Ja Rule Discusses Ja Morant, Says Hip-Hop Negatively Influenced His Actions

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.8K Views
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The rapper agreed with Patrick Beverly's take that rap culture drove the Grizzlies star to act recklessly and hedonistically.

Ja's looking out for Ja this week, even though he did so by piggybacking off of a controversial take concerning the basketball player. Moreover, Ja Rule recently agreed with Patrick Beverly that hip-hop and rap culture negatively influenced Ja Morant's actions. For those not yet caught up, the Grizzlies star faced police investigation and an NBA suspension after a video surfaced of him flashing a gun while going out. After Beverly said that music was partly to blame, many pushed back against conflating art for a co-sign of wrongful behavior. Regardless, Rule is a rapper himself, and a big one at that, so his take was interesting.

When asked by TMZ about the situation, the Queens rapper said that rap music influenced him to go down incorrect paths. For example, he said he started smoking weed because of Redman's "How To Roll A Blunt." Also, he pointed to Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" as the song that drove him to drink alcohol. As such, he believed Morant took note in similar ways, and the 47-year-old said "that ain't the way."

Ja Rule Speaks On Ja Morant

"Go play ball, man," he told the publication when they found him at LAX this week. "The streets ain't about nothing, man. Go grind on 'em. Keep balling. That's it, man." Unfortunately, this is far from the first time that the basketball star in question faced police investigation and brushes with controversy. While he dodged charges on both occasions he faced such in the past calendar year, this instance really blew the lid on his image. However, the 23-year-old recently spoke to Jalen Rose about moving past his missteps.

"I used that as an escape, which I shouldn’t have," the Grizzlies guard remarked. "I feel like that’s the reason I made many bad decisions in my past, which doesn’t pretty much describe me. [It] doesn’t describe Ja as a person. I’m a totally different person than what’s been shown in the media. That’s my job now. That’s why I took that time away, to become a better Ja. So everybody really can see who Ja really is and you know what he’s about." Regardless of your take on that, stay logged into HNHH for the latest on Ja Rule and Ja Morant.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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