There’s been a lot of chatter about a possible Jermaine Dupri vs. Diddy Verzuz fight, and tensions have been building even before the match has been confirmed. Fans, however, should not get their expectations up, according to Dupri.
On Wednesday (January 5), the So So Def hitmaker spoke on the newest episode of the New Rory & Mal podcast, where he dismissed a match-up between him and Puff owing to the performance aspect of the Verzuz series. 
Many of the Bad Boy mogul’s biggest songs, as JD points out, are collaborations with other musicians, including some who are either dead (The Notorious B.I.G.) or no longer on good terms with him (Ma$e), which poses a dilemma. “I don’t think so,” Dupri said when Mal questioned if the heavyweight bout would go place. Because I feel like it’s become a performance-based thing, and who’s going to perform on the majority of Puff’s records?
“Yeah, [you can bring out] The LOX, but you can’t have nobody do Big’s verses!” he continued. “And I don’t know that Ma$e would come out with him no more, so I don’t think that it would happen based on that.”
Jermaine Dupri, on the other hand, is adamant that he can outlast Diddy in the Verzuz ring. While Puff may struggle to gain backing from his former Bad Boy singers, JD’s team of collaborators, which includes Usher, Bow Wow, and Da Brat, is ready to go. 
He exclaimed, “All my people, we rockin’!” “And we’re coming with a lot of vigour!” Dupri also believes that So So Def’s discography will outlast Bad Boy’s, citing the popularity of Bow Wow and Mariah Carey in the 2000s, when Diddy’s once-dominant label began to fade.
“Everyone who thinks about this conflict, including Puff, tries to downplay the Bow Wow era,” he remarked. “By the time we get to the So So Def era of 2001, 2002, and 2003, I’m not sure Bad Boy was even a thing… On 106 & Park, I’ve never seen a Bad Boy record reach No. 1.”
“[The] Emancipation of Mimi came out in 2007,” he added. People seem to have forgotten about that small collection of records. Puff Daddy ain’t got nothing for 2007 — not on Bad Boy!” I’m telling you, “I don’t give a fuck what nobody says!”
