Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976 in Queens, New York), better known b… Read Full Bio ↴Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976 in Queens, New York), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer and actor signed to his own label Mpire Records. He began his career in the group Cash Money Click and released his debut solo album, Venni Vetti Vecci, in 1999. He has since released 2000's Rule 3:36, 2001's Pain Is Love, 2002's The Last Temptation, 2003's Blood in My Eye and 2004's R.U.L.E. He now plans to release his seventh studio album, Venni Vetti Vecci 2010, sometime later this year.

He is best-known for hits "Put It On Me", "Between Me And You", "Wonderful" and for being associated with Jay-Z as a part of The Murderers. Ja Rule has sold over 20 Million albums worldwide and has released six albums with one on the way. His best-selling albums are Pain Is Love and Rule 3:36. Ja Rule has beefed with rappers DMX, 50 Cent, The Game, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, and Eminem.

Early life:

He attended Junior High School in Floral Park, New York, where he met his future wife Aisha Murray and they graduated in 1991. They attended Martin Van Buren High School together but he did not graduate. When Atkins was five years old, his sister died from respiratory problems. Growing up in a strict religious home, Atkin's family did not celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and as a child, was not allowed to listen to rap music. When he first heard it, he decided to be a rapper. He would sneak the music into his house and played it on his CD player when his mother wasn't around. Atkins is married to his high school sweetheart, Aisha Atkins née Murray.They have three children: Brittney (11), Jeffrey Junior (6) and Jordan (3).He and his family live in a mansion in New Jersey.

Rise to Fame:

At age 15, Atkins appeared with 0-1 and Chris Black as part of Cash Money Click. This would lead to him being signed by TVT Records in 1994. He would end up being heard by a young DJ who called himself DJ Irv, then later Irv Gotti. Gotti, was a friend of Jay-Z's and he was also a DJ for Def Jam Recordings. During the mid 90s his main priority was meeting Ja Rule. He wanted to sign Ja to his new label Murder Inc. Records. He wanted Ja because of his distinct deep voice. After Irv was able to sign Ja along with DMX and Jay-Z to Def Jam. He began to have an idea that they all work together. They formed a group named The Murderers. They recorded many songs together. Friction tore the group apart, DMX, a rapper that sounds very similar to Ja accused him of trying to steal his style with the deep voice, by saying that before the three were signed Ja tried to make his voice sound lighter but heard him embrace the deep voice and tried to imitate it. They had planned to release an album together, but this idea was scrapped and they all made appearances on their respective albums. Still, around this time, Ja Rule was still fairly unknown. Jay-Z, at the time a young star and new to Def Jam, was the most popular rapper in hip hop. Russell Simmons had the idea that in order to build hype around Ja Rule and capitalize on Jay's popularity that Ja Rule do a verse on Jay-Z's 1998 single Can I Get A..., which also featured Amil. Ja's performance of the verse made him a household name and he became an instant star and by the release of his album a year later he was one of Def Jam Recordings premier acts.

Exodus
Ja Rule Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In case you don't know the call me Loc, short for L O K I
I'm speck for rule saying his last goodbye
This is Exodus, this been a hell of a ride
From Vinni Venni Vicci to Blood In His Eye

In the next plan in time I've seen the rock split
In the ride it?s as rough as the ride gets
And you know that they all want to murder The Inc

But they can't kill us and now we got to finish these niggaz

And if finish it means murder
(Murder, murder, murder)
([Unverified])
So be it

Last that I recall, they tried to murder the God mimic my style
Then leave them in memory of
But smile, some memories lost, the new identity was born
And no, this ain't a movie, dog
This is murder
(Murder, murder, murder)
And you need a second for me

Yo Gotti, I make the hits, you just give me the nod
But the air play the gun, play from New York to L.A.
The S.K's will make these niggaz spin like Pirelli's
We had some good years but I'm tired and ya niggaz despierin'

And trying to put the dalce to the fire, it?s like an episode of the wire
The only difference is the vengeance is taking us in real life
Now, everybody wanna look at us and think twice
And point there fucking fingers like damn the bad guys

why?all nigga?s don't know, we them niggaz, man
Murder INC we done bin through it all done n seen it all
There ain't nothin' you can tell me, nigga
I just wanna let y'all know man I've been through so many things

N if it wasn't for the way I live life
Would a nigga pray every night to Christ?
Jesus I'm just asking
'Coz my prayers never seem to get answered

Ma mama didn't raise no bastard
I was born with the talent you can't touch
I call magic, you call it music once it get remastered
I got with Gotti started makin' classics

It?s murder, it?s the courses of traffic
Trust was my only niggaz force of habit
At the time in the game everything was average
Pac catches die, big catches die
And my nigga had a plan to keep Def Jam alive

First he sign D then he sign me
Then he introduced Jay and the rest is history
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the misery
Reminiscin' the Spike Lee them was the school days
We graduated with A's

But these niggaz make you wanna bring out the are's and AK's
And till they back up 'coz that what they gave us
When they read the vendikas and various papers
But no heart, no foul y'all, niggaz is funny style anyway
Now, we go hard shit till the edge

that's a good question though, see I don't understand
Why they would think what they thinking about
It's just not the case though I love my niggaz that's all I'm guilty of
And that all that I ever was guilty of is the love for my niggaz

It's all good though I ain't stressing that shit man
Sometimes God has to put you through things
That bring out the best, very in who you are nigga

Sam said it to me, he said, "Sometimes greatness

Is not what you accomplish, it's what you overcome"
Still breathin', feel me?

Overall Meaning

In Ja Rule's Exodus, he reminisces about his time in the industry, the ups and downs, the alliances and betrayals, and his journey as a musician. He starts with introducing himself as Loc and bidding farewell on Rule's behalf. He goes on to describe his experience in the industry, with Vinni Venni Vicci being his debut album and Blood In His Eye being his fifth. He goes on to talk about the rough ride and the attempts to bring The Inc down, but despite it all, they managed to stay alive till the end. He talks about the memories lost in the process as they had to create a new identity to survive the attacks. With lines like, "And you need a second for me," Ja seems to be asking for sympathy and understanding from his audience. He acknowledges that he had some good years, but he's now tired and wants to leave the industry.

Ja then brings up Yo Gotti, the rapper he collaborated with on this track. He talks about how he makes hits and how they play on radio stations in New York to LA. He describes the weapons that they have at their disposal, S.K.'s, making the enemies spin like Pirelli tires. He mentions that they're tired of being targeted and persecuted and how the only difference between them and the bad guys on TV is that they're living this in real life.

The song then takes a somber turn as Ja Rule talks about his faith in God, questioning why his prayers never seem to be answered, and admits that he prays every night to Christ. He talks about his mom and being born with a talent that no one can replicate. He goes on to describe his alliance with Gotti and how they made classics together, but the journey was difficult. With lines like, "Thanks for the memories, thanks for the misery," he acknowledges that it was not an easy journey, but it was one that they had to take. They graduated with As, but they had to carry guns to protect themselves, and they did so because that's what their enemies gave them. Ja Rule ends the song with a message about overcoming the difficulties that life throws one's way, acknowledging that greatness lies not in accomplishments but in what one overcomes.

Line by Line Meaning

In case you don't know the call me Loc, short for L O K I
My name is Loc, which is short for L O K I

I'm speck for rule saying his last goodbye
I'm speaking for Ja Rule as he says his final farewell

This is Exodus, this been a hell of a ride
This is the end, and it has been quite a journey

From Vinni Venni Vicci to Blood In His Eye
From Ja Rule's first album to his last

In the next plan in time I've seen the rock split
I have witnessed the impossible happen

In the ride it?s as rough as the ride gets
It has been an incredibly challenging experience

And you know that they all want to murder The Inc
Our enemies want to destroy our record label

But they can't kill us and now we got to finish these niggaz
They have been unsuccessful, and we need to defeat them once and for all

And if finish it means murder
If winning means we need to kill them

(Murder, murder, murder)
So be it

Last that I recall, they tried to murder the God mimic my style
I remember when they tried to kill me and copy my style

Then leave them in memory of
They wanted to leave me as a memory

But smile, some memories lost, the new identity was born
I lost some memories, but I emerged with a new identity

And no, this ain't a movie, dog
This is not a fictional story

This is murder
This is a serious and deadly situation

(Murder, murder, murder)

And you need a second for me
I require your attention

Yo Gotti, I make the hits, you just give me the nod
I produce the music, and you give me your approval

But the air play the gun, play from New York to L.A.
The music we make has a big impact across the country

The S.K's will make these niggaz spin like Pirelli's
Our guns will spin and cause chaos

We had some good years but I'm tired and ya niggaz despierin'
We had success, but I'm tired and our enemies are gaining power

And trying to put the dalce to the fire, it?s like an episode of the wire
Our enemies are trying to put us in a tough spot, much like a scene from 'The Wire'

The only difference is the vengeance is taking us in real life
This is not a fictional story, and we are experiencing real consequences from our enemies

Now, everybody wanna look at us and think twice
People are wary of us and think twice before approaching us

And point there fucking fingers like damn the bad guys
They blame us for everything that goes wrong

why?all nigga's don't know, we them niggiaz, man
They don't understand that we are the ones in control

Murder INC we done bin through it all done n seen it all
Murder Inc. has been through everything and seen everything

There ain't nothin' you can tell me, nigga
You can't tell me anything I don't already know

I just wanna let y'all know man I've been through so many things
I want to make it clear that I have endured many struggles

N if it wasn't for the way I live life
If I didn't live my life the way I do

Would a nigga pray every night to Christ?
Would I still be praying to God every night?

Jesus I'm just asking
I'm just curious

'Coz my prayers never seem to get answered
Because my prayers don't seem to be heard

Ma mama didn't raise no bastard
My mother raised me to be respectable

I was born with the talent you can't touch
I was born with an innate talent that can't be replicated

I call magic, you call it music once it get remastered
I consider my music to be magical, and what you hear once it is remastered

I got with Gotti started makin' classics
I teamed up with Gotti and we created some great music

It?s murder, it?s the courses of traffic
It's deadly and moves quickly like traffic

Trust was my only niggaz force of habit
My only habit was to trust my closest companions

At the time in the game everything was average
At one point, the industry was mediocre

Pac catches die, big catches die
Death is inevitable, even for great artists like Tupac and Biggie

And my nigga had a plan to keep Def Jam alive
My friend had an idea to save Def Jam Records

First he sign D then he sign me
He first signed DMX and then signed me

Then he introduced Jay and the rest is history
He introduced Jay-Z, and the label was never the same

Thanks for the memories, thanks for the misery
Thank you for the enjoyable moments and the difficult times

Reminiscin' the Spike Lee them was the school days
Thinking back to when we worked with Spike Lee felt like school days

We graduated with A's
We succeeded with flying colors

But these niggaz make you wanna bring out the are's and AK's
Our enemies make us feel like we need to use weapons

And till they back up 'coz that what they gave us
We will continue to fight back, as that is what they have given us

When they read the vendikas and various papers
When our enemies read our documents and legal papers

But no heart, no foul y'all, niggaz is funny style anyway
We won't hold back, as our enemies are deceitful and fake

Now, we go hard shit till the edge
We will continue fighting until the end

That's a good question though, see I don't understand
That's a valid question, but I don't get it

Why they would think what they thinking about
I don't understand why they feel the way they do

It's just not the case though I love my niggaz that's all I'm guilty of
Their assumptions are incorrect, and I am only guilty of loving my friends

And that all that I ever was guilty of is the love for my niggaz
Loving my friends is the only thing I have done wrong

It's all good though I ain't stressing that shit man
I'm fine with it and not worried

Sometimes God has to put you through things
God sometimes puts us through difficulties

That bring out the best, very in who you are nigga
These challenges bring out the best in us

Sam said it to me, he said, 'Sometimes greatness
My friend Sam told me that sometimes greatness

Is not what you accomplish, it's what you overcome'
Is not what you do, but what you conquer

Still breathin', feel me?
I'm still alive, do you understand?

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: ANTHONY HAWKINS, FREDERICK CHARLES HAWKINS, IRVING DOMINGO LORENZO, JEFFREY B. ATKINS, SEVEN MARCUS AURELIUS, VEESEE L. VEASEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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