Songoftheday 10/20/21 - 'Cause we really need to be freaking off at any cost, it's on me if you married then get a divorce...

 

 

"Holla Holla" - Ja Rule

from the album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (five weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40:7

 

Today's song comes from rapper Ja Rule, who grew up as Jeffrey Atkins in New York City before starting his music career as part of a group in the mid-90s named Cash Money Click. After legal troubles with one of its members before they even released an album, Ja Rule took off solo, and eventually signed to Def Jam Records. His first appearance on the charts as a featured artist came in 1998, when he was a guest on DMX's single "The Grand Finale" from the soundtrack to the movie Belly. That song was a minor hit on Billboard magazine's R&B chart at #63, while it "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #117.  But what really got Ja Rule attention was a song he initially was going to release himself, before giving it to Jay-Z. "Can I Get A...", which he co-wrote and appears in a featured role, made the top-40 on the Hot 100 and top ten on the R&B chart at the start of 1999. 

With that momentum, Ja Rule was ready to release his debut solo single "Holla Holla" in the spring of 1999. Written by Atkins with producer Irving "DJ Irv" Lorenzo and Richard Wilson, can at least be credited to having the rapper handle everything on his own over a DJ Irv beat that doesn't rely on samples. However the verses are just your typical bragging, centered on the title chant which basically is all I'm left remembering over the gun and b-word porn...

"Holla Holla" became Ja Rule's first top-40 crossover hit on the Hot 100 in June of 1999. The song just missed the top ten on Billboard's R&B chart, peaking at #11, while getting to #2 on their Rap Singles list. The rapper's debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, topped the R&B Albums chart, and made it to #3 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, going on to sell over a million copies. Despite the success, no other tracks from the album were released as singles, but Ja Rule will be back to the series many times over.

(3/10)

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Part of the lasting success of the single was the release of a remix that featured heavy hitters Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes among others...

 

 And lastly, Ja Rule appearing on the show Verzuz from this year...

Up tomorrow: R&B singer is living in a fairytale.