Why did you give it directly to them, without shopping it around to more established artists first? Normally, when I make a beat I would give it to my manager, Chaka Zulu, who shops it around for me, but the beat for 'Tell Me' came straight out of the lab to Smilez & Southstar. I’ve never spent time with him in the sense of playing music for him. The only time I’ve ever seen Ja Rule was when he did a platinum party last year at Tabu, and even then I just met him briefly. The truth is that I don’t have any relationship with Ja Rule or Murder Inc.

Ja Rule didn’t mention you by name on 106th & Park, but he did say that the same person who produced 'Tell Me' gave him the beat for 'Mesmerize.' What’s your side of the story? Ja Rule appeared on BET’s 106th & Park, claiming that the producer of 'Tell Me,' DJ Nasty of Nasty Beatmakers, had given him the beat. Shortly after, a song by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, 'Mesmerize,' with a very similar beat using the same sample, was released. Orlando hip-hop group Smilez & Southstar broke into the mainstream with the single 'Tell Me,' getting heavy rotation on radio stations across the country as well as BET and MTV.

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