Ja Rule Would Sell His Catalog Under One Condition

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1.7K Views
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Ja Rule Selling Catalog Condition
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The Queens MC doesn't want his hard-earned money to go to waste.

A lot of people are selling their music catalog these days in the rap game, and some deals are absolutely massive. For example, Metro Boomin sold a portion of his work in a $70 million deal, a high bar that other artists like Future also set. However, those kinds of deals aren't for everyone, and Ja Rule in particular has some ground rules when it comes to potentially putting his records up for sale. While speaking to Bloomberg Business, the rapper expressed that he has been considering the sale. Still, there's an important component to where he wants that sort of money to go in the long run.

"I’ve found out recently that my catalog is very lucrative,” Ja Rule remarked. “So I’ll be looking [to sell]. I’ve really been talking about doing a reversion deal where I would probably give up half my catalog and it would revert back to my family. I think it’s kinda hard to put a number on the value. Usually, the value of the music starts to go down as the artist starts to go away. The value of the music starts to depreciate.

Ja Rule Speaks On The Possibility Of A Catalog Sale

"So it’s kinda weird but what’s happening now is right now we get less than a fraction of a cent for a stream, but that number is going up,” he went on. “It’s going up to about 15 percent. So with that happening, I think a lot of these companies are realizing the money that’s out there." While he didn't bring up a specific number, Ja Rule's catalog must be worth quite the pretty penny. After all, beyond his established hip-hop legacy, he has eight Billboard Top 10 hits, three of those being No. 1 smashes, and two No. 1 albums.

Other prominent hip-hop figures have also sold their catalog, whether from the old guard, the new, or somewhere in between. Producer Zaytoven recently did so, as well as Chuck D selling a large part of Public Enemy's work. For those less in tune with the industry, this might seem like a bizarre and almost detrimental move. Regardless, it sometimes ends up being the best financial move for artists to keep making their money, whereas others don't see it happening anytime soon. For more updates and the latest news on Ja Rule, log back into HNHH.

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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