Swizz Beatz has proposed Jadakiss‘ next Verzuz battle, but with a major twist to the usual format.
With the beloved battle series set to return later this year, Swizz spoke to fellow Verzuz visionary Timbaland about what he’d like to see from the upcoming third season — including a return from Jada, who stole the show during The LOX and Dipset‘s battle in August 2021.
Rather than see the Yonkers lyricist take on just one opponent, though, Swizz proposed pitting him against several of his contemporaries at the same time. What’s more, he even suggested the battle should be based on freestyles instead of “hit songs.”
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“You know what I wanna see? I wanna see everybody versus Jadakiss,” he said. “Beanie Sigel, Pusha [T]… everybody to the breakbeats. No hit songs, all freestyles. Zah! Survival of the spittist.”
Timbaland responded: “Wait a minute, so five against one? Oh, okay.”
The LOX and Dipset’s epic Verzuz battle took place at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater and was watched online by around 645,000 people at its peak.
Jim Jones recently stated that Jadakiss should have released an album after the contest to capitalize on the moment — a suggestion Jada himself agreed with him.
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“Out of all the crazy stuff [Jim Jones has] been saying lately, that was definitely right on,” Kiss said on The Breakfast Club. “I should have, but I’m just trying to get my business affairs right. That gave me some leverage on the label to fix some stuff. You gotta learn – artists, when you can get the benefits on your side, you gotta work it.”
He continued: “I definitely should have dropped something, but I can’t really do microwave music. I got a bunch of songs on the hard drive – this, that and the other. Just ’cause I had the momentum, I didn’t feel… I still feel like I’m gypping the people if I just put out anything. You know, I like to cook my meals.”
Jadakiss previously revealed that his MVP-worthy performance during the aforementioned Verzuz battle helped him renegotiate his contract with Def Jam.
“My numbers went up for hostings and walkthroughs, for shows, and TV cameos,” he said in August 2022. “Just in general my numbers went up. It also showed Def Jam that they got to do the right thing [and] restructure my contract. It really showed the world my true worth, what I can do.”
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Diddy recently announced he’ll be facing off against Jermaine Dupri in Verzuz at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on September 8, although the battle has yet to be officially confirmed by Swizz Beatz or Timbaland.
