Ja Rule has been fading from our radar, but with his new memoir, Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man, he's trying his hardest to remain relevant. In a recent interview with Time magazine, the rapper talks about his music career, Jay Z, and why he decided to clean up his act.

"I wanted to secure my career in music, and I knew if I got in trouble or got arrested, that probably wouldn't happen," Ja Rule said of choosing career over easy money after landing a record deal with Def Jam in 1998. "I kind of slowed down."

Ja also credited Jay Z for helping launch his career even if he wondered if penning "Can I Get A…" and then passing the song off to Jay Z was a smart move.

"At the time I felt like — maybe I am shorting myself, maybe if I would have kept it for myself, maybe my album would have sold three million copies," he says. "That was a great moment for me though, because it really launched my career, that record."

In his memoir, Ja Rule also reveals that he grew up a Jehovah's Witness, met his wife in eighth grade during shop class, and lost his virginity when he was only 10 or 11 years old.

"Having your first taste, you know, like a vampire having your first taste of blood, is something you don't want to stop," he said. "You want to continue."

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(Photo: Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET)