Rap icon Ja Rule has said that he was denied entry to the United Kingdom because of his criminal record days before the start of his almost sold out tour, the rapper said on social media.
Ja, 47, real name Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr, is due to kick off his Sunrise tour at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff on Friday, before gigs in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Liverpool.
‘I’m so devastated. I can’t believe the UK won’t let me in. I’ve spent a half million dollars in production of my own money to put this tour together only to be denied entry DAYS before my shows. This is not fair to me or my fans, these venues are 85% sold and now I can’t come…,’ he wrote on X.
The rapper is best known for his early 2000s hits alongside singer Ashanti, their songs included Mesmerize and Always on Time.
In more recent years, Ja was the breakout star of the hit documentary Fyre Fraud, which dealt with the fallout of the disastrous Fyre Festival in 2017. The Queens-native was one of the founders.
Ja’s longtime sparring partner, fellow New York hip hop star 50 Cent chimed in on the entry denial.
‘HaHaHahahaha I did not have nothing to do with this b**** not getting in LOL,’ the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ star wrote.
‘LMAO I got juice all over the place sucker!,’ he added.
Ja Rule couldn’t let it go, tweeting at 50 Cent: ‘N**** you p**** shut up…’
In a separate tweet about the denial, Ja pointed out that the UK is one of the few countries that he cannot gain regular entry.
‘The UK is one of the few European countries that restricts entry to people with criminal records. In general, you will likely be denied entry if you have been convicted of a crime punishable by 23 months or more under British law or served more than 12 months in prison,’ he wrote.
The UK policy on issues such as this is that persons can be denied if the have ‘previously been convicted of a criminal offense punishable by at least 12 months imprisonment,’ according to the charity Unlock.
In 2011, Ja Rule was sentenced to two years in prison on tax evasion and gun possession charges.
