Jeffrey's father left the family when he was very young. Ja Rule was born Jeffrey Bruce Atkins on February 29, 1976, to Debra and William Atkins in Hollis, a section of the Queens borough of New York City. Due to his hits with his collaborators, Ja Rule has earned four Grammy nominations, and has had six top-ten albums, two of which, Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001), topped the US Billboard 200. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to Murder Inc. Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 'Between Me and You' with Christina Milian, 'I'm Real (Murder Remix)' and 'Ain't It Funny' with Jennifer Lopez, which both topped the US Billboard Hot 100, the Grammy-nominated #1 hit 'Always on Time' with Ashanti, 'Mesmerize' with Ashanti, and 'Wonderful' with R.

From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had multiple hits that made the top 20 of the U.S. Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor from Queens, New York.īorn in Hollis, Queens, he debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single 'Holla Holla'.