Jermaine Dupri may have just crushed any hope fans had of seeing him and fellow super producer Sean “Diddy” Combs take the stage together for a “Verzuz” event.
During an appearance on the “New Rory & Mal” podcast on Wednesday, Jan. 5, with co-hosts Rory and Mal, the So So Def founder spoke on the possibility of seeing a musical match-up between him and the Bad Boys Record creator.
The 49-year-old pointed out what he believed to be a critical factor that may bar Diddy from being able to participate, noting that his biggest hits were all collaborations with other artists, some of whom have either passed, including The Notorious B.I.G., or are no longer on speaking terms with the music mogul, as in the case with his former longtime collaborate Ma$e.
As to whether the competition would happen, Dupri said, “I don’t think so… Because I feel like it’s a performance-based thing now, and the majority of Puff’s records, who’s gonna perform?” When Mal suggested bringing special guests, Dupri fired back, “Yeah, [you can bring out] The LOX, but you can’t have nobody do Big’s verses! And I don’t know that Ma$e would come out with him no more, so I don’t think that it would happen based on that.”
Luckily for the Atlanta star, if the battle were to happen, his artists, which include Bow Wow and Da Brat, are ready to back up the man who played a massive role in their musical careers. “All my people, we rockin’!” he boasted. “And we coming’ with a whole lot of energy!”
Dupri challenged Diddy to a Verzuz battle last September after Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. “Somebody let Diddy know I’m the garden right Now!” Dupri wrote on Twitter, calling out the Harlem star. “And he gon need some training for me.”
Diddy, however, declined Dupri’s offer, citing what he considers to be the producer’s limited amount of hits in his discography, although Dupri has nearly double the number of records under his belt as Diddy.
“Beloved you, my n–ga but your arms too short to box with God!!! You aiint got enough hits,” the Grammy Award winner wrote at the time. “I’ll smash you with just biggie n Mary. But I do have the utmost respect for you as a musical legend,” he added.
When it comes to “Verzuz,” you never know who’ll agree to do what; all fans can do now is hope Diddy has a change of heart.
