Rapper Ja Rule is serving a two-year sentence for attempted criminal possession of a firearm (a loaded .40 was found in his car in 2007)—plus another four months for tax evasion—and he seems pretty upbeat. At least, that what this exclusive interview and video from the Daily News suggest: "The Queens-raised rap star says disgraced pol Alan Hevesi and corporate greed poster-boy Dennis Kozlowski took him under their wings. From Kozlowski, he got stock tips. From Hevesi, he heard about the perennial impasse in Albany. They watched Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert together." Ja Rule said, "Outside, you don’t meet guys like this every day. This place is amazing." more ›

Rapper Jeffrey Atkins AKA Ja Rule began serving a two-year state sentence last month for attempted possession of a firearm, but yesterday he was sentenced to 28 months and ordered to forfeit $1.1 million for failing to file his federal income taxes. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, the Daily News reports that Atkins told the court, "I was a young man who made a lot of money—I'm getting a little choked up—I didn't know how to deal with these finances, and I didn't have people to guide me, so I made mistakes." Atkins pled guilty in March to failing to pay taxes on the $3 million he earned between 2004 and 2006. more ›

Tomorrow Ja Rule will begin his two year prison sentence, but before that happens, he took a moment to discuss his thoughts on "Good Day New York" with co-hosts Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Way back in 2007, rapper Ja Rule was stopped on West End Avenue for speeding following a concert at Beacon Theater, unfortunately for him, cops also found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic in the car (with Ja Rule's DNA on it). Now the NY Post reports that he was in court earlier today pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon; the Manhattan judge told him, “Because of your guilty plea here today, you’ll have a record of having committed a violent felony. This is a very serious matter." more ›

It's been around three years since Ja Rule was arrested for gun possession, and a trial date has just been set for this August 18th (last we checked he faced a minimum of 3.5 years in prison). more ›

Back in 2007, rapper Ja Rule was arrested on West End Avenue, where he and his crew were pulled over for speeding. However, the cops found a .40-caliber pistol in the car (which ended up having a trace amounts of Ja Rule's DNA on it). According to the Post, Ja Rule and his lawyer argued this morning that cops had no cause to search his car, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers denied the motion. He did, however, say that the weed the rapper admitted to having on him that night won't be used against him. He's free on bail right now, but his next court date is March 3rd, and he faces a minimum of 3.5 years in prison. more ›

Through some strange stroke of Manhattan Supreme Court scheduling, Ja Rule, Remy Ma, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes all appeared in court yesterday (at different times) to face various charges. Ja Rule and Lil Wayne faced gun possession charges from separate incidents on July 22. The pair, who collaborated on a song "Uh Oh," also shared the same attorney, Stacey Richman. Richman said that Lil Wayne couldn't be guilty, because when his tour bus... more ›

Rappers Ja Rule and Lil Wayne both found themselves ending their weekend with arrests last night. The separate incidents both took place in the city. more ›

Set your TiVo's, kids. "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" is scheduled for the week of April 17th on NBC. This week-long competition pits various "celebrities" against each other in a culinary smackdown of sorts, judged by food critic Gael Greene and high-end event planner Colin Cowie. The motley crew of celebs includes Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, Ja Rule, Tom Arnold, Gabrielle Reece, Days of Our Lives' Allison Sweeney, supermodel Naomi Campbell, reigning Miss USA Chelsea Cooley and country singer Big Kenny. The show is hosted by none other than Alan Thicke from Growing Pains and the Food Network's Sandra Lee (who hosts Semi-Homemade, not high on the Gothamist love-list) will host the show (at least she's not judging). more ›

- A man tried to kidnap a five year old from her school's cafeteria! more ›

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release a highly acclaimed album as Madvillain. MF DOOM joins the not-very-indie De La Soul and The Roots on Summerstage Tuesday night for a benefit to save the Rhinos. Alternatively, Jean Grae (another indie favorite) joins Killah Priest from Wu-Tang Tuesday night at SOB's. [Listen to Jean at her website.] Wednesday the "Best Damn Rap Tour" with J-Live, Vast Aire, and C-Rayz Walz are at Northsix. Thursday 50's enemy Ja Rule plays BB Kings. more ›

Looks like "alternative" music festival Field Day Fest is happening at Giants Stadium, at least according to Ticketmaster. Gothamist thinks it's funny how last weekend, Giants Stadium held Zootopia, the pop-hit heavy concert thrown by Z100 that had, according to their site, "Aerosmith, Kelly Clarkson, TLC, Mariah Carey, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Jewel, Third Eye Blind, Wayne Wonder, Simple Plan, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Daniel Bedingfield, JC Chasez, Bowling For Soup, Ginuwine... your American Idol's Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, PLUS special guest-hosts BRITNEY SPEARS and LISA MARIE PRESLEY!" more ›

I love the Neptunes and N.E.R.D., and they do have a very hot sound, but the over-Pharell-ization of music today makes things a bit...boring? The Neptunes are the hottest producers these days, but case in point: Beautiful, Snoop Dogg's new song with Pharell Williams (the most visible member of The Neptunes/N.E.R.D.). It's tight and sexy but it gets predictable. This quote by Sasha Frere-Jones in the Village Voice's Pazz and Jop ('Tune versus Tim, as in Timberland) issue says it all: more ›