Amid the popularity of the rap battle series Verzuz, Fat Joe has again weighed in on why fans are yet to see rap legend Busta Rhymes battle it out on the stage.
Verzuz, the American webcast series started by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, has turned into one of Instagram’s most beloved content series.
The show’s premise sees two artists or songwriters go tit-for-tat for 20 rounds in a friendly battle on Instagram Live, as audiences comment over a live chat.
Each musician, predominantly from the R&B and hip hop sphere, chooses to highlight 10 songs from their respective discographies.
As fans continue to request various hip hop stars to take part in a light-hearted showdown, Fat Joe revealed that the reason he believes Busta hasn’t appeared on the show is that no artist – including himself – is willing to take on the hip hop heavyweight, who famously rapped 758 words in 231 seconds in his track ‘Break Ya Neck’.
“Busta Rhymes has a problem with a Verzuz,” Fat Joe said.
“Fat Joe scared to do Verzuz against Busta Rhymes and so is everybody else. You gotta understand, sometimes you ever notice, you see boxers and they knock everybody out?
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“People be scared to fight those boxers. Busta Rhymes is gonna out-rap, out-perform anybody that goes up in the Verzuz with him. That’s a fact!”
Meanwhile, Ja Rule, who recently battled against Fat Joe in the webs series, admitted that he and Joe decided to avoid performing their R. Kelly collaborations.
Ja Rule previously collaborated with the disgraced singer on ‘Wonderful,’ whilst Fat Joe joined forces on ‘We Thuggin’.
During a recent conversation with Drink Champs, Ja Rule illuminated their decision to exclude all R. Kelly collaborations from their Verzuz battle.
Ja Rule delved into the concept of separating the art from the artists, admitting that it was “tough to do.”
“That’s why we didn’t play no R. Kelly records that night,” he explained.
“R. Kelly’s a flawed man, he’s going through his problems,” he continued. “He’s flawed. Nobody’s perfect… And, you know, what he’s done is what he’s done and he has to account [for it]. But the art, do we throw it away?” he opined.
“It’s such a touchy subject, and for me, it’s a touchier subject,” said Ja Rule, noting that he wrote R. Kelly’s verses on his collaborations with him.
R. Kelly was found guilty on all counts of racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, and kidnapping by a jury on Monday, June 27th at his federal trial held in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. The singer faces a mandatory minimum and up to life in prison.
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Check out Fat Joe discussing Busta Rhymes on Verzuz:
