Who Is Up Next, Verzuz

7.27.20

The Verzuz battles have been the hit of the quarantine, and if you have not been keeping up, you ought to go look them up on YouTube and live this blessing. While we are all stuck at home, missing the concerts we planned for, Verzuz TV has been scheduling top tier hip-hop artist match-ups, to go head to head with their most popping hit records. We’ve seen Nelly go up against Ludacris, Jill Scott vs Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys vs John Legend, Jadakiss vs Fabulous, and most recently, Snoop Dogg vs DMX. Who is next? When will it end?

It does not seem that the Verzuz battles will let up anytime soon. Not only is it too good, but everyone in the industry is still talking about it. Whether they are calling out another artist, shutting down another artist, or claiming they have no competition, the battle weighs heavy on their minds.

Many of the battle competitions are fun and friendly battles between two great artists. Many times, they even have songs they’ve featured on together. However, things got real when Ja Rule called out Eminem. The two artist’s rap beef goes back over a decade, and at times got quite violent. This battle would have been no competition for Eminem, but where he is not so great and up to speed with social media, no true response was shared directly from the artist. However, it looks like Ja still wants all the smoke.

T.I also shared a friendly, but serious call out towards battling 50 Cent in a Verzuz hit challenge. 50 Cent is known for being the king of trolling on the internet, so TIP took his shot. While wishing 50 Cent a happy birthday about three weeks ago, he also claims Atlanta rap is superior to New York City rap, challenging the Candy Shop rapper to a hits battle. Of course 50 Cent just trolled back at TIP, but this one could be interesting.

Atlanta rap and New York rap have very different sounds, as does everywhere. However, these are two of the biggest cities there is when it comes to hip-hop. It has been evolving over the years, and TIP and 50 are pretty much pioneers in their cities. I call TIP top five of all time, King of the South, all of that. 50 Cent definitely took a different path as he got older, but he still has undeniable hits for days, and he is smarter than we give him credit for. This would be a good one.

Now one that I just do not seem to get, is Juicy J vs Nas. Timbaland, whom has been involved since the beginning of the Verzuz battles, asks who should be up next. Juicy J himself, calls for Nas. It does not appear that has replied, nor has he tweeted at all in a few months. Sure Juicy J has plenty of hits, but they are a completely different vibe than the work that Nas puts out. I believe this is Juicy trying to say that he is a legend, and his hits and producing hits are unmatched, but I think there are other matches that would suite up much more nicely.

On Twitter, the fans want a Three 6 Mafia vs Bone Thugs N Harmony. This would be fantastic. Two groups with endless hits throughout a decade, this would be a lot of fun. They both have their party songs and serious songs, it just makes sense. Juicy J alone, I would maybe put him against E40 but I even then I think E40 sweeps the battle. We’ll see if the Verzuz team can come up with something for Juicy, clearly he wants some.

Of course we have our guys who just think they are above the Verzuz battle. Chris Brown and Usher began trending on Twitter earlier this week, with fans begging for a Verzuz battle. It is fun to see the difference in opinions. Many say that Chris Brown washes the battle, but others are confused why we are dismissing on Usher so quickly.

Chris Brown responds to the hype on his Instagram story, stating that he would win a Verzuz battle with features alone, and he humbly declines. While Chris has been publicly posting about his lady and how happy they are with their child, it does still seem that he could be playing it cool, when in reality, is a bit nervous for this battle. Usher is an R&B legend, whom Chris Brown probably looked up to when he was growing up. Chris has time on his side, where he started so young, and is still super relevant to the new generation, but Usher is no easy win whatsoever. The Confessions Series alone cannot loose.

Then there are the guys who try to shake it off. Bow Wow says that the Verzuz battle is not currently in his best interest. Bow Wow has been going back and forth with his fans responding to the theories and comments. While he states that he is young and still has more work to do, he also says he wanted to battle Fabolous, but he already went.

Comical maybe, since I really cannot see Bow Wow lining up with Jadakiss whatsoever. However, his prime was around the same time. People are requesting Omarion, Ja Rule, Chingy and Soulja Boy, but Bow Wow wants nothing to do with this. While claiming there is no one for him to battle, this was such a great time in hip-hop, that I am sure the Verzuz team could make something happen if he was willing. Though, I do think the Chingy and Soulja Boy requests are a bit far fetched. There are a handful of hits but not a catalog great enough for the big leagues. Perhaps Bow Wow feels the same about his.

Of course, there have been many other conversations, and we could keep these battles going forever. I would love to see Missy Elliot vs Lil Kim. Jay Z vs Diddy. They have to clear a Biggie vs Tupac at some point. The options are seriously endless, and this is not getting any less exciting as the battles continue.