The Def Jam artist spins through lyrics with the best of them, is the hot guest for singers like Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and Lil' Mo, and is a genuine pop crossover star. "They're paying top dollar and they want their records now," the rapper said of all the singers who want him to pen tunes for them. "It's a crazy game. You gotta be a workhorse."

Born in 1976 in one of New York's largest hip-hop communities, Queens, Ja Rule (known to his parents as Jeff Atkins) was always rapping and made his first guest appearance on a b-side for Mic Geronimo and eventually signed to Def Jam. Soon after, he guested on tracks from Jay Z and DMX. The rapper has gone on to become a household name.

Ja Rule is a natural at this songwriting gig and is becoming a crooner at the same time. He plans to work with Brandy and credits Mariah Carey as the first artist to give him a chance to prove himself. "My first chance ever to pen something with R&B was Mariah. Mariah gave me a chance first. She called me in for a record to do with her on her Glitter album, and we did it and it came out hot. It's me, her, and Nate Dogg. And it came out real hot, but Mariah didn't choose to go with it as a single, she chose to go with the other record. It's not my business, you know, to call what records get put out there but I felt my record should have went first."