Editing Ja Rule (section)

===Solo career and ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' (1995–1999)===
After being dropped from TVT, Ja Rule maintained a close relationship with DJ Irv, who was working as an executive producer for [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]] at the time. DJ Irv, now known as [[Irv Gotti]], was hired as an [[artists and repertoire|A&R]] for the label and was able to get Ja Rule a contract with Def Jam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogg |first=Alex |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Men_Behind_Def_Jam_The_Radical_Rise/2U7z6o163CwC |title=The Men Behind Def Jam: The Radical Rise of Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin |publisher=[[Music Sales Group#Omnibus Press|Omnibus Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-7119-8873-0 |page=227}}</ref> In 1995, he made his first solo appearance on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" alongside [[Jay-Z]] and [[DMX (rapper)|DMX]], who were also in the early stages of their careers. He later appeared on the song "Usual Suspects" from Mic Geronimo's second album ''[[Vendetta (Mic Geronimo album)|Vendetta]]'' in 1997, alongside [[The Lox]], DMX and [[Tragedy Khadafi]]. He also had a brief cameo in the video for "Walk in New York" by Queens hardcore rap group [[Onyx (hip hop group)|Onyx]]. Later in 1997, Irv Gotti was granted his own imprint from Def Jam, known as [[Murder Inc. Records]]. Ja Rule was promoted as the label's flagship artist, and he continued to make guest appearances on songs by other artists, including [[Method Man]], [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]], [[Nas]], DMX, [[LL Cool J]] and [[Dru Hill]]. He later appeared on Jay-Z's 1998 hit single "[[Can I Get A...]]", for which he wrote the hook. It was originally planned to be Ja Rule's debut single until Jay-Z heard the track and requested it for himself. During this time, he rapped under the slightly modified stage name '''Jah'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gale |first=Alex |date=August 21, 2013 |title=Ja Rule Breaks Down His 25 Most Essential Songs |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2013/08/ja-rule-best-songs-interview/ |website=Complex.com}}</ref>

Returning to the Ja Rule name, his debut single "[[Holla Holla]]" was released in March 1999 and became a hit, peaking at number 35 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="singles charts">{{cite web|title=Ja Rule: Billboard Singles|url=https://allmusic.com/artist/ja-rule-p366173/charts-awards/billboard-singles|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ja Rule - Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ja-rule/chart-history/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> Fueled by the success of "Holla Holla", Ja Rule's debut album, ''[[Venni Vetti Vecci]]'', was released in 1999, peaking at number 3 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with 184,000 copies sold in its first week. It eventually reached platinum status in the US due to the popularity of "Holla Holla".<ref name="RIAA">{{cite web|title=Gold & Platinum: Ja Rule|url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=ja%20rule&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50|publisher=RIAA|access-date=December 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151606/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref> A remix of "Holla Holla" was later released, featuring Jay-Z, [[Vita (rapper)|Vita]], [[Caddillac Tah (rapper)|Cadillac Tah]], [[Black Child]], [[Memphis Bleek]] and [[Busta Rhymes]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}