Verzuz

4 min readDec 9, 2021

Hey,

I went to a party this past weekend thrown by a friend from college and the theme of the party was a Verzuz battle. For those of you who may not know, Verzuz battles are the pandemic brainchild of legendary hip hop producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. They feature two similar artists performing 20 songs each and then the viewers decide who emerges victorious. The idea was extremely popular during mid-2020, as these were live performances by artists with huge catalogs when there was very little other live entertainment happening, but they’ve continued to grow in popularity since. They usually pit two artists with similar styles of music together, such as Gladys Knight vs. Patti LaBelle, Nelly vs. Ludacris and T-Pain vs. Lil Jon.

A few days after the most recent Verzuz between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia, my friend hosted his own version of the Verzuz battle. His idea was to pit artists together that we won’t have the opportunity to see happen, for a variety of reasons. The one that happened Saturday was Prince vs. Michael Jackson, but he also wants to host similar themed parties for 2Pac vs. The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z vs. Lil Wayne. It made me start to think about what other dream matchups I’d like to see take place on the Verzuz platform that we probably won’t have the chance to.

I wanted to throw out a few of the Verzuz battles that I want to see happen. Some of these are more realistic than others and some will most likely never happen, but the point of a newsletter is I can put all of my ideas out into the world and see how everything unfolds. If you would’ve told me that there would be a global pandemic last year I wouldn’t have believed you, but I digress.

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Without further ado, here are my potential matchups that I’d like to most see:

T.I. versus Lil Flip: I’ve written previously about the intertwined careers of these two, and for that reason I don’t think this will take place. But I couldn’t do this list without at least referencing what Verzuz is all about, which is artists competing to one-up the other one. Whether that leads to beef or resolves it is irrelevant, as long as it’s entertaining to the fans. And I know it’s hard to believe, but what if Lil Flip won? Is my fandom showing?
50 Cent versus Ja Rule: This Verzuz will never ever happen, and we all know why, but we can dream, right?
Wale versus J. Cole: Speaking of dreaming, J. Cole is at the point in his career where he has enough material to do a Verzuz. The question becomes who makes the most sense to go against him. Rather than the obvious answer of Kendrick Lamar, I’d like to suggest that he go against Wale. I don’t know if Wale’s ego and/or insecurity will allow him to go on the Verzuz stage to be judged by the court of public opinion, but I think their catalogs are more similar than people believe and this would be a proverbial fair fight.
Chris Brown versus Justin Bieber: I’ve spoken at length about how I feel about Chris Brown, and the only artists I think could compete with him are Usher and Justin Bieber. I think in terms of entertainment value, and being a dream matchup, Brown versus Bieber would be a music industry mega event and for that reason alone I decided to go with this matchup.
OutKast versus Goodie Mob: I’ll be honest. I chose this matchup strictly because I’d like to see Andre 3000 and Big Boi on stage together, and I felt that only close friends and associates the Goodie Mob could make that happen. I would sacrifice at least two fingers, and maybe a toe or two for another OutKast album, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.
Nicki Minaj versus Cardi B: It’s a sad trope that every new female hip hop artist has to be pitted against each other, but I think Verzuz is an opportunity to break down those walls and discard petty beefs similar to what has happened with Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy. Both have earned the right to appear on a Verzuz, and I think it would be entertainment gold for them to share a stage together and perform.
Future versus Travis Scott: I’ve said it before, but Travis Scott is the most famous non-famous person in the music industry today. I also believe that Future and his catalog are what Travis Scott fans think Travis Scott is. This would be a very enlightening experience for fans of both to realize Future’s longevity and hitmaking ability while the two share a stage and Travis Scott blows yet another opportunity to become a household name.
Kanye West versus Drake: Because of their recent reconciliation and photo together, I think this might be the most likely of this entire list to actually happen. They’re both rap megastars in their own right, and this matchup is the only one for either artist to even entertain appearing on a Verzuz battle. Let’s all hope this happens in 2022.