Ja Rule vs. 50 Cent: The Beef That Just Won’t Die!
It looks like Ja Rule is back at it again, reigniting his legendary feud with 50 Cent. After all these years, Ja is still claiming that 50 was the one scared of him—not the other way around. But is he really about that life, or is this just another desperate attempt to stay relevant by name-dropping 50?
Hip-hop heads know that 50 and Ja’s beef is one of the most infamous rivalries in rap history. Most thought 50 had long buried Ja’s career, but now Ja is spinning a whole new narrative, claiming there’s more to the story than the streets know.
So, what exactly did Ja say? And is there any truth to his claims that 50 was actually scared of him? Or is he just reaching for attention? Let’s break it down.
Ja Rule: “Our Beef Is Bigger Than Jay-Z & Nas!”
Ja recently sat down for an interview and boldly claimed that his feud with 50 Cent deserves a top spot in hip-hop beef history.
“Our hip-hop beef has got to be top three. You got Biggie and Pac, Jay-Z and Nas… and me and 50? I’d put me and 50’s over Jay and Nas.”
And if that wasn’t petty enough, Ja also took to social media to announce that his New Year’s resolution for 2025 is to be extra petty. He wasted no time proving it, throwing shade at 50’s Las Vegas residency after a music critic bashed 50’s performance. Ja piled on, commenting, “Not the worst,” alongside laughing emojis.
Then, in a recent interview on Math Hoffa’s podcast, Ja doubled down on his claim that he was never scared of 50—despite what people might think.
“At the same time, when people talk about our history and my beef with 50 Cent, all I hear is, ‘Well, 50 tried to get me. He did this, he did that to me.’ Well, I can have a problem with them for the rest of my life, too.”
“So if we did all this and did all that, then how the hell am I the one who’s supposed to be scared? How am I the coward? If I go looking for the guy I have a problem with and handle my problem, does that sound like someone who’s scared?”
50 Cent’s Savage Clapback
Of course, 50 Cent wasn’t about to let this slide. Fans know 50 is the king of trolling, and he’s always got receipts. Remember when he bought the first four rows at Ja’s concert just so they’d be empty?
“They were on Groupon for $15. It wasn’t a big deal,” 50 laughed in an interview.
And let’s not forget their awkward run-in on a flight. 50 recalled how Ja just happened to be on the same plane, and instead of avoiding him, he made sure Ja felt his presence.
“I kept getting up and moving around, just making him uncomfortable, ’cause I knew he was nearby,” 50 said.
The Atlanta Fight: Who Really Won?
This feud has been brewing for over 25 years, and there are plenty of stories about physical run-ins between the two.
Ja recently told Piers Morgan that he and 50 already fought—years ago—and he won.
“That’s already happened, Piers. You gotta do your research, man.”
When asked who won, Ja didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely me, Piers. Come on.”
But 50’s longtime friend Tony Yayo tells a different story. According to Yayo, there was a fight in Atlanta where 50 knocked Ja out.
“Ja Rule and them? We were there. Chaz was there. This was after 50 got murked. I don’t believe you. Black Child and them? KO.”
So, who’s really telling the truth? Is Ja trying to rewrite history, or does he have a point? One thing’s for sure—this beef isn’t cooling down anytime soon.
Who do you think won the war: Ja Rule or 50 Cent? Let us know!
If you need a refresher on how this legendary beef started, let’s take it all the way back to 1999.
Ja Rule was robbed at gunpoint while filming a music video in Southside Jamaica, Queens. Later, in his biography From Pieces to Weight, 50 Cent revealed that one of his own friends was behind the robbery.
“A friend of mine robbed Ja Rule. That’s how the beef originally started. My man took his chain, and then this guy named Brown came and got it back.”
50 even mocked Murder Inc.’s signature chant, making it clear who he was coming for. Not long after, things got physical between the two in Atlanta. During the scuffle, both of their chains were snatched, and one of 50’s crew members ended up with Ja’s pendant.
According to 50, a deal was later made to return the pendant in exchange for a Mado watch. But Ja denied this ever happened, claiming 50 had nothing to do with his chain being taken.
“That was 50’s version of the story—he had, I guess, taken your chain, and someone traded him a watch to get it back.”
“You know what I’m talking about. I’ve heard this story.”
“You’ve heard this story, and it’s foolery, you know what I’m saying? That’s why I’m like—this [ __ ] tells… He’s good at what he does. He tells stories. I call him MC Gusto. You ever seen CB4?”
“CB4?”
“Yeah, that—that’s who he is in real life.”
No matter whose version of events you believe, this moment ignited one of hip-hop’s most infamous and petty feuds.
The Hit Factory Incident
Fast forward to March 2000—word got out that 50 was recording at the Hit Factory in NYC. Ja and his crew decided to pull up, things got heated, and 50 ended up getting stabbed. Ja and Murder Inc.’s Black Child were both arrested, with Black Child later claiming he acted in self-defense.
But 50 never made a big deal out of it.
“I didn’t even go to the hospital. Those scratches only needed three stitches. I just went home. Then I’m on the radio hearing, ‘I went to the hospital.’ That? Just two scratches. That’s all [ __ ] could do to me? They always make it bigger than it is.”
The Rise of Wanksta
Of course, the drama didn’t stop there.
In 2002, 50 signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Shady/Aftermath and dropped the No Mercy, No Fear mixtape with G-Unit. That’s when Wanksta came out—a track widely believed to be aimed at Ja Rule. The song blew up, hitting No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and setting the stage for 50’s takeover.
Meanwhile, after the Hit Factory altercation, Irv Gotti accused 50 of signing an order of protection against Ja and Murder Inc., implying he wasn’t as street as he claimed. The order was real, but the NYPD issued it automatically—not at 50’s request. Still, Ja Rule ran with the narrative, posting the paperwork online and calling 50 a rat.
The Diss War Escalates
50 wasn’t about to let that slide.
On The Future Is Now G-Unit mixtape, he fired back with multiple Murder Inc. disses. Then, in February 2003, he dropped Get Rich or Die Tryin’, featuring Back Down—a brutal track that mocked Ja’s entire image and questioned Murder Inc.’s street credibility.
Ja hit back two months later with Loose Change, not just dissing 50, but taking shots at G-Unit, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, and even Chris Lighty. He called 50 a snitch, used a homophobic slur against Dre, made wild accusations about Em and his crew, and even dissed Em’s daughter, Hailie.
Eminem, 50, and Busta Rhymes retaliated with Hail Mary, a track that straight-up ridiculed Ja’s obsession with Tupac. All three rappers took turns tearing him down.
Ja tried to regain momentum with his fifth album, Blood in My Eye, shifting to a more aggressive sound. But the move backfired. The album flopped, failing to reach the success of Pain Is Love or The Last Temptation, marking the beginning of the end for his reign.
A full decade later, in a 2013 Hot 97 interview, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti finally admitted what fans had long suspected—Murder Inc. lost the war with 50 Cent.
“Do you think, looking back, that you guys took an L?”
“Yeah, we took an L,” Irv confessed. “But listen, when you’re in the middle of it, you’re fighting to survive. I remember sitting in my office with Ru when Flex was about to drop In Da Club. The moment it played, I looked at Ru and said, ‘Yo, we got a major problem.’”
“You really said that?”
“Absolutely. And now, years later, we can talk about it openly. We lost that battle. But people take L’s—it’s what you do after that matters. You keep swinging, you keep fighting.”
Even with Ja admitting defeat, 50 wasn’t ready to let it go. At Hot 97’s Summer Jam in 2014, he trolled him yet again, performing his diss track I Smell P**y to remind everyone who came out on top.
Ja, of course, took the bait, reigniting the drama in his memoir, Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man. In it, he doubled down on claims that 50 tipped off the feds, leading to the federal investigation into Murder Inc. 50 denied it, but he didn’t stop trolling. At one point, Ja lost it and went on a wild Twitter rant, saying he “owned 50’s soul” and calling him his b*h.
Ja even wrote:
“Let’s be clear—I mind my business, but for some reason, 50 Cent keeps my name in his mouth. I think he’d rather have my d** in his mouth. LMAO.”*
That’s when 50 pulled one of his pettiest moves yet—buying 200 tickets to Ja’s show just so the seats would be empty. He even posted a Photoshopped pic of himself sitting alone in an empty venue.
At this point, their beef has lasted longer than most marriages, and neither seems ready to wave the white flag. Right now, 50 is busy going after Big Meech, so Ja may not even be on his radar. But knowing 50, if he thinks it’s worth responding to, he’ll make sure it’s a spectacle.
So, what do you think? Is Ja genuinely trying to settle old scores, or is he just chasing attention? And will 50 even bother clapping back this time?