Earlier this week, news broke that Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins was being sued by the Internal Revenue Service for an unpaid tax debt of $3,139,237.76. Ja Rule’s longtime nemesis, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, took the opportunity to make fun of his fellow Queens native’s financial situation.
50 Cent posted a screenshot of a headline about Ja Rule and his wife’s reported issues with the IRS for unpaid taxes between 2005-2010 and 2012-2017. The recording artist-turned-television producer wrote in his Instagram caption, “👀you gotta pay your taxes fool,😆😆.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/COQvyIUHoJR/
Previously, Ja Rule was accused of evading paying taxes for over $3 million in earnings between 2004 and 2006. The former Def Jam artist was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison in 2011 which he served concurrently with a weapons conviction in New York state.
Ja Rule and 50 Cent have been beefing online and in real life for over two decades. Their respective camps – Ja’s Murder Inc. and 50’s G-Unit – were involved in several violent interactions over the years.
Both rappers also released multiple diss tracks directed at the other. The animosity between the 2000s-era chart-toppers led to some fans hoping for a Verzuz battle involving the “Wanksta” spitter and the “Loose Change” rhymer.
Last year, Ja Rule seemed open to the idea of a hits-versus-hits faceoff despite the deep-rooted bad blood with his adversary. He told Swizz Beatz and Fat Joe that he “wants all the smoke” with 50 Cent.
In response, 50 Cent wrote on Instagram, “Who want to battle, and here’s a moment of silence for the still sick and suffering. LOL.” Ja Rule then fired back on Twitter, “N##### know to stay out the cage when the lions are feeding…”
50 Cent’s latest round of attack against Murder Inc. affiliates did not stop with his takedown of Ja Rule. He also blasted Murder Inc. Records co-founder Irv Gotti for publicly commenting on DMX’s alleged cause of death.
The Get Rich or Die Tryin’ album creator posted on Instagram, “This guy [Irv Gotti] is [an] idiot, 👀Did he just say DMX died from smoking crack and fentanyl! 🤷🏽♂️Why would he say that?”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CORJxQTnEkt/