Ja Rule To Give Fans A Break From His Music

[.:Hercy Buggz:.]

We've seen it happen to plenty of labels — Bad Boy, Cash Money, No Limit, Def Jam and Death Row. Label executives ride a wave of commercial success, putting out nothing but hits, only to eventually hit a wall and slide into utter obscurity. While some companies are able to bounce back and be embraced once again by the public, others ultimately fall by the wayside. Murder Inc., home to acts such as Ashanti and Ja Rule, is trying hard to avoid that fate.

Having gone through a bit of a rough patch these past few months — the label is in the middle of an ongoing federal investigation stemming from a raid of its New York offices back in January — company CEO Irv Gotti says he's well aware of the backlash, especially when it comes to his biggest star, Ja Rule (see "Murder Inc. Offices Raided By Feds").

Case in point: Ja's 2002 LP, The Last Temptation, is his lowest selling since his debut, Venni Vetti Vecci, and his current single, "The Reign," isn't getting the record-breaking radio spins the Queens MC has grown accustomed to. On a recent episode of BET's "106 and Park," fans panned the song's video and called for Ja to stop singing so much. To make matters worse, the public has been showing overwhelming support for Rule's lyrical foe, 50 Cent.

"Rule's been out since 1999. He came out in 1999 and we dropped an album every year since [then]," Gotti said Saturday, rationalizing Ja's seemingly fading popularity. "He's been on the radio — probably the most played rap artist [from] 1999 till now. I'll give the people that — maybe y'all want a little break from my man. I'll give you six months. Y'all could ride with whoever. [Regardless of what they say,] it's all good 'cause they talking about my man. As long as y'all talking about my man, we'll deliver."

Gotti says that Rule is going to keep relatively silent during the next half year (Should Ja Rule keep quiet for six months? Take our poll). He's been turning down interviews and the two aren't thinking about dropping Ja's next album until sometime in 2004.

"We're going to come with a double album 'cause [there's] a lot to talk about," Gotti revealed. "We're going go make some records. When the records are finished, the album will come out."


mtv.com

[PLANT]

6 Months isnt even close to long enough.....Their are a handfull of rappers that aint even played out that take 6 months off.....Ja needs to retire.

[Skindiana bon3z]

 ...NO Ja Rule for 6 months....whooo hooooo

[Trauma-san]

I saw that bitch on 106 and park, Free said "This is your last album, right?" and ja said "No, my next album's my last album"... WAY TO MOVE THE GOALPOST BITCH!!!

[Trauma-san]

by the way, didn't somebody tip us off to this months ago? They said that ja was gone at the inc (it was some radio personality)

[Vigilante]

WTF…HE SAID HE WAS MAKING ONLY ONE MORE ALBUM….

[7even]

weird tho, ja's still fuckin young, he could stay in the game for 10 years wit no problem. disgusting.

[White-Chocolate]

ya supposedly he is going to do more movies, what a loser, i didn't mind his songs but then he got to r&b, i honestly think if he makes a double cd, he is going to have to have some hella tight tracks, which we know won't be, secondly he is going to have to drop the price on that shit cuz we all know, no one is going to pay the cost of a double disc album from ja rule, i dont see much support for him on this album when it's released.
peaze

[West Coast Veteran]

Thank god. I hope he retires for good.

[Woodrow]

LOL @ the poll results

nearly 80% said they want him to leave.

[NewJack]

Why does every rapper suddenly think they can act? Only a handful of them can, and it just results in alot of crappy movies with big name stars. Anyways, Ja is the most played rap artist since 1999? That's kinda hard to believe..

[The Watcher]

6 months isnt nearly long enough. people who come out with an album every year or so stay quiet for 6 months. although this is the best news ive had in a while

[Darksider]

Why does every rapper suddenly think they can act? Only a handful of them can, and it just results in alot of crappy movies with big name stars. Anyways, Ja is the most played rap artist since 1999? That's kinda hard to believe..

i believe it...i mean is there another rap artist with so many hitsingles on the radio?

[Jome]

by the way, didn't somebody tip us off to this months ago? They said that ja was gone at the inc (it was some radio personality)

Yeah, Foxy Brown said it..


The punk needs to retire, period !!
(Unless he goes back to his actual rap-roots, which I seriously doubt he will)
And LOL @ MTV calling him a "Queens MC".. they're living in the past..
Correct would be "Westside wannabe Queens diva"

[Trauma-san]

What'd be cool is if he DID release a double as his last album, the extra cost would make it twice as easy to leave in the bin.