The idea of a Verzuz battle between Jermaine Dupri and Diddy has been floating around for some time, beginning with Fat Joe posing the question to Dupri during an Instagram Live session in 2020. Since then, both sides have been engaging in friendly fire, with fellow peers like T.I., Usher, and Snoop Dogg giving their individual takes on the situation.
This week, the two hip hop behemoths have finally agreed to a battle, which will take place in Atlanta. Said agreement was witnessed by scores of fans on IG Live during a highly publicized debate on the current state of R&B music. Diddy also made it clear that the event would be unrelated to the Verzuz brand out of respect for Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, who have reportedly filed a lawsuit against Triller over missing payments:
“J.D., if you want that smoke, you can get that smoke anytime … Since we ain’t f**kin’ around with Verzuz no more since because they f**kin’ around with our boys, we don’t need to be going against each other … Let’s come together and do that Bad Boy, So So Def in Atlanta… It ain’t no Verzuz, it’s just hit for hit.”
As far as what songs would be played, the options are virtually endless thanks to both Diddy and Dupri‘s iconic record labels and production rap sheets. As the head of Bad Boy Records, Diddy helped to spawn decorated careers for artists like 112, Total, Ma$e, French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly, and the late Notorious B.I.G. Meanwhile, Dupri reared an impressive roster of his own through So So Def Records, which includes Bow Wow, Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, and Jagged Edge.
Check out Diddy and Jermaine Dupri’s agreement below. As of this article, an exact date and time for the battle is yet to be confirmed.