S. Samuel
R&B singer Ashanti and Ja Rule have the Internet buzzing this weekend with a new photo of them reunited in a recording studio floating online.
While it is uncertain if new music is on deck, an Ashanti/Rule pic surfaced online Saturday (August 10).
In the early 2000s Ja Rule nabbed three chart-topping hits with Ashanti – ushering in the new millennium on top of the hip-hop industry. It’s been over a decade since the two recorded their infectious duet “Always On Time” but the two were recently spotted together in the studio. Ashanti released a filtered photo of her and Ja this week via her Instagram account with a caption that read: “Uhh ohhhhh me & my bro @ruleyorkcity in the lizzaaaabbbbb!!!!!!! We haven’t seen each other in 4ever!!! & it feels great!!!” (VIBE)
Last month, the R&B hitmaker spoke on Rule returning home and possibly making new joint tracks.
“Yes, I have. I spoke to him the other day and I’m super, super excited for him,” Ashanti said in an interview when asked if she had talked to Rule since he came home from serving jail time. “He is, he is in great spirits. [Muscles?] Oh my gosh, I told him, ‘What were you doing in there?’ … He has a studio downstairs in the house, that’s where he’s going to be all the time. … Hopefully we get it all popping. There’s no denying our chemistry. We might [get a collabo project]. He has to focus on his stuff right now.” (Hot 97)
Heading into the weekend, Ja made his grand return to the microphone on N.O.R.E’s new “She Tried” remix.
N.O.R.E. (a.k.a. P.A.P.I.) is true to his word: the sequel to “Student Of The Game” is coming. But before releasing the follow-up to his 2013 effort, the rapper, alongside Good Belt Gang members whose names he’s yet to disclose, has a compilation album in the works. They recently released their first single, “Hood BBQ.” “Good Belt Gang” will be independently released under N.O.R.E’s label Good Belt Gang/Militainment. N.O.R.E. has yet to confirm a release date for “Good Belt Gang” album, but it’s “coming soon.” The album will feature a variety of artists. Check out an exclusive premiere of N.O.R.E.’s remix, “She Tried,” featuring Lil Wayne, Ja Rule and Birdman, off “Good Belt Gang.” (Billboard)
The rap veteran spoke on nearly serving two years on a gun conviction and the worst part about prison this week.
“I guess I’d have to say those nights you’re just locked in your cell, by yourself, and you’re missing out on what’s going on outside. I would call home and I’d be missing birthdays or anniversaries. I’d speak to my homies and they’d be out and about, doing what they doing. You kind of say, “Damn, I’m really locked up, I can’t enjoy the things that are meaningful in my life, I can’t enjoy the small things in life.” You in a situation that you can’t control. Then there were situations like [Superstorm] Sandy and [Hurricane] Irene, where we was getting heavy storms at the house and all the lights and things are down, trees and power lines are down. My family had to pick up and go to a hotel. Those are the situations that I handle when I’m home and my wife had to step up to the plate, play father and mother during those situations. She’s a soldier, so she made it happen, but I’m sure she wishes that I was there. You’re helpless in those situations.” (Complex)
