Joe Budden has sent a message loud and clear to Atlanta ahead of Diddy and Jermaine Dupri’s Verzuz.
The Bad Boy and So So Def boss’ eagerly-anticipated contest cropped up in conversation on the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast following the announcement that they’ll do battle on September 8 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
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Budden — who was born in New York City and grew up in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey — made no bones about his East Coast allegiance by declaring that Puff will annihilate his ATL opponent in the Verzuz ring.
“Ayo, you Atlanta n-ggas! September, we wiping you up!” he screamed. “Why we doing all this fucking political talk?! Why we doing all this tryna be PC?! Y’all know what the fuck time it is! Y’all know who invented this shit! It started here, it ends here, n-gga! Fuck y’all thought was happening, n-gga?!
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“We doing all this, ‘Uh, I don’t know, uh, what do I think’ — get the fuck outta here, n-gga! Now what?! We packing them n-ggas up in September! Smoking on that JD! I don’t wanna hear all that politically correct bullshit these n-ggas tryna have me on right now.”
Watch Budden’s impassioned rant below:
Earlier in the episode, Joe Budden brought up rumors that Diddy and Jermaine Dupri will stage a second Verzuz in the latter’s hometown of Atlanta, with one battle focusing on Hip Hop and the other R&B.
“It’s too big to only do the Garden,” he said. “I think that this is gonna be a lot bigger than we even talking about. This ain’t just about Puff and JD. This is Atlanta versus New York.”
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Despite his bold declaration that Puff will cruise to victory, Budden acknowledged that a song like “It’s All About the Benjamins” might not hit in Atlanta the same way it will in New York.
By the same token, he also claimed that JD’s R&B catalog — which includes hits for Usher, Mariah Carey, Xscape and more — won’t be an automatic winner due to Diddy’s own work with the likes of Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans, among others.
“I can see JD making Puff do the Hip Hop one in Atlanta. I can see him throwing a wrench in the game,” he said. “You come do ‘The Benjamins’ out here where that shit might not be ‘The Benjamins.’ And let me do my Atlanta shit out here.”
He added: “I have Puff winning the Hip Hop one. The R&B one I think will be tougher than the Jermaine Dupri audience would like to admit.”
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Diddy and Jermaine Dupri’s Verzuz has been a long time in the making, with the So So Def founder first challenging the Bad Boy boss to a battle back in 2020.
Puff initially scoffed at the notion, rudely telling JD: “Your arms are too short to box with God” while claiming Dr. Dre is his only worthy opponent.
However, it appears Diddy has since had a change of heart and is ready to put his catalog to the test against Dupri’s.
