Jay-Z made a surprise appearance during Alicia Keys‘ Twitter Spaces chat with Genius’ Rob Markman on Tuesday (Dec. 21) and he made a bold statement when asked about who might be able to go toe-to-toe with him in a hypothetical Verzuz match-up.
“Ain’t nobody that can stand on that stage with me. I ain’t gonna lie, no disrespect. Everyone’s amazing, they’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me. Theres not a shot,” Jay told Markman in response to a question about who might be able to hold their own against Jigga in a lyrical battle according to Complex. “There’s not a chance in hell that anyone can stand on that stage for… I don’t know how long it is? Two hours? Two hours…. That’s ain’t gonna never happen.”
And while few would question Jay’s lyrical supremacy and uber-deep catalog of hits, Lil Jon reportedly raised his hand with a bold suggestion. In a comment on Jay’s claim in his Instagram Stories, LJ wrote in all-caps, “BUSTA [RHYMES] WILL SMOKE JAY-Z,” adding in smoke and popcorn emoji. At press time it did not appear that Busta had responded to Jon tossing his hat into the ring.
Jay also opened up about another hot topic during the chat to promote Keys’ new double album, Keys. When the convo turned to that time Lil Mama bum-rushed the stage when Jigga and Keys were performing “Empire State of Mind” at the 2009 MTV VMAs, Jay said all was forgiven.
“Of course, of course,” Jay said. “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… 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.”
You heard it str8 from Hov!! 💥💥💥
Big love to my brother for coming onto @Twitter Spaces and talking about #KEYS 🔒💙🔓What a CONVERSATION!!! Did you catch it??@sc @Genius @RobMarkman @Kozza @TwitterMusic pic.twitter.com/VGh9TgqfhO
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) December 22, 2021
