Born in Hollis, Queens, he debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla". From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had multiple hits that made the top 20 of the U.S. 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" also with Ashanti, and "Wonderful" with R. Kelly and Ashanti. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to Murder Inc. Records, which was formerly known as The Inc. Records and was led by Irv Gotti. Due to his hits with his collaborators, Ja Rule has earned four Grammy nominations, and has earned six top-ten albums, two of which Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001), topped the US Billboard 200.\n', '

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. Jeffrey\'s father left the family when he was very young. Atkins was raised as an only child, as his younger sister, Kristen, died in the womb from breathing complications when Atkins was 5. His mother, Debra, was a healthcare worker, and due to the amount of time she spent working, Atkins was largely raised by his grandparents as a Jehovah\'s Witness. Atkins\' mother left the Jehovah\'s Witness religion when he was 12. Atkins began selling drugs at age 12 in Hollis.\n', '

Atkins began his rap career in 1993 with the hip hop group Cash Money Click alongside members Chris Black and O-1.He told Curtis Waller of MTV News that his stage name "Ja Rule" came from a friend who addressed him by that name; other friends called him "Ja". In 1995, he made his first appearance on Mic Geronimo\'s "Time to Build" alongside Jay-Z and DMX, who were also in their early stages of their careers. He also had a brief cameo in the video for "Walk In New York" by Queens hardcore rap group Onyx. In 1998 he had signed with Irv Gotti\'s Murder Inc. Records, an imprint label under Def Jam. Along with Amil, he appeared on Jay-Z\'s hit single "Can I Get A...", for which Ja Rule wrote the hook. It was going to be a Ja Rule solo song, until Jay-Z heard the track.\n', '

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