Diddy, Jermaine Dupri Will Face Off In Non-Verzuz ‘Hit For Hit’ Battle
Diddy and Jermaine Dupri will face off in an event similar to Verzuz but will not be under the Swizz Beatz and Timbaland-produced musical clash webcast, according to an Instagram Live session posted by Puff on Thursday night (August 18).
During the IG Live session, the Bad Boy Records founder invited Dupri into the session and said “JD, if you want that smoke, you can get that smoke anytime.”
The So So Def Records creator, who sat alongside his production partner Bryan-Michael Cox, told Diddy to relax prior to agreeing to set up an event in Atlanta. Rather than battling, however, Dupri suggested they showcase the history of their respective labels by playing their hits for fans.
“Since we ain’t f*****g with Verzuz no more since ’cause they f*****g around with our boys, we don’t need to be going against each other,” Diddy said on IG Live, posted by HipHopDX. “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.”
“Let’s do it,” Dupri responds.
Jermaine Dupri first floated the idea of a hit-for-hit battle with Diddy back in September 2021. Diddy quickly responded by claiming Dr. Dre would be the only opponent worthy of keeping up with his catalog, noting that Dupri’s “arms too short to box with God.”
In January of this year, Dupri responded on the New Rory & Mal podcast, saying a Verzuz between himself and Diddy was unlikely to take place.
“I feel like it’s a performance-based thing now and the majority of Puff’s records, who’s gonna perform?” he said at the time. “Yeah, [you can bring out] The LOX, but you can’t have nobody do Big’s verses! And I don’t know that Ma$e would come out with him no more, so I don’t think that it would happen based on that. All my people, we rockin’ and we coming’ with a whole lot of energy!”
Looks like both camps had a change of heart. We’re so ready for this one!
