Fans holding out hope to see Jermaine Dupri and Diddy in a battle of hits may be in luck. According to the Atlanta hitmaker, his label So So Def will go up against Bad Boy in a “Verzuz” competition.
Dupri made the declaration on Oct. 7 during the pre-party for Atlanta’s One Music Fest at The Tabernacle. He addressed the rowdy crowd while on stage. “Hold up, hold up. Listen, let me say this, I’m saying this to let y’all know that the So So Def/Bad Boy ‘Verzuz’ is happening,” he said. The audience immediately broke out into applause.
The “Welcome to Atlanta” producer has been eyeing an opportunity for him and the “Gotta Move On” artist to hit the “Verzuz” platform with their crates of hit records. While the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is confident he has a music catalog that can go toe-to-toe with the Bad Bay Records label owner, Diddy expressed otherwise.
In August, the mogul changed his tune when he suggested that he and Dupri showcase their respective labels’ hits. At the time, “Verzuz” co-founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland were in the midst of a legal battle with Triller, where the competition is hosted. “I look forward to officially saying since 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. 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,” said Diddy.
By the end of September, the legal matter between Swizz, Timbaland and Triller was settled, which may have made way for Dupri to reignite anticipation about the battle. Whether Dupri prematurely shared the news has yet to be determined. Neither he nor Diddy have addressed the claims on any of their social media accounts. However, Swizzy shared a post about the reported “Verzuz” in his Instagram Story, which may have been all the confirmation excited music fans needed.
“Oh THAAAAAAAAATS why Puff & Mase started “beefin” again… now it all makes sense,” tweeted one person.
And others wrote, “Going to be the nuts! Badboy will kill it but so so def got some bangers!” and “Someone tell diddy not to use Biggie To Get That W.”
