50 Cent and Ja Rule and the Beef Blueprint for Diss Tracks
Back in the 2000s, 50 Cent and Ja Rule had this big feud going on, involving their crews and record labels. It all started with a shooting that messed up 50 Cent, leading to a bunch of diss tracks that became a template for future rap beef. Let’s hit rewind and do a deep dive into the specifics. It could just be a rabbit hole, or we may finally understand what led 50 Cent to elite-level trolling. Bottom line: it’s about to get entertaining.
The year was 1999 and Ja Rule was robbed at gunpoint in Queens. Allegedly by one of 50 Cent’s crew members. Soon after this two apparently got into a club beef which led to 50 Dropping a diss track. Fast forward about a year and the pair along with their respective crews engaged in yet another club beef. This time the altercation moved from New York to Atlanta. It seems like the location played little role in any of this considering these two artists and labels seem to be the first recorded historical records of “on sight.” This brings us to Hit Factory studios circa 2000 where another of their notorious altercations ended in 50 Cent getting stabbed by Black Child. After this, the beef was mostly jokes, allegations, and stories of Hip Hop Past.
For years fans new to Hip Hop have wondered about the roots of this beef because they only caught the remnants of petty online comments and diss tracks forgotten in the crates. Around 2013 Ja Rule actually admitted that he felt 50 won their beef. A day I’d never thought I’d see in Hip Hop.