The year was 2002. The hip hop game wasn't quite the friendly "everybody love everybody" scene that it seems to be today. While there wasn't as much violence as the mid 1990's when Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls beefed until both of them were mysteriously shot to death, there were still plenty of legitimate beefs.

Arguably the most well know of these early 2000 rap feuds would be between 50 Cent (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) and Ja Rule (a.k.a. Jeffrey Atkins). One was a well known rising star and the other was just getting his chance to shine.

50 Cent exploded on the rap scene with his breakout hit "Wanksta." The song detailed a seemingly tough-acting gangster who was actually a fraud and nothing like the lyrics in his songs.

It was a direct insult to Ja Rule and the violent rhymes that had made him famous at the time.

Both rappers are from Queens, New York so they knew each other well before either of them were famous. "Wanksta" seemed to detail inside information about the type of person Ja Rule really is.

What sparked next was one of the last great rap beefs as the two sent songs back and forth, eviscerating each other in the process. 50 Cent put out song after song going after Ja Rule while Ja Rule only could produce a few tracks that were not well received. When the dust settled, the general opinion was 50 Cent had won the ongoing battle. This was followed by immense success, both in rap and entrepreneurship for 50 Cent.

For Ja Rule, his star was never quite as bright as he faded from the mainstream.

New day, same beef

This week, 50 Cent did a radio interview to promote his new movie "Den of Thieves," when he was asked what he would do if he were to see Ja Rule today. 50 Cent's answer, to put it bluntly, was that he would "put him to bed." A reference usually meaning he would knock him out cold.

This prompted Ja Rule to lash out online and the beef was renewed.

All in good fun

While the two traded barbs online and through the radio, it was clear that this isn't anything like the beefs from back in the day.

There is no chance either of the two would outright attack each other on sight as they claim. The reason being is they are both too old and too wealthy to really be that dumb.

50 Cent is currently promoting a movie and Ja Rule is actually still touring. In this day and age, actually acting out on the threats in rap music would do harm to a musician's career. Gone are the days of getting into fights and other stunts that have nothing to do with the music.
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