Ja Rule came out to a lively Tel Aviv crowd full of nostalgic American expat millennials and Ethiopian Israelis. The crowd had patiently waited through two hours of opening acts, with one act that specifically appealed to the African community – Bazzi B. 

Ja Rule hit the stage at Hangar 11 Thursday night, October 29th and started getting dressed on stage. Yes, part of his stage shtick was approaching a standing rack which housed the essentials – a hat, a shirt and sneakers. He put them on in front of the roaring crowd. He later made an outfit change into a turquoise suit. At fifty years old, Mr. Rule is still looking like it’s 2004. Then he told the crowd he was happy to be “in the Holy Land,” and asked, “What the f*** is up, Israel?”

How I got the interview

I woke up Wednesday morning and thought: Ja Rule is in Israel. I need to interview him! So I WhatsApped the PR coordinator. He wrote back: “Come to the Carlton Hotel, 8 p.m.”

Better believe I was there.

My lifelong friend Jordan, a huge hip-hop head, came with me to film. He introduced himself to Ja, got us positioned right by the interview room and even asked the PR guy if we could go first. We went second. That’s when Ja’s manager got upset. Nobody had told her there would be interviews. Ja had just landed and the man wanted his dinner. Fair. We got our five minutes, and we were one of only two journaists to get a full sit-down.

I brought him a gift. It was a postcard I had at home with a big Hebrew gimmel on it, over Jerusalem’s new bridge. A gimmel with an apostrophe makes the J sound. J for Ja. I wrote him a note welcoming him to the Holy Land. He loved it, gave me a huge smile and rested it against his water glass for our whole talk.

The next night, he opened his show by telling Tel Aviv he was in the Holy Land. Was that because of me? I’ll never know. I’m choosing to believe it.

I asked him why Israel, and why now. He gave me two words: “Why not?” There are artists who won’t even say the word Israel out loud anymore. Ja Rule booked the gig, got on the plane and checked into the Carlton. When I told him I’m from South Queens too, he lit up: “Queens in the building!”

You can hear the full interview on the Israel Daily News podcast, and read it in this Friday’s Jerusalem Post Magazine. Click here to Listen to the Interview

The venue switch

The show was sold as a one-night-only event at the MAX Amphitheater in Rishon Lezion, with seats running from 349 to 700 shekels. It ended up at Hangar 11 in the Tel Aviv Port, which has 10,000 less spaces/ seats…The word from the PR team was that the rain forecast pushed it indoors. Some fans told me they spent around 1,000 shekels and were never properly told about the move.

And yes, at midnight, as we walked out, it rained.

Hangar 11 isn’t really built for a concert, but the production made it one. Rows of seats up front, standing room in the back, and by the end, the back was a full-on dance party.

The wait

Doors opened at 7. The show was called for 8:30. Ja Rule walked out at 10:30.

In between came a long run of local DJs and openers. Braindead, I-TEK and Avi Pakado kept the room moving. Israeli rappers Fishy HaGadol, Danny Din and Kele 6 played throwbacks from the early days of Israeli hip-hop. Most of the room waited them out politely.

The exception was Bazzi B.

The Ethiopian Israeli community came out in force for this show, and when Bazzi took the stage, that part of the room lit up. Hands up. Everyone singing along. He held up a sign calling for the return of Haymanot Kasau, an Ethiopian Israeli girl missing since February 2024, and the whole hangar answered with a collective Tehillim prayer and one big “Amen.” 

Rachel, 33, from Netivot, told me she grew up on Ja Rule. “He’s a great talent,” she said. “Israel is a very beautiful country and the situation is very difficult, so I love the fact that he came here and didn’t say ‘Free Palestine, I can’t come.’ I am thankful for him.”

She also put the crowd in perspective: “The hip-hop culture in Israel is Black people, Ethiopian people, and we came out.”

The man of the hour

Myself and two girlfriends showed up in full early-2000s mode: fake ear piercings, brown lip liner and fun sunnies from Top Ten in Dizengoff Center. For me, this was a full-circle night. The first time I saw Ja Rule perform was at the PlayStation Theater in New York, about nine years ago. This time I saw him in my new home – Israel.

The energy was bombastic from the first beat. “Clap Back.” “Can I Get A…” “Livin’ It Up.” “Put It on Me.” “Mesmerize.” “I’m Real,” with hundreds of people spelling R-U-L-E right back at him.

He smiled the whole time. He did outfit changes. He came down into the middle of the crowd and rapped while he greeted people. At one point he peeled off his suit jacket and performed shirtless. 

He looked genuinely surprised and energized by the Tel Aviv crowd. I wondered if he had ever realized that Israel has a large black community. 

Mr. Rule also did a couple of cover songs and ended with the opening of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” which blended into “Always on Time,” perhaps one of his biggest hits which was recorded originally with Ashanti, 

And then it was over

After about an hour, he was gone. He left the stage so fast that some people thought it was an intermission.

“The show was perfect, but it was a little bit short,” one fan, 41, told me. “I wish it was longer, about an hour more.”

Marina, 21, who found Ja Rule through the movies, said he “finished the performance and never said goodbye. I didn’t believe that it was over!”

And one fan summed up the whole night better than I could: “He didn’t care what people think about him. Many other artists didn’t come to Israel because of the situation. And he came.”

Click here to watch the concert reel

My verdict

Too short? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.

Ja Rule didn’t treat this as a statement. He treated it as a job, which was confusing and exciting. Israelis have not had international artists visit the country since October 7th.  He came, he smiled, he spelled his name with a hangar full of Israelis, and he gave Tel Aviv a party during a very heavy week of elections.

Here’s a cleaned-up, publication-ready Q&A transcript of your interview with Ja Rule in Tel Aviv, formatted for a web article. I’ve removed the technical interruptions, repeated words and off-camera chatter while preserving his voice, personality and original meaning.

Transcript of Interview Taken Wednesday, October 28th, 2026: Ja Rule Talks Israel Debut, Marriage and His Queens Roots

Understood. Here’s the full interview transcript, with only light editing for punctuation, grammar, readability and formatting. I’ve kept the conversational exchanges, including “Queens in the building,” the correction from 25 to 26 years of marriage, and your personal comments. I’ve also retained the opening and closing dialogue.

Ja Rule Interview — Full Transcript

Shanna Fuld: I don’t know what you’re doing for interviews. Oh, I think there’s a bunch of people waiting for you. How many interviews?

Ja Rule: No, no, hold on. I wasn’t here to do a whole press. I was going to eat.

Shanna: Yeah, I’m ready. First of all, this is for you.

Ja Rule: Thank you.

Shanna: It’s a postcard. I put my business card on it, but it’s your name.

Ja Rule: Thank you. Thank you.

Shanna: Okay, let me know when we’re rolling. Okay, great. Thank you for the interview. I’m from South Queens. I am so excited to be here with you.

Ja Rule: Okay, okay. I’m excited too. Queens in the building!  Thank you. How old are you? You don’t mind me asking. 

Shanna: I’m 32.

Ja Rule: Okay, so, yeah, you, yeah, yeah.

Shanna: This is going to be my second time seeing you. I saw you at the PlayStation Theater about nine years ago, and I’m very, very thrilled. So thank you. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Ja Rule: Yeah.

Shanna: Why Israel? Why now?

Ja Rule: Why not? I mean, they called and wanted me to do an amazing show here. You know, what better time to come out and experience entertainment with the people of Israel?

Shanna: Are you finding that you have a listener base here in Israel, among both Israelis and Americans?

Ja Rule: Yeah, unbeknownst to me, I have a nice base here. You know, people really enjoy my music. So I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s going to feel like tomorrow.

Shanna: Great. Do you still go back to your old neighborhood in Queens?

Ja Rule: Sometimes. I haven’t been in a while. You know, I still got a lot of homies out there.

One of my friends just came to see me a couple of days ago, my guy Dirt. We were doing some business, some real estate stuff together. So we’re kind of talking about doing some stuff in Queens and building back the spaces where we grew up.

Shanna: That’s nice.

Ja Rule: Yeah, cool little project.

Shanna: Where did you put the mic? Can you hear me?

Off-camera: Yeah. You see the levels? Say something.

Ja Rule: Yeah, one, two.

Off-camera: Okay, great.

Shanna: Congratulations. You just celebrated 25 years of marriage to Aisha.

Ja Rule: 26.

Shanna: 26?

Ja Rule: Yeah.

Shanna: I better get that right. 26!

Ja Rule: Yeah.

Shanna: We’re rolling.

Ja Rule: Yeah, 26.

Shanna: How much of your artistry do you think she was a part of, and how did she help you or support you in your success?

Ja Rule: You know, she’s been with me every step of the way. She’s been with me since I was very young. But, you know, it’s weird because me as an artist, I’m kind of like a recluse. You know, I kind of like going into my own little world and getting into these small pockets and creating.

And so, for a long time, my wife thought I was going to be a boxer. You know, because I boxed, and I’d come home every night with my hands wrapped and stuff like that. I’d stop by her house after I came from PAL, you know, and see her.

And so, for a long time, she thought that was the path I might take. But I was always building and creating in my little space.

And so it kind of took people by surprise when I jumped out and started doing this professionally.

Shanna: What do you want people to take away from your concert tomorrow? What’s your message for Israelis?

Ja Rule: Oh man, fun, peace and love. That’s what entertainment is for, to bring fun and entertainment to the people and let them enjoy.

Whatever they’re going through in real life, whatever their reality is, they get to unleash and unload that when they come to see certain artists perform and they bring that energy.

So that’s what I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

Shanna: Last question. Did you get to enjoy anything so far? Are you going to enjoy or see anything?

Ja Rule: Not yet. I just got here tonight. So, you know, the first thing I’m going to try to enjoy is a nice meal here and see what the food is like. This is my first time here.

Shanna: Thank you so much. I think you’re going to have a great time.

Ja Rule: I am. I am. I’m going to have an amazing time. I wish I could go out on the beach and feel it and touch it. I may do that tomorrow.

Shanna: You must! My good friend Josh says if you’re by the beach, you must go in the beach.

Thank you so much. I was very thrilled the whole day to meet you. Thank you so much. And I’m genuinely a big fan.

Ja Rule: Thank you. Thank you. Are you coming to the show tomorrow?

Shanna: Absolutely. Second show.

Instagram Post After He Left

On November 4th, just a week after the show, Ja Rule posted photos of his Tel Aviv concert on his Instagram page, which has a following of 2 million. He did not note where the photos were taken, but left this quote: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – MLK.