Ja Rule Says He Won't Be Involved in Fyre Festival Follow-Up: 'I Know Nothing About It' (Exclusive)

The rapper, 47, was a co-founder of the ill-fated 2017 event, along with promoter Billy McFarland

Ja Rule won't be "Livin' It Up" at the next Fyre Festival.

"I don't know nothing about it!" the 47-year-old rapper tells PEOPLE at the "50 Years of Hip Hop" event in New York City Thursday night. "I don't know nothing about it. I ain't in it!"

Rule's comments come days after the failed festival's disgraced promoter, Billy McFarland, announced that he was planning a second iteration of the event — of which Rule was an original co-founder.

Promising luxurious accommodations and extravagant meals, music fans infamously shelled out upwards of $1,595 for what they thought would be a weekend of fun in the sun in the Bahamas in the spring of 2017, with Fyre's organizers also promoting performances by Blink-182 and Migos, plus appearances by high-profile social media influencers, including Kendall Jenner.

Related:Billy McFarland Announces Fyre Festival II Is 'Finally Happening' Following His Prison Release

But once guests arrived at Great Exuma, festival attendees walked into chaos. "Deluxe housing" translated to flimsy tents, and cheese sandwiches served as gourmet fare. When many of the musical acts failed to show due to the conditions, travelers were stranded on the island.

Netflix's FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Hulu's Fyre Fraud further documented what attendees called hellish conditions.

Shortly after the docs debuted, Rule responded on Twitter in January 2019, writing, "I had an amazing vision to create a festival like NO OTHER!!! I would NEVER SCAM or FRAUD anyone what sense does that make???"

"I too was hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hood winked, lead [sic] astray!!!," he added in another tweet.

Related:Ja Rule Tells Critics to 'Check My Résumé' After Being Left Off '50 Greatest Rappers' List

The "Always On Time" rapper also faced the wrath of his fans shortly afterwards, at a concert days later when he encouraged everyone in the crowd to curse him out for his involvement in Fyre Fest. "You might be a little mad at me," he said, in an exchange captured by an Instagram user.

For McFarland's role, he paid a greater price. The 31-year-old was released from prison last March after serving part of a six-year sentence on wire fraud charges in connection with his involvement in the ill-fated festival.

After reporting to jail in October 2018, McFarland apologized for his actions, and opened up to PEOPLE a month later about his regrets and hopes for the future.

"I am incredibly sorry for my collective actions and will right the wrongs I have delivered to my family, friends, partners, associates and, you, the general public," he said in an exclusive statement at the time. "I've always sought — and dreamed — to accomplish incredible things by pushing the envelope to deliver for a common good, but I made many wrong and immature decisions along the way and I caused agony. As a result, I've lived every day in prison with pain, and I will continue to do so until I am able to make up for some of this harm through work and actions that society finds respectable."

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This past Sunday, McFarland announced that he was taking another stab at the event. "Fyre Festival II is finally happening," the 31-year-old wrote Sunday. "Tell me why you should be invited."

In a separate tweet, he also gave a glimpse at what might be the festival's venue. "Going to crush the island version first," McFarland wrote, before tagging Elon Musk and adding: "But @elonmusk Fyre 3 definitely needs to be in space."

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