This battle has been long teased. Bun confirmed the news way back in January 2021 when he appeared on the Donnie Houston Podcast. “I know I’m doing a Verzuz, but it’s not Texas-based,” he said. “I’m doing Verzuz. It’ll be UGK probably against 8Ball & MJG. … Yeah, UGK will represent Texas in Verzuz going up against [neighborhood] North Mound.”
Even before that, in May of 2020, Bun said Timbaland and Swizz Beatz were open to the match-up, but were interested in seeing “that the people want it,” so he urged his Instagram followers to spread the word and make their voices heard. Last October, in an interview with B High ATL, Bun said the offer for the Verzuz was “still on the table” and would likely “do numbers,” but he seemed concerned people may tune in for the wrong reasons.
“I think it would be a good one, but I think you gotta understand…a lot of people tuned to Jeezy and Gucci Mane[’s Verzuz] for the wrong reasons,” he said. “It was a lot of suspect shit being said, because people were expecting a fight. They really thought something was gonna happen that day. … Both of them walked in as they man they was, and they both walked out the man they was.”
Elaborating on that statement, Bun said Verzuz took off because it was “targeting our demographic.”
“It wasn’t about charting artists, or who had the hot record, it was about creating a vibe,” he said. “I think UGK and 8Ball & MJG would’ve worked under those circumstances, the fans obviously still wanna see it [and] we’re ready to do it if called on, but it’s a little different now.”
The groups will square up at 8 p.m. on Thursday for the latest installment in a series of legendary face-offs.
