

Photo courtesy of Balenciaga / Photo via @McDonaldsSverige Instagram

I'm cackling

Last year, Balenciaga released bright red square-toed mules which bore a striking resemblance to McDonald's french fry cartons. Now, the chain has fired back at the designer, threatening to release its own version of the shoes.

McDonald's Sweden posted a photo to its Instagram of a person wearing actual McDonald's fry cartons as shoes, and honestly, if there weren't yellow M's printed onto them, I'd have a hard time distinguishing them from the Balenciagas from a distance. Though the post doesn't directly reference the Balenciaga shoes, one can only assume that's who they are trolling.

McDonald's version actually makes for some pretty fly slip-ons, if you ask me. Good thing the Swedish branch of Mickey D's seems to be considering releasing the shoes if the post receives enough attention. The caption of the Instagram post translates to, "If we get 103042 likes we release these for real," though it only has about 17,000 as of publish time. These would likely cost much less than the Balenciaga shoes, which cost $545.

Internet, do your thing. I want a pair.

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Photo by Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images.

It marks her third duet with Nas

Here are some words that I never expected to read or hear again: There is a new song with Amy Winehouse. But here we are in 2019, and Salaam Remi has granted me a wish. On Valentine's Day, the Grammy-nominated producer and frequent Winehouse collaborator (also responsible for hits like Miguel's "Come Through & Chill") released "Find My Love" which features rapper Nas and that powerful and haunting voice that I have come to love and cherish so dearly.

Representatives for Remi said that the Winehouse vocals were from an old jam session the two had. Remi was a producer on both of Winehouse's albums, Frank and Back to Black. "Find My Love" marks the third time Winehouse and Nas have done duets under the direction of Remi. They were previously heard together on "Like Smoke," a single from her 2011 posthumous album Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures, and "Cherry Wine" from Nas' 2012 album Life Is Good. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011, before they could complete production on her third album. My heart is still broken about it as she is by far my favorite artist.

"Find My Love" is set to appear on Remi's Do It for the Culture 2, a collection of songs curated by him. Check it out, below.

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