Separately Jay Z, DMX and Ja Rule were rap juggernauts, but what few rap fans know is that the trio were once a part of a short-lived group called Murder Inc.

Yes, Murder Inc. was also the name of Irv Gotti and Ja Rule's record label, but if they had their way, they would've also used the moniker for the all-star group.

The three first collaborated on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" in 1995 and collaborated on two underground rap classics "Mudergram" and "It's Murda" years later. They even posed together for the cover of XXL magazine back in 1999 before they split.

"We tried to deliver that album. It was a situation where egos all just played a part in its demise," Ja Rule told MTV News on Thursday night (October 16) after he performed at the Def Jam 30th anniversary concert at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center.

"We couldn't get X and Jay in the same room, from long ago, their storied battle on the pool table, guns out [and] all of that," Rule said, recalling the rap battle Jay and X had before the both became famous. "That carried over into our careers and we were all trying to do our thing separately and it carried over. It was hard to get all of us into a room to do what we needed to do."

The group was short-lived and didn't produce many records, but Ja says there are songs in the vault that the public hasn't heard yet.

"We did a few records together and those records will always be classics to a lot of people in the history of hip-hop. I wish that album would've came to fruition, it would've been real dope," he said. "I think there might be one-- one or two joints that's still out there that you haven't heard."

So where are they Ja? We need to know.

"Gotti got 'em," he answered.