Though Jermaine Dupri challenged Diddy to a Verzuz earlier this year, it seems like Dupri has backtracked his statement.
The So So Def founder now says that he doesn’t think a bout between him and Diddy will happen because the performances on Diddy’s end would be lacking.
“I feel like it’s a performance-based thing now and the majority of Puff’s records, who’s gonna perform?,” Dupri said at around the 2:10:21-mark of Wednesday’s episode of the New Rory & Mal podcast, as pointed out by HotNewHipHop. “Yeah, [you can bring out] The LOX, but you can’t have nobody do Big’s verses! And I don’t know that Mase 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!”
Elsewhere in the episode, Dupri defended So So Def’s catalog, and compared it to Bad Boy’s. “Puff—and anybody else that thinks about this battle—they try to downplay the Bow Wow era,” Dupri said around the 2:11:25-mark. “When we get into the 2001, 2002, 2003 era of So So Def, I don’t know that Bad Boy was even in existence… I never seen a Bad Boy record No. 1 on 106 & Park.”
In September, following Ja Rule and Fat Joe’s Verzuz at Madison Square Garden, Dupri tweeted, “Somebody let @Diddy know I’m @thegarden right now ! And he gon need some training for me.”
Diddy rejected Dupri’s challenge, telling Dupri that his “arms too short to box with God” and he “aiint got enough hits.” Diddy continued, “I’ll smash you with just biggie n Mary . But I do have the upmost respect on you as a musical legend – Dre the only one can get in the ring w me.”
Dupri fired back at Diddy a few days later, telling V-103 Atlanta, “I just want to make sure everybody understands this. I am in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I am in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Puff Daddy’s not in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Steve Stoute and the Trackmasters are not in the Hall of Fame.”
