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Nelly is convinced Jermaine Dupri would easily triumph over Diddy in a Verzuz battle, and no one is changing his mind.
The St. Louis rapper pulled up on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN for the latest episode of Drink Champs. Nelly opened up about his unexpected beef with KRS-One, his "Where The Party At" tour and other hot topics. Midway through the nearly three-hour conversation, N.O. asked Nelly to choose a preferred producer between J.D. and Timbaland. Nelly selected Dupri without hesitation and asserted that the So So Def founder would defeat Sean "Diddy" Combs in a Verzuz battle.
“Him and Puff was going to do a Verzuz, and Puff was gon’ get murdered," Nelly declared at the 1:33:12 mark. "Easy! Easy! Was not gonna be close. Puff is smart. He didn’t want no part. He knew that. Why you think he wanted to hold Verzuz in New York? JD could hold Verzuz anywhere. Puff only wanted to hold Verzuz in New York.”
“You do realize when you’re talking about JD, you’re talking about going all the way back to Kris Kross, Da Brat… You could lock JD in a room by himself, he will come out with the song," he continued. "He can perform it, he can make the beat and he can write it. Smash.”
During the peak of Timbo and Swizz Beatz's Verzuz run, Diddy and Jermaine Dupri had planned to compete in a live Verzuz battle. The battle would've been a hit-for-hit melee featuring classics from Bad Boy and So So Def. The battle was scheduled to go down in Atlanta but was later relocated to New York City.
It's been two years since the plans for the battle were publicly mentioned. Timbaland and Swizz Beatz weren't able to lock in the event amid speculation about Verzuz's future. Even though the duo previously announced their plans to bring back the event, the dream battle between Diddy and Jermaine Dupri probably won't happen due to the mogul's ongoing legal issues.
Watch the full episode below.