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Photo Credit: Christopher Smith/Invision/AP
Ja Rule Wants to Square Off Against 50 Cent in a Verzuz Instagram Live Battle
Ja promised Fat Joe and Swizz Beatz he would behave.
Until live events and concerts are once again open to the public, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's Verzuz series will have to fill the void. On Sunday, Ja Rule announced his willingness to participate in another potential battle.
While Fat Joe was broadcasting live with Swizz Beatz, Ja Rule called Joe to deliver the news. "Ja Rule is saying he loves hip-hop first and foremost," Joe told Swizz. "He wants to do this for the culture."
READ: Ja Rule Releases "FYRE," A Song About His Involvement in the Disastrous Fyre Festival
"Tell Ja to send me the 20 [songs]," Swizz responded. Joe then put Ja on speakerphone to speak directly to Swizz. "I want all the smoke!" Ja responded confidently. "I'll behave!"
50 Cent, however, has no interest in restoring the feeling. After catching wind of Ja's interest, he went straight to Instagram. He posted a meme of Ja Rule as a homeless person, holding a sign Photoshopped to say "I will battle 50 Cent for attention." "Stupid," the caption read, along with the hashtag #fyrefestival."
On Tuesday afternoon, Ja Rule responded on Instagram and Twitter. "I just wanna say that it's all love from my side," he wrote. "Never scared to compete I was asked would I do a verzuz with 50 and I said of course I dont back down...I stand by my catalog and the records I've written for others I LOVE HIP HOP...#fortheculture."
Ja Rule and 50's long-standing beef began in the late 1990s. In addition to multiple altercations between the two's associates, they traded insults on wax and on radio stations for years. 50's labelmates Eminem and Obie Trice joined in on the action as well.
READ: Ja Rule Put a Curse on the Minnesota Timberwolves After Bombing a Halftime Performance
Both Ja and 50 have been pretty quiet on the musical front as of late. In the last few years, Ja Rule has been more notable for his involvement in the ill-fated Fyre Festival. On the other hand, 50 Cent's been in the news for his forays into television and oft-problematic Instagram commentary. Earlier this year, he announced his plans to executive produce a posthumous album for deceased Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke.
