When Irv Gotti passed away earlier this year, it sent shockwaves through the Hip-Hop community and deeply impacted the artists whose careers he helped build from the ground up, such as his brethren in music, Ja Rule.
Although it has been nearly four months since the Murder Inc founder died from a hemorrhagic stroke as a result of his battle with diabetes, Ja Rule is still navigating life without Irv, someone he would call for “side talk,” daily.
On Friday (June 20), backstage at Hot 97’s Summer Jam — just moments after an emotional musical tribute to Irv Gotti alongside fellow Murder Inc. alums Vita and Charli Baltimore — the Queens rapper opened up about the heartbreaking loss of his longtime friend and how he’s been navigating both the grief and the next chapter of his music career.
“It’s still very weird that I can’t just hit him up and laugh about certain sh*t going on in the industry,” he shared. “You know, them back room, side talks, the side chat. I miss that. I miss that.” Still, despite the heaviness, Rule’s spirit hasn’t been dimmed when it comes to moving forward with his new music. In fact, he said he’s been rediscovering a different kind of energy in the studio.
When asked about where his music is headed these days, he smiled and kept it simple: “I’m just having fun.” He continued, “The energy’s loose and [I’m] not shooting for no particular goal, or out here trying to be the number one artist no more … I’m just having fun. I’m just in the studio enjoying it.”
It was refreshing to hear that from a veteran artist who feels they have nothing left to prove — just a genuine love for the craft and the freedom to create on his own terms. As Rule has already dabbled in other ventures, the conversation briefly shifted to the possibility of him stepping into the podcast space — a lane many of his peers have embraced — but he made it clear he’s in no rush to join the wave.
“I would never say never. It’s kind of not my thing,” he admitted. “I believe that the more you talk, you’re bound to say something stupid. Just something people don’t agree with eventually. So maybe not in the near future, but you never know.”
He added, “I have my own network, and so kind of to help move things along, I may do a show on there just to get people coming over there viewing and then checking out what I’ve got going on on my network. But not in the works right now. That’s all I’ll say.”
Watch below.
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