Fans have long hoped for JAY-Z to make an appearance on the Verzuz stage, but according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer himself, nobody has the discography to take him on.
Hov said as much during a Tuesday night (Dec. 21) Twitter Spaces conversation with Alicia Keys and music executive Rob Markman. While discussing the iconic singer’s new double-album KEYS, her husband Swizz Beatz’s co-founded battle series came up in conversation.
“I ain’t gonna lie. No disrespect, everyone’s amazing. They’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me,” JAY-Z said during the chat, shutting down rumors of any potential opponents. “It’s not a chance in hell that anyone can stand on that stage with me for, I don’t know how long [a battle] is, one hour? Two hours?”
“You got to stand in front of the ‘Grammy Family Freestyle’ live? No one has ever even seen me perform that, you got to stand in front of that?” he continued. “That ain’t never going to happen.”
While Hov claims no rapper can face him on the Verzuz stage, that doesn’t mean they haven’t tried. Since the inception of Verzuz, fans have pitted the rap star up against possible opponents in dream battle matches. T.I., Snoop Dogg and the late DMX all made similar challenges.
Just last week, Rick Ross also said opposing JAY-Z on the Verzuz stage was a “possibility.”
“JAY-Z? Yeah, why not! Ross told “The Real” co-hosts. “To me, that’s what makes Verzuz special because it brings out the best in both parties.”
However, Rozay made it clear that he would ultimately want the opportunity to give JAY his flowers.
“That’s a possibility, but I gotta give my flowers to the big homie. I got to,” he explained. “My homie gave me my first opportunity signing me to Def Jam Records and he’s one-of-one.”
Hear JAY-Z’s comments about Verzuz on Twitter below.