LOS ANGELES – Ja Rule, an American rapper, songwriter, singer, and actor, has gone viral with a profanity-laden commercial promoting the well-known Greek restaurant Papa Cristo’s, a staple in Los Angeles.
According to Vulture, Ja Rule was “selling more than just ‘the best motherf***ing gyros’” in the commercial for Papa Cristo’s which went viral on June 22.
Ja Rule told Page Six that “the ad, in which he dances and shouts ‘Opa!’ in front of a green screen of Greek delicacies, is part of a promotion for his new TBS series, Celebrity Show-Off.”
“I’m a marketing genius, and this is all working exactly how I wanted it to,” Ja Rule told Page Six after rapper and actor 50 Cent mocked the commercial on social media, adding that “the premise of the show is we create our own TV shows within the show,” Vulture reported.
Celebrity Show-Off which premiered on TBS on June 23 is hosted by Mayim Bialik and “features celebrities competing ‘to see who can produce the most compelling content from their homes,’” Vulture reported.
Television personality Nene Leakes, singer Jason Mraz, and actress/singer Bella Thorne are among the competitors on the show.
Born Jeffrey Bruce Atkins in Hollis, Queens, Ja Rule debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single, Holla Holla. From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had multiple hits that made the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. He has been nominated for two American Music Awards and four Grammy Awards with his fellow collaborators Lil' Mo, Vita, Ashanti, and Case.
Following the release of his platinum-selling debut album in 1999, his second and third albums, Rule 3:36 (2000) and Pain Is Love (2001), both topped the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. Launching him into the mainstream, the two albums sold over 15 million records combined, attaining triple platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America, and becoming his best-selling albums to date.