In a special Twitter Spaces hosted by Genius for Alicia Keys’ newest studio effort, KEYS, Jay-Z joined the chat in a rare moment for both Hip-Hop and R&B enthusiasts.
On Tuesday (Dec. 21), co-host Rob Markman took the opportunity to pose the question to Hov about a potential Verzuz and the Brooklyn mogul set the record straight with an answer no one was prepared for.
“Nobody can stand on that stage with me. I ain’t gon’ lie. No disrespect,” he stated. “Everyone’s amazing in doing what they done. No one can stand on that stage with me. I’m just telling you guys the real. There’s not a chance in hell that anyone can stand on that stage with me. You got to stand in front of the ‘Grammy Family Freestyle’ live?! No one’s ever even seen me perform that. You got to stand in front of that? That ain’t never going to happen. Let’s move on from Verzuz.”
Jay-Z on never doing a #VERZUZ battle “There’s not a chance anyone can stand on that stage with me” on @TwitterSpaces w/@aliciakeys @Genius @RobMarkman @Kozza @sc pic.twitter.com/Wh6IEdZfKQ
— ?jordan (@JustJordan_925) December 22, 2021
This is the first time Jay has publicly spoken about his stance on the Swizz Beatz- and Timbaland-created performance platform and, clearly, no punches were held. Fans of the musical battles have pitted Hov against the likes of Eminem, Nas, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and more, but with a discography like Hov’s, others think it might as well be a “Jay-Z And Friends” night of celebration.
Since its inception during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Verzuz has delivered epic face-offs with participation from some of the biggest names in Black music including RZA, Erykah Badu, Bounty Killer, Kirk Franklin, DMX, Patti LaBelle, Ashanti, The Isley Brothers, and The LOX.
The 52-year-old later shared his thoughts regarding the Lil Mama debacle at the 2009 VMAs. Markman asked if Hov had forgiven the Harlem-bred artist and he replied, “Of course, of course. C’mon. Don’t do that… That’s our sister. Man, we love her. I wouldn’t recommend people just jumping on other artists’ stages…”
Jay explained, “She’s a New Yorker. She got excited. Things happen. Of course, we love her… yes, she’s forgiven. It’s all love and she was coming from a place of love it’s just… may have been a little too excited.”
Meanwhile, Alicia Keys recently revealed on Drink Champs that she “was such a gorilla at the time” of her and Hov’s debut performance of “Empire State of Mind” that she did not even realize that Lil Mama had joined them on stage until Jay pointed it out to her afterward.
Listen to the snippet of Jay-Z on Twitter Spaces above.