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After months of speculation, it appears that fans will finally get to see So So Def and Bad Boy Records face off in a VERZUZ battle according to Jermaine Dupri.
On Saturday (Oct. 8), the head of the iconic So So Def label appeared at the One Music Fest held in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of his native Atlanta, Georgia. Taking the stage before a jam-packed venue, Jermaine Dupri calmed the audience down and let them in on the news. “I’m saying this to let y’all know, the So So Def and Bad Boy VERZUZ is happening,” he said, prompting the crowd to burst into cheers. He didn’t reveal any further details, however.
The news comes as a welcome surprise, as preliminary discussions that took place this summer had stalled out. This was prefaced by an Instagram Live hosted by Diddy that featured Dupri as part of a series of talks he had with friends in the industry over the current state of R&B. During their chat, Dupri had expressed that he’d be open to a battle with the head of Bad Boy Records as long as it wasn’t connected to VERZUZ. At the time, the platform had been dealing with a lawsuit filed against it and its parent company Triller by Timbaland and Swiss Beatz over missed payments. “J.D., if you want that smoke, you can get that smoke anytime,” Diddy stated to Dupri, who replied, “Relax.”
Diddy would go on to say: “Since we ain’t f—in’ around with Verzuz no more since because they f—in’ around with our boys, we don’t need to be going against each other. Let’s come together and do that Bad Boy, So So Def in Atlanta… It ain’t no Verzuz, it’s just hit for hit.”
Since that conversation, VERZUZ has resolved its issues with the hit producers and founders. “VERZUZ has always been a platform that is by the artists, for the artists, and with the people,” Swizz Beatz and Timbaland said in a statement after the settlement. “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.”
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