Ja Rule making bad decisions involving money won't come as any surprise to anybody who's familiar with the tale of Fyre Fest, but that wasn't the first time he'd made a major miscalculation. The rapper played a minor role in the very first 'Fast and Furious' movie all the way back in 2001, and was offered half a million dollars to come back and appear in the next movie. Ja Rule felt like he was worth more than that, and said no.
The part he was earmarked for went to fellow rapper Ludacris, and Ludacris' character became a bigger and bigger part of the seemingly never-ending franchise as it progressed. Presumably, the paycheck for Ludacris got bigger every time his part expanded. Perhaps Ja Rule thought Fyre Fest might be a good way of making back all the money he'd missed out on.