Ja Rules responded to Melle Mel’s claims in a recent interview that Ja Rule copied 50 Cent’s style by trying to sound “hard” on his track, “New York”, during the height of their beef.
“Mel’s earned the right to say whatever he wants. But me copying 50 is like the funniest sh-t ever ’cause 50 copied me. You know what I’m sayin’? I was his blueprint … I don’t know how Mel got that timeline f-cked up but everybody know that.”
He continued, “But other than that, my ‘New York’ record was huge…humongous. One of the biggest New York records to date. ‘Empire State of Mind’ is a huge New York record as well but they’re different. Mine’s the street anthem and ‘Empire State of Mind’ is a big commercial kind of record with Alica Keys and Jay-Z. Mines is me, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, its gutter. A hundred guns, a hundred clips. Big shout to KRS-One. You know, that’s his lyric.”
J Rule’s singing style of rap made him popular before Fif burst into the mainstream.