why did dmx and ja rule beef

Why Did DMX and Ja Rule Beef? The Story Behind One of Hip Hop’s Most Infamous Feuds

DMX and Ja Rule were two of the biggest rap stars to emerge in the late 1990s. With their gritty street anthems and distinctive growling deliveries, they took the rap game by storm, captivating fans with their raw, aggressive styles. By the early 2000s, however, tensions arose between the two, culminating in one of hip hop’s most bitter feuds. But what exactly caused the bad blood between DMX and Ja Rule?

The roots of the beef trace back to the beginnings of Ja Rule’s career in the mid-90s At the time, he was an up-and-coming rapper working with Irv Gotti, a producer with ties to DMX and his Ruff Ryders crew. Ja Rule’s early style showed clear influence from DMX – the gruff voice, barked flows, and street-hardened lyrics When Ja Rule broke out commercially with his smash hit album Venni Vetti Vecci in 1999, DMX apparently took offense, feeling that Ja was biting his style and capitalizing on the popularity DMX had created.

On his 1999 song “We Don’t Give a F***,” DMX took direct shots at Ja Rule with lyrics like “You pops was a cop, you ain’t thug…you studio gangsta, rap snitch…” making it known he wasn’t happy with Ja’s emergence using a similar style. For his part, Ja Rule denied biting DMX, claiming his style was simply a product of the times and streets, not anyone’s influence. Still, the damage was done – DMX had drawn first blood, publicly dissing his former associate.

For the next few years things seemed to simmer down between the two. They participated in Irv Gotti’s supergroup Murder Inc alongside Jay-Z for a period appearing together on songs like “It’s Murda” in 2000. But the truce would be short-lived. By 2002, tensions boiled over again after a run-in between DMX and Ja Rule at a nightclub. DMX jumped on a DJ Clue mixtape track “Ruled Out” to viciously diss Ja, mocking his pop songs and threatening violence. Ja initially tried to take the high road, expressing desire to speak with DMX man-to-man rather than spar on records.

DMX wasn’t having it though During a fiery 2003 radio interview, he made it clear he had no interest in making peace with Ja Rule, whom he referred to as a “punk” among other insults Ja finally retaliated, with an interview of his own on Hot 97 where he went in on DMX, calling him “crack man” and accusing him of being jealous of his popularity. The war of words raged on for the next couple years, with DMX making disparaging comments about Ja in interviews and Ja taking shots back.

The root causes of the feud boiled down to a few key factors:

• DMX feeling Ja Rule copied his style as a shortcut to fame
• Resentment from DMX over Ja becoming just as big commercially
• General rivalry and competitiveness between two peers in the same lane
• Bad blood from DMX’s perception that Ja was disloyal by working with Nas, an enemy of DMX’s friend Jay-Z

The feud took perhaps its ugliest turn when DMX collaborated with 50 Cent, Ja Rule’s biggest rival, on the song “Go to Sleep” in 2003. The disrespect and animosity were at an all time high. However, over time the tensions gradually cooled off. They officially made amends at the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, posing together on the red carpet. Though they never became friends, the hatchet was buried.

In the end, the DMX-Ja Rule beef goes down as one of the biggest clashes of egos between rappers during the early 2000s. It was fueled by competition, distrust, bruised egos, and a struggle for dominance in the rap game. Thankfully it stayed confined to records and interviews rather than turn violent. And the two principal figures ultimately matured past it for the betterment of hip hop culture, proving not all rap beefs have to end in tragedy or grudges. Their ability to forgive and make peace, albeit after many years of bad blood, is commendable.