By Nolan Strong
New York rappers Ja Rule and DMX ended a long running feud last night during the 6th Annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" taping, which commemorated Def Jam Records’ 25th anniversary.
DMX and Ja Rule stood together last night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and took pictures with fellow Def Jam alumni Ludacris and Foxy Brown.
Today (September 24), DMX’s manager confirmed that the picture was not just a promotional opportunity, ending years of speculation about his relationship with Ja Rule.
“He has a new attitude , a new team. He looks good and [now] he is squashing beefs. [And] his performances are breathtaking,” DMX’s manager Nakia Walker told AllHipHop.com.
“Great to see DMX and Ja Rule squash their beef after all this time,” Ludacris Tweeted. “Vh1 hip hop honors. A historic night indeed.”
DMX and Ja Rule’s feud goes back to 2000, when DMX recorded the track “Do You,” which took shots at Ja Rule, claiming the rapper had copied his signature, gruff style of rapping.
The track set off years of bickering via radio interviews and diss tracks like DMX’s “Ruled Out” and “They Want War,” as well as Ja Rule’s track “Judas.”
Both rappers were produced by Irv Gotti, who met DMX during his days as an artist on Ruffhouse Records around 1989.
A few years later, Irv Gotti befriended Ja Rule, who was a member Cash Money Clique.
After a stint as an A&R with Blunt/TVT Records, Gotti landed an A&R job with Def Jam and helped sign Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule to the label in 1998.
“He's always had a [problem] with me. Since the beginning of my career, I ignored it. I felt my way of answering him was to be very successful and that would hurt him the most,” Ja Rule said of DMX in 2002.
Tension between the two rappers remained high until this week, when Ja Rule tweeted: "I'm not going to start trouble I'm bringing my daughter but I promise if a n***a get outta line they won't make it out of Brooklyn lmao."
DMX was released from an Arizona prison in April of 2009 after serving 90 days for fraud, drug and animal cruelty charges and has started rebuilding his career.
Last night, he took to the stage in a collaboration with Gym Class Heroes for his 1999 hit single "Party Up,” while Ja Rule and Ashanti as they performed their hits "Down for You" and "Always On Time."
Other performers included KRS-One, Onyx, Rick Ross, Method Man, Redman, Warren G., The Roots, Jazzy Jeff, Erick Sermon and others.
"VH1 Hip Hop Honors" will premiere on Tuesday, October 13 at 9 PM ET/PT.