Ja Rule Refutes Melle Mel’s Claim That He Copied 50 Cent: “I Was His Blueprint”

Ja Rule was recently asked about Hip-Hop veteran Melle Mel’s comments regarding his 2004 “New York” anthem. The “White Lines” MC compared the Jadakiss and Fat Joe-assisted track to the success of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind.”

The Furious Five rap legend made claims that Ja Rule’s New York song didn’t see much success because he was trying to be “hood” like 50 Cent.

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“Mel’s earned the right to say whatever he wants,” Ja told TMZ before adding, “But me copying 50 is like the funniest sh*t ever because 50 copied me. I was his blueprint.”

Circling back to his 2004 hit, he said, “Other than that, my ‘New York’ record was huge, humongous. One of the biggest New York records today. ‘Empire State of Mind’ is a huge record as well, but they’re different.”

The Queens rapper further broke down how his song was a “street anthem” and “gutter,” whereas “Empire State of Mind” was more “commercial.” Ja then shouted out Hip-Hop pioneer KRS-One for the lyric, “I got a a hundred guns, a hundred clips,” which stemmed from his 1990 rap “100 Guns.”

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“New York” peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and No. 10 on the Hot Rap Songs charts respectively. The Grammy-winning song “Empire State of Mind” did see monumental success as well. The Al-Shux produced track spent weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.

Revisit Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Jadakiss’ “New York” anthem below.

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