Unruly (18 page)

 

EVER SINCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
PS 186, I have been interacting with a variety of races. I have the ability to fit in wherever I am. I could play with white kids and Black kids with no problem. Nothing has changed.

Part of my prison sentence was spent in state facilities where I met Alan Hevesi and Dennis Kozlowski. When I was sent to federal prison, they wanted to put me in solitary confinement for my own protection. But I didn't want to live alone in a dark closet. I wanted to be in general population with other guys like me. It was a breath of fresh air. I was happy to be around a larger group after being at Mid-State.

In state prison I spent my time in protective custody with older white millionaires and tycoons.

They stay in
their
circles and keep us in ours. You best believe, when they come into our circle, there's money to be made, but most of it for them. It's kind of funny that I would meet these guys in prison. Alan Hevesi was the former New York State Comptroller, who admitted to taking $1 million for his own personal use. Then there was Dennis Kozlowski (I called him “Koz”), the former CEO of Tyco Corporation, an industrial conglomerate (now broken up) that was referred to as “Little GE.” He allegedly took tens of millions from his employer to support a lavish lifestyle. Larry Salander, owner of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, allegedly stole millions from artists and art collectors such as actor Robert De Niro and professional tennis player John McEnroe, whom he had been a personal friend with for years. All of these rich muthafuckas allegedly
stole
millions of dollars. I realized they were just like me. We'd all gotten caught up in the sticky web of temptation.

I learned a lot from those guys, but the most important thing I learned is that the predator of temptation is colorblind. Although the system may treat white inmates better than Black inmates or celebrities better than the “general population,” when you look into the eyes of guys from both sides, they all have the same look of shame, sorrow and regret. If all of us could have just turned back the clock one minute or one hour before we made that wrong decision, we wouldn't have been there.

We were inside when Obama's reelection campaign was in full force. Alan Hevesi and me kicked it a lot about politics. He was a Democrat, like me, so we had a lot in common in this area. Hevesi was also a Knicks fan so, whenever we could, we'd watch the games together. We were all just regular dudes doing time.

Dennis Kozlowski kept to himself a lot. He acted as though he was above everyone else. I don't want to judge him because everyone deals with disgrace differently. “Koz's” job in prison was being a laundry porter. He stayed to himself a lot in the laundry room. Ironically, he was the worst laundry porter I had ever seen. He always brought our shit all balled up in a bag. We referred to his room as his office and we all would bust out laughing at the irony.

Larry Salander, the art dealer, was another great dude. He shared a lot with me about art, and the way value is determined. He believed that the classic paintings by Monet or Renoir should value much higher than a Warhol or Basquiat. It was not that way in the marketplace, and it drove him crazy. Speaking to him reminded me of the Banksy film, regarding how we quantify art and its value. He was passionate about it and he reminded me of myself. He had created a once very well respected, internationally known art business based on passion and the compulsion to change the art world, whether it needed changing or not.

But these white boys don't mean nothing to me, and I don't mean nothing to them.

Dominick was a seventeen-year-old guy who was important to me. He was doing one a half to three for getting in a harmless fight at school. The thing is, Dominick, a Black kid, went to a white school and the white parents pressed criminal charges against Dominick. Even though Dominick's parents are hardworking, middle-class people, it didn't protect their son from the realities of life.

I took Dominick under my wing. We played basketball and talked a lot as I shared my life's experiences. I also looked out for him as I would my own son, even though Dominick has a father. Talking to Dominick made me think of my own kids. I'm always willing to help, because in our community, our kids are us and we are them.

 

ON MAY 7, 2013,
I was released from federal prison, and everything is back to normal, as if I never left. I'm still touring the world for shows, only this time my wife is right by my side. I'm back on the sidelines of football games and wrestling matches with Jeff and Jordan. And I'm happy to say I was able to see Brittney graduate, and even prouder to say she's now in college at Hampton University. I don't think my kids are going to be anyone's job security.

I'm currently working on my new album,
Genius Loves Company
, my new reality show called
Follow the Rules
, as well as producing and starring in several upcoming movies. And somewhere in the midst of all of that, I managed to add “author” to my list of accomplishments by bringing you my life story, my memoir,
Unruly
.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are many people who have helped to make this book a reality, too many to name them all. First, I would like to thank God, who makes everything possible. I want to thank my family: you all mean the world to me and I appreciate your contributions to
Unruly
. Thanks to Carol Mann, my literary agent. You were right, Tracy Sherrod would be a devoted, caring editor. Kim Green, it has been nice working with you, but next time I'm going to buy you a tape recorder! I sincerely appreciate my Flavor Unit family. Thanks to Queen Latifah and Shakim. A special thanks to my manager, Ron Robinson, for clearing the permissions (not!). My HarperCollins family has been incredible in many ways: Thanks to Jonathan Burnham, Kathy Schneider, Leah Wasielewski, Katie O'Callaghan, Leslie Cohen, Kathleen Baumer, Robin Bilardello and Richard Ljoenes. Thanks to Kyran Cassidy for the legal read: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!” Thanks to Muhammad Ali, Tupac Shakur, Steve Harvey, Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy Jr., Malcolm X, Mao, and Mandela—your example and discussions about manhood have been invaluable and have influenced me in many ways.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JEFFREY ATKINS
, more popularly known by his stage name Ja Rule, is a rapper, singer, songwriter and actor from Queens, New York. He has released seven studio albums since 1999 and has sold over thirty million records worldwide. In addition to having Grammy and American Music Award nominations, he has won several awards, including MTV Music Awards, World Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and
GQ
's Man of the Year Award. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and children.

 

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CREDITS

Cover design by Richard Ljoenes

Cover photograph by Guzman

COPYRIGHT

UNRULY
. Copyright © 2014 by Jeffrey Atkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978-0-06-231617-2

EPUB Edition JULY 2014 ISBN 9780062316196

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