Ja Rule Discusses "I'm In Love With a Church Girl," Gospel Rap and Murda Inc.
Ja Rule stars in the new film "I'm in Love With a Church Girl" that opens this weekend and the rapper and actor recently spoke to The Christian Post about his role and other future endeavors.
The faith-based film tells the story of Ja's character Miles Montego, a retired high level drug trafficker who now earns a living legitimately. During the movie he meets the girl of his dreams Vanessa played by Adrienne Bailon of the Cheetah Girls and 3LW. Vanessa lives a life dedicated to God which makes Miles have to rethink the way he will approach dating her. Ja Rule decided to pursue the role because he felt he could relate to the character.
"I got a call about the film, I read the script and liked the character," said Ja Rule to The Christian Post "I felt there were parallels between me and Miles life. [There's a lot of parallels] he's going through a struggle between good and evil, he's trying to do something positive with his life. He's looking towards the light and his past keeps bringing him back to a dark place and I can really relate to that."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Ja Rule just finished serving a stint in prison for various issues such as tax evasion and drug and gun possession. He ended up reconnecting with God and reading the Bible during his time away.
"When you're in prison, you pray a lot and you go through a metamorphosis," he said. "A lot of people turn their life over to God in prison. Malcolm X became a Muslim [there]. So a lot of people look to a higher to get them through hard times. For me, that wasn't my goal was to get spiritual or find a religion [in prison] but I prayed every night just to keep my family safe and to get through things I'm going through. But I think this whole situation I've been dealing with as far as the movie and all of the people I've been around, I think a lot of that has to do with me getting a closer connection with God as well."
Rule touched on reconnecting with faith during many of his recent interviews and even showed off a new tattoo that features passages from the Book of Job that tells the story of another person he feels he can relate to on many levels.
"I feel like that's the story that I'm living at this moment," he said. "I've been through it all, seen it all, had it all and have been stripped of a lot of things including my freedom, and now everything is coming full circle and going so well for me. [Job's story] is kind of like mine."
Rule plans to focus on movies and his film career, but still has a passion for the music that made him a hip-hop and R&B star over a decade ago. And even though he's reconnected with God, he's not looking to start recording Gospel music anytime soon. He plans to stick to the same formula as before, but wants to be more conscious with some of the things he says in his songs this time around.
"I don't want people to get a misconception of what it is," said Rule. "I'm taking baby steps and doing what I'm doing with [my faith], but it's a work in progress. Don't expect me to make gospel records tomorrow. I'm still going to make the records that I feel in my heart, tell the truth. True to life stories or true tales of what I'm going through and what I struggle with on a day to day basis."
"I will have a more conscious thought process when I am making certain records," he continued. "You know I am a role model and people are looking up to me and watching everything that I do and say."
Rule will once again partner up with long time friend Irv Gotti to re-launch Murda Inc. records, the label that made both men extremely successful during the prime of their careers.
Murda Inc. featured other artists such as Ashanti and Lloyd and was responsible for a slew of hit records released in the last 20 years. The label ran into some legal issues when it came under investigation by the government due to its affiliation with drug runner Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. The company's parent label Def Jam Records dropped Murda Inc. in late 2004 early 2005. Gotti tried to revive the label several times, but failed to re-capture the same success that it once had.
Gotti announced last month that Murda Inc. would return as an umbrella label under his new Visionary imprint. Ja Rule plans to work together with Gotti.
"We're definitely going to bring Murda Inc. back," he said. "But we also have new situations, I have Maven Entertainment, he has Visionary, so together we're Maven Visionary
"I'm in Love With a Church Girl" opens in theaters everywhere today.
