Remember the feud between former Billboard chart-topping rappers 50 Cent and Ja Rule? It has picked up steam following Rule’s recent performance at the 2023 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Wednesday, where he reenacted the Flagellation of Christ, to some criticism.
In yet another chapter of their longstanding feud, rapper 50 Cent didn’t miss an opportunity to jab at Ja Rule following his recent performance at Wednesday’s 2023 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.
The award night saw Ja Rule delivering a melodramatic rendition of “One of Us” from his 2000 hit album Rule 3:36. Drawing inspiration from biblical references, Ja Rule tied himself to a wooden column, reminiscent of the Flagellation of Christ (or Scourging at the Pillar). He passionately rendered the verses as backup singers and dancers in robes complemented the display.
However, 50 Cent’s Instagram post seized the internet’s attention. Sharing a clip from Ja Rule’s performance, he sarcastically commented, “👀look at this s*** head, is he supposed to be Jesus. 😆 WTF you can’t make this s*** up. LOL so stupid!”
But Ja Rule hit back at 50, making fun of him in a BET skit from 5 years ago. Also, in a series of since-deleted IG posts, per TMZ, he shared videos of 50 recently throwing a microphone into the crowd, hitting Power 106’s Bryhana Monegain.
“We ain’t forget… Enjoy those criminal charges and lawsuit d***head!!!” he wrote, including a close-up of Monegain’s injuries.
The rift between the two hip-hop icons goes back to 1999 when Ja Rule accused people linked to 50 Cent of robbing him at gunpoint during a music video shoot. In retaliation, 50 Cent, then a member of G-Unit, released “Life’s on the Line,” a diss track targeting Ja Rule and his Murder Inc. label. The animosity escalated further in 2000 following an altercation in an Atlanta nightclub, where 50 Cent alleged Ja Rule’s involvement in orchestrating his stabbing.
Throughout the 2000s, the pair continued exchange diss tracks. While 50 Cent dropped hits like “The Realest Killas,” “Wanksta,” “Hail Mary 2003,” and “Back Down,” Ja Rule retaliated with “Loose Change” and “Clapback.”
In a 2013 interview with New York’s Hot 97, Ja Rule conceded defeat in their musical war to host Angie Martinez, saying he “took the L.” Not one to let bygones be bygones, 50 Cent marked the moment by performing “I Smell P—” at the station’s Summer Jam festival the same year.
Furthermore, 50 Cent capitalized on Ja Rule’s association with the infamous Fyre Festival. He took to Instagram to post a humorous yet now-deleted meme featuring Donald Trump, suggesting the appointment of Ja Rule as the “secretary of festivals.” The caption? A snarky “Can’t do nothing right.”
As their rivalry stretches into another decade, it remains to be seen if there’s any end in sight for the back-and-forth between these two hip-hop legends. But for now, fans and followers are all ears and eyes, waiting for the next move in this enduring game of rap-beef chess.
As user @sabelotrev tweeted, “50 will never give Ja a break.”
