Ja Rule Rethinks Slowing Down After Alicia Keys’ Clive Davis Tribute

Ja Rule reconsidered slowing down his career after Alicia Keys’ tribute to Clive Davis made him see another path for his next chapter.

In a Jerusalem Post interview, the Hip-Hop veteran explained how hearing about Davis’ late-career comeback changed his plans for the years ahead.

“I learned a lot there. I left feeling truly inspired,” he said of Davis’ funeral and the tributes he heard there.

At 50, Ja Rule had been weighing time with his children and granddaughter Bella against the pace that kept him working through their childhoods.

Keys’ account of Davis starting again at 67 gave him a different way to think about age and the years ahead.

“And at that moment, I realized I wasn’t done yet,” he said, recalling how her tribute changed his thoughts that day.

Davis’ Manhattan funeral took place June 29, with Ja Rule among the artists gathered at Central Synagogue to honor the executive.

Alicia Keys, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow and Stevie Wonder also attended, while Bruce Springsteen spoke and Jennifer Hudson sang at the private service.

The ceremony was streamed for the public, bringing together performers whose careers crossed different styles but shared a link to Davis’ work.

Ja Rule’s concerns about time with family follow an earlier public adjustment to his new role as a grandfather and how he announced it.

He had revealed the pregnancy to Sherri before acknowledging that he might have spoken before his family intended.

“Big mouth, big papa. Spilled all the beans,” he joked.

Ja Rule also connected his desire to be present for his family to growing up without his father, whose absence shaped his approach.

Asked what he wanted to achieve in that role, he answered, “Being the best grandfather that I could be.”

His trip also put him back before a live audience, with an October 29 set at Hangar 11 drawing on songs including “Mesmerize” and “New York.”