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| - Born and raised in a Hollis, Queens, New York housing project, attending Junior High School in Floral Park where he met his future wife Aisha Murray and they graduated in 1991. They attended Martin Van Buren High School together, but he did not graduate. When Atkins was five years old, his sister died from respiratory problems. His parents were Jehovah's Witnesses. Growing up in a strict religious home, Atkin's family did not celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and as a child, was not allowed to listen to rap music. When he first heard it, he decided to be a rapper. He would sneak the music into his house and played it on his CD player when his mother wasn't around. Ja Rule said that he used to go to a school in Queens, but transferred to a private school in Manhattan because of bullying due to his small height. During his interview with Louis Farrakahn, he stated that he was the only black student at the school. Ja said that because of that the other kids didn't bother him. At age 15, Atkins appeared with 0-1 and Chris Black as part of Cash Money Click, and this would lead to him being signed by TVT Records. He would end up being heard by a young DJ who called himself DJ Irv, then later Irv Gotti. Gotti was a friend of Jay-Z and he was also a DJ for Def Jam Recordings. During the mid 90's, his main priority was meeting Ja Rule and making him the center of his career, and wanted to sign Ja to his new label, Murder Inc. Records. He wanted Ja because of his distinct deep voice. After Irv was able to sign Ja along with DMX and Jay-Z to Def Jam. He, along with Russell Simmons, began to have an idea that they all would work together. They formed a group named Murder Inc.. They recorded many songs together and were featured on other albums when at least two members were on an album they were considered Murder Inc. After the launch of DMX's career, the group faded out of existence as they would only make one more appearance on a song together. Despite all of this exposure, Ja Rule was still relatively unknown as a rapper, so the people at Def Jam came with an idea to launch Ja Rule's career through the success of Jay-Z. Jay would appear on his album and Ja would return the favor as they briefly became associated acts. Through Ja Rule's collaborations with most of the Def Jam roster, he had made himself a household name and became one of the most popular rap acts as he would begin his long successful track as a rapper. He became known as a mainstream rapper when he was featured on Jay-Z's Can I Get A... alongside Amil. He quickly catapulted himself to the most popular rapper in the game and was considered as one of Def Jam Recordings' premier acts.
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