Rapper Ja Rule brings his The Sunrise Tour to the 3Arena, Dublin on 13 March and SSE Arena, Belfast on 14 March. We asked Ja the BIG questions . . .
This will be his biggest tour to date and it celebrates "25 years of Ja Rule" and the release of his debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci.
"I'm so hyped to reconnect with my fans across the globe and do what I love most, perform live," Ja says. "When I released my debut album 25 years ago, I knew it was only just the beginning and that I was put on this planet to make music and entertain.
"The title of my first album Venni Vetti Vecci means 'I came, I saw, I conquered’, which I have been doing ever since. Get ready Ireland! We have some dope surprises in store! We’re hitting the globe with more dates soon, too!"
Ja Rule, who has scored hits with Always On Time, Ain’t It Funny, Mesmerize and Wonderful, will be joined by American singer and songwriter, Keri Hilson, Lloyd, and performer, actress and dancer, MYA as special performing guests on his tour.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe myself as a chameleon, I'm able to do a lot of different things when it comes to music. Whether it be straight up and down rap with a beat, writing a pop record for Jennifer Lopez, or creating melodic rap records for myself that are cutting edge and groundbreaking like Put it on Me. I'm able to fit into a lot of pockets in the music world.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I have a lot from Run-D.M.C., to EMPD, Big Daddy Kane to Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Jay Z and DMX. Even though people see them as my peers, I studied all these guys, they all popped off before me and I wanted to see what made all these guys special and connect the dots between them, the music, and the audience. They're all different in their own way - from being great flowers, to storytellers to straight out wordsmiths and lyricists. There’s a select few that could do it all and that’s what I aimed to be. I wanted to be an artist that had the capability to do it all on the mic too.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I remember it being more of a party jam street sesh in our neighbourhood in the city. I remember seeing Run-D.M.C. and they basically recreated the song Here We Go in the park. It was a back-and-forth crowd participating feelgood moment. It was only the next week it felt like the song was on the radio. I was like "wow," that’s the first time I felt the power of hip hop and thought, "I could be those guys, they grew up right here." It gives kids hope when they see kids that look like them to achieve great things.
What was the first record you ever bought?
It had to be LL Cool J’s Radio, his debut record, the one with the big radio on it, and the album Bigger and Deffer. I remember being drawn to this album because of the cover of him standing on Andrew Jackson High School because I would go to that high school often growing up. I’d play football games there and it’s not too far from where I live, it resonated with me as a kid.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Right now, my favourite song that I be rocking to is Lovin on Me by Jack Harlow. It's so catchy and has a familiar hook from Whatever (Bass Soliloquy) by Cadillac Dale, that just keeps me singing it. I think it’s brilliant, I like fun hip-hop like this at this point in my life, I just want to listen to the fun stuff.
Favourite lyric of all time?
I'm going to have to go with the line "I got money for war but can’t be poor" from Tupac’s song Keep Ya Head Up.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I don’t know if I could do that, there’s so many great songs out there but, I'll be politically correct here and pick me and my wife's wedding song Love by Musiq Soulchild. I’d say that because it makes me replay the memory of us together over and over again. You know what they say, "A happy wife is a happy life."
Where can people find your music/more information?
I’m on all the platforms, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube. If you want to learn more about the tour, new album or my record label, follow me on X and Instagram @jarule.
Alan Corr
