Ja Rule Lives, Learns & Gets Stock Advice Behind Bars

Ja Rule, the rapper whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, has been behind bars since June 2011 for gun possession and tax evasion at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida, N.Y. Best known for Billboard hits such as “I’m Real” with Jennifer Lopez and his much publicized feuds with fellow rappers, Ja Rule is making the most out of his time in prison and rubbing shoulders with today’s most infamous high-power players.

Although to the rap artist, they’re known as “Koz” and “Hevey D,” aka ex-CEO of Tyco Int. Dennis Kozlowski and shamed pol Alan Hevesi, respectively.  During an interview with the NY Daily News, Ja Rule said, “Outside, you don’t meet guys like this every day. This place is amazing.”

Kozlowski gave the rapper a few financial tips, advising him to invest in airline stock, while Hevesi chatted about the perennial impasse in Albany. Then, once in a while they kick back to watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert together. Kozlowski, a graduate from Seton Hall University, and Hevesi, an Alumni of Columbia, also encouraged Ja Rule, a high school dropout, to seek a high education with a focus in business.  He plans on taking college level courses by the end of February.

Although it all seems like an unlikely friendship, there are a few similarities. Kozlowski is known to have spent $2 million on a party in Sardinia where an ice sculpture of Michelangelo’s David urinated vodka for the entertainment of guests. Ja rule was arrested in 2007 for a gun charge where the weapon was found in his $250, 000 Maybach.

“It’s funny,” Ja Rule mused with the Daily News. “We’re from totally different walks of life. But when you’re here, you’re here.”