When did Ja Rule jump the shark?

[WiseGuyy]

50 Cent- Back Down

I think that was the start of his demise

 

[KnowReasonForPeace]

when he refused to do anything but pop records and all that singing shit.i understand he wanted commercial success but abandoning being a rapper to sing though? fuck all that. R.U.L.E album was the end for him imo.

 

[tharealest561]

People can say when he started singing, but he's always crooned songs.

To be more precise, I think it was in the summer of 2002 when the oversaturation started to be the problem. His formula was working but he was all over everything and really was setting himself up for the kill.

That combined with the increase in Tupac biting and the rise of 50 on the underground started the snowball effect against him.

 

[trilladelic]

the "grease" themed video. i think that was his point of no return. that or that record he did with bobbi brown.

 

[tharealest561]

People can say when he started singing, but he's always crooned songs.

To be more precise, I think it was in the summer of 2002 when the oversaturation started to be the problem. His formula was working but he was all over everything and really was setting himself up for the kill.

That combined with the increase in Tupac biting and the rise of 50 on the underground started the snowball effect against him.

funny because shortly after wayne supersaturated the market and most credit his success to that era of omnipresence

I don't know how Wayne managed that because he artistically peaked IMO in 2006-07. but I think the game was stronger as a whole in 2002, where you had to be on your shit in order to stay on top.

 

[Kellmill]

The song Mesmerize with Ashanti was the first nail in the coffin. Homie was straight singing, dressed up like the characters in Grease. Right around that time is when 50 blew up, and that was the perfect time for him to do so.

 

[Trollio]

When he did movies

Scust

 

[Stew]

When somebody clowned him for the "WHAT WOULD I BE WITHOUT YOOOUUUU" shit lol I forgot who and where it came from cause high as shit right now but yea he started to go overboard with the pop songs is what got him in trouble. He always did it but kept it at a minimum at first.

 

[5th Letter]

Ja Rule jumped the shark IMO when he dropped that song with Bobby Brown. That shit was wack.

 

[Lab Baby]

"Ja, what's with this new look?"... that very moment was the end of Ja.

 

[Turfaholic]

When he reached the top, nowhere else to go but down

 

[B.BeST]

he crushed himself, with him feeling himself something ridiculous he let fif slip thru thinkin fans would side ride wit him regardless..... he underestimated fickle fans and what fif had in storefor their whole team.....

 

[B.BeST]

the niggas gas tank was on full, straight premium bullshit though, instead of puttin him up on game niggas sat back watched and let him tank out..........

this is when I was in love wit this hip hop shit to death, I have over 300 rap magazines xxl/th source and the majority are from 00-07, this shit is vivid.....

dude was gassed up and got blindsided by everything around him, the anger u heard in "blood in my eye" was the angry wake up call he never recovered from....

 

[MR.CJ]

Sion with the ether

 

[nohiphop1]

Yall dudes funny. There's been many like yall in society trying to re-write history.

50 ended Ja Rule. NO other theory.

 

[Trigga T]

When 50, Em & Busta killed him on that Hail Mary remix.

 

[almighty breeze]

After Always There When You Call hip hop heads were about done enjoying & it went "tolerating" to "annoyed" the problem was Ja was at his most popular then. He basically went viral that summer when Cedric & other comedians starting mimicing him & he reached that Tom Joyner crowd (our aunts & uncles) mixed with the Kidz Bop/TRL oversaturation

it was Down 4 U; Thug Loving; that awful song with Case that ruined a Stevie sample; various features for Ashanti & Cadillac Tah (lol!) the afro mention terrible Pac impressions and the identity crisis. Just putting out nonsense b/c he could. he did everything Wayne did in 07 but it led to his crucifixition where as with Wayne everyone wanted to eat off his plate

by the time 50 came around late that summer there were already a lot of people tired of him they were just alone in the room. 50 bartered a truce fanbase just by goin at that nigga to a lot of people. He basically became the 1st nigga in the neighborhood to beat up Debo

 

[YamoleySensei]

That Rainy Days ballad with Mary J. was the catalyst to his downfall....

 

[KNiGHTS]

I see a lot of good points, but everybody's forgetting he lowkey took career advice from fucking AJ on 106 and Park. I remember Ja being on there like, "I think I need to fall back from this singing shit" in so many words, and dude was like, "Nah, that's hot! I been told you that you need to do a whole album just singing." Crowd kinda fed into the idea too, if I recall correctly.

Ja was like "nah," but he proceeded to drop more and more sing song bullshit like it was a good idea.

With that said, I think he recognized his downfall was coming, but he was on those highest paid entertainer lists a lot back then with 20+ mill years. I don't know too many dudes gonna be like, "Let me switch this up."

 

[CirocObama]

People can say when he started singing, but he's always crooned songs.

To be more precise, I think it was in the summer of 2002 when the oversaturation started to be the problem. His formula was working but he was all over everything and really was setting himself up for the kill.

That combined with the increase in Tupac biting and the rise of 50 on the underground started the snowball effect against him.

Same shit i was about to say. Still remember it like yesterday that i started to become tired of that type of music he was doing at that exact time. Never hated or disliked him tho.

People always say shit about the whole 2pac biting or whatever. Wanna keep it 100? I've always thought that was Irv Gotti's idea. If you've listened to Irv he seems to always be hard on Suge & 2pac's dick. I think that is why he was able to finally get X & Ja deals at Def Jam right after Biggie & 2pac's death. I think that was one of many things X didn't like about Irv doing. Irv tried to make them become 2pac cronies & himself become Suge. But i never felt X sounded like 2pac & he had been rapping longer than 2pac as well. Ja? Meeh..maybe. Not too much imo. Maybe image wise. But i definitely think that was what Irv was trying to do with the marketing of X & image of Ja.