A year after the record-breaking “Verzuz” match, The Lox rapper Styles P is calling for the hip-hop community to boycott Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s platform. In August 2021, The Lox went hit for hit against Dipset in front of a large audience at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On Thursday, Aug. 18, TMZ asked the New York native how he felt about the co-founders filing a $28 million lawsuit against Triller over missed payments. P explained that he’s staying ten toes down in support of the legendary producers.
“I just feel hip-hop has always a lot of funny s**t in it, so I think people should stick to what they said they would do from the beginning,” said the emcee. “You shake somebody’s hand, you sign a paper that says ‘you’re gonna do a deal,’ and the deals right…then there shouldn’t be any problems.”
If the allegations are true, the 47-year-old advised people to no longer associate with the hip-hop/R&B platform giant unless Triller pays up. “Hip-Hop people shouldn’t f**k with it if Swizz and Tim ain’t involved,” P declared. “I sure wouldn’t. I wouldn’t watch it at all.”
Styles P’s remarks come one week after news broke about the $28 million lawsuit for breach of contract. According to court documents obtained by Finurah, “Verzuz” co-creators agreed to sell their platform to Triller in March 2021, which has grown massively and produced record-breaking numbers during the pandemic. Triller made the first two successful payments, but Swizz and Timbaland say they are reportedly owed $28 million.
The lawsuit states, “Defendants have failed and refused to respond to plaintiffs’ written notice and demand for payment. To date, defendants have failed and refused to make any payment to Mosley and Dean of the past due sums due and owing, and defendants continue in default of their payment obligations.”
Triller issued a statement Tuesday, Aug. 16, alleging the matter was “nothing more than a misunderstanding driven by lawyers.”
“We do not wish to air our dirty laundry in the press, but we have paid Swizz and Tim millions in cash and in stock,” wrote a rep for the company. “No one has benefited as much from Triller to date. Triller has helped fuel Verzuz to new heights – making it the global cultural phenomenon it is today. We hope to resolve this amicably and quickly, and truly hope it’s just a misunderstanding.”
It continues, “If we are forced to defend it, we are more than optimistic the truth and facts are on our side.”
After reading reports about the lawsuit, Diddy and Jermaine Dupri briefly discussed the matter during an Instagram Live session. As CEOs of Bad Boy Records and So So Def Records respectively, Diddy and JD have agreed to play their biggest hits during a match-up in Atlanta.
“We ain’t f–king with Verzuz no more since ’cause they f–king around with our boys, we don’t need to be going against each other,” said Diddy. “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.”
JD replied, saying, “Let’s do it.”
