Jadakiss and Fabolous to locks horns in next Verzuz Instagram Live Battle, fans say it's 'gonna be dope'
New York-based rappers Jadakiss and Fabolous will be squaring off against each other in the next highly-anticipated Verzuz IG Live Battle matchup. They will soon be pitting their best tracks against each other on June 29 at 8 pm ET on the Verzuz TV and Apple Music platforms. The exciting announcement was made on Verzuz TV's official Instagram channel on June 24, along with a picture that contained a mock-up of a New York Knicks basketball jersey, emblazoned with the words "FAB V JADA." The caption for the announcement read "NY next up @myfabolouslife vs @jadakiss Monday, June 29th, 8PM EST on #VERZUZ | Watch on our IG or @applemusic in HD. Drinks by @CIROC."
This will be the first legit rap battle since Verzuz TV roped in the hip-hop legends Ludacris and Nelly back in May. After that, Verzuz had expanded its genre generously by veering into the neo-soul (Erykah Badu and Jill Scott), gospel (Kirk Franklin vs Fred Hammond), dancehall ( Beenie Man vs Bounty Killer) and R&B (John Legend vs Alicia Keys) realms. But now it looks like things have come full circle, and hip-hop is finally back on the radar for the uber-popular Verzuz Instagram Live Battle series.
As iconic rappers from the New York music scene, Jadakiss and Fabolous are well acquainted with each other, having dropped a joint album called 'Friday On Elm Street' in 2017. The album proved to be a hit and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart, so we can definitely expect some tunes from that record and more, as both Jada and Fab will be poised take a deep dive into their respective back catalogs.
The entertaining Verzuz IG Live Battle series was first started during the coronavirus lockdown by the legendary hip-hop producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, where each music star pitted their best tracks against the other's tracks in quick succession, for the benefit of a watching online audience. It soon expanded to include star matchups like Mannie Fresh vs Scott Storch, RZA vs DJ Premier, Lil Jon vs T-Pain, Johnta Austin vs Ne-Yo, Teddy Riley vs Babyface and many more.
The series soon became a viral phenomenon, serving as a celebration of music culture and some much-needed entertainment during the quarantine period. Audiences even swelled to millions of watchers, attracting the likes of Rihanna during the Beenie Man vs Bounty Killer showdown and even Michelle Obama during the recent Alicia Keys vs John Legend Verzuz episode.
So make sure you tune in to Verzuz TV on June 29 at 8 pm ET, because it's bound to be an entertaining night. As one fan declared on social media, "It's lit! NYC baby." Others were saying "This gonna be dope" and declaring "Now that’s a must-see." Another Verzuz follower noted that this was "The Freddie vs Jason we never thought we'd see." Another viewer exclaimed, "Yesss just what I asked for... I’m so here for this."