Ja Rule Admits Music Is Still 'Therapeutic for Me' Amid His 'Blessed' Career: 'I Love to Still Create'

Ja Rule — whose real name is Jeffrey Bruce Atkins — has been in the music industry for decades, and he's not stopping anytime soon.

"I still record. I've probably recorded three albums that are sitting in my studio that I haven't put out yet. I go into these in and out modes where I'm like, 'Alright, I'm going to make music.' I finish and I'm like, 'It's not ready.' It's a lot of work to put out an album — you have to promote it and go on tour, and at this age, you have to really want it, but I love to still create and make music. It's therapeutic for me," the 49-year-old exclusively told OK! at the star's Amber & Opal Whiskey Launch & Charlie Fox NY Tasting Party on March 12 in New York City. "I've had a blessed career. I've been able to work with so many great artists and been able to write songs for so many of my heroes. I've gone to places I've never thought I would go."

"I first started making records and then people I looked up to asked me to write a song for them — it's those moments where I like to live and stay," the rapper continued of his successful journey.

When reflecting on songs he's written for others, he declared that "Rainy Dayz," which he wrote after the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001, has a place in his heart.

"I felt like that's what the world was going through. I spent that hour in my bed watching what was happening and feeling what the world was feeling," Ja Rule, who is married to Aisha Atkins, shared. "I then went to my basement and created this beautiful record. We were all going through this big event, and humans are resilient, especially when we band together. I wrote the song at first for TLC, with them in mind, and then Mary J. Blige heard me playing this record in L.A. Reid's office. Mary J. Blige then walked in while we blasted the record and takes the CD, and she was then on it! How do you take Mary off that song? How do you tell Mary it wasn't for you? It became the record we know today — but that moment was very therapeutic. It was this moment where I wrote something that wasn't for me. That was the first time I've ever done that. It was a surreal moment."

Fortunately for the "Always on Time" singer, his kids — Brittney, Jeffrey and Jordan — fully support him on his endeavors. "They think I'm very cool!" he quipped. "My kids are grown, so they probably didn't think I was cool when they were younger, but now they do! My boys call me the GOAT [Greatest of All Time]. We love each other. The love that we have for each other is real. I made it a thing to always tell my sons and daughter that I love them. I still them every day, and they say it to me every day."

In the meantime, the New York native is gearing up for his "Where The Party At" World Tour alongside Nelly, Eve and Chingy — all while promoting his newly launched whiskey brand, Amber & Opal with his lifelong friends Herb Rice, Sandy Sandiford and Kelvin Barton.

"Anytime you start a new business venture, it's exciting. It's exciting to be doing it with my friends. We started this from scratch, and it's been a fun journey so far," he shared. "It's not my first venture into business. I have a wine as well, but this is completely different. We're doing everything ourselves so we have to go and get the distributors ourselves, sit down and have these conversations with them. We created the mix of what you taste in the bottle."

Amber & Opal blends Maryland Straight Rye Whiskey, aged two years in medium-charred oak barrels, with flavors like orange blossom honey, smoky black tea, and spiced herbal notes of cinnamon, ginger and fig.

Designed to redefine the premium spirits market, Amber & Opal’s sleek, modern packaging and one-of-a-kind flavor profile make it perfect for both sipping neat and crafting premium cocktails, like the signature Amber Rush.

"We put a little more honey, a little less honey, a bit more orange, less orange," he said of testing out the concoction. "It was fun to do. I had way more fun doing than just putting my name on a product."

The dad-of-three admitted that he had a totally different concept in mind before starting Amber & Opal.

"I like business, I like money. We first bought a warehouse full of barrels of whiskey, and we did that during COVID. It was an investment play, and we were going to wait until the seven-year mark to hit when they became premium bourbon and then sell it at a premium — that was the idea," he stated. "When the seven-year mark hit, some of the guys in the group started busting open their barrels and making personal bottles for themselves, so that's when Herb and I had the idea to start a business and a real brand — and so we did that!"

Following its expansion, it’s now available online via Seelbachs.com and at select Total Wine locations in key markets, with more states to follow.