The two rap icons took to the stage at Madison Square Gardens last night in front of a live audience for the latest Verzuz battle.
Going 20 rounds, they both brought their biggest hits to the stage, including Ja Rule‘s “Between Me and You” and “Livin’ It Up” and Fat Joe’s “All I Do Is Win (Remix)” and “All the Way Up”.
While they’re friends and collaborators, they didn’t miss the opportunity to take casual jabs at each other between songs. Joe teased Ja Rule about his involvement in the Frye Festival a few years back and teased his relevance asking, “Where you been the last 10 years?”.
Fat Joe is best known for his association with D.I.T.C (Diggin’ In The Crates Crew), a rap collective that included Big L, Lord Finesse, Diamond D and Buckwild among others.
He was also part of Terror Squad with Remy Ma and Big Pun, who passed away in 2000 after a heart attack and respiratory failure.
Ja Rule found his fame after featuring on Jay-Z’s 1998 hit single “Can I Get A…”.
He later became a key figure in rap supergroup Murder Inc., which at one point featured Jay-Z and DMX.
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Guests on the stage at the battle included Ashanti, Remy Ma, Lil Mo, and Vita as well as Jadakiss performing “New York” with the MC’s, and Nelly who performed “Hot in Herre”.
Besides the A-listers, the memes were also top-notch:
50 cent in the rafters at Ja Rule and Fat Joe Verzus pic.twitter.com/7hA1yPx1U3
— Papi HATHAWAY 🇯🇲 (@HeadcACE1906) September 14, 2021
Ashanti singing for both Ja Rule and Fat Joe the whole night #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/3Wtd3DQ6v3
— Adaeze (@ViivaLaRiita) September 14, 2021
Fat Joe plays “All I Do Is Win”
Ja Rule: “This ain’t yours either!”
🤣🤣🤣 #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/cS5ph4Pn2d
— All Things Battles 🖊🔥 (@AllThingsBRC) September 15, 2021
Verzuz was created by legendary producers Swizz Beatz (DMX, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes) and Timbaland (Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake) during COVID-19. The battle sees two musicians, usually R&B and hip-hop, playing their biggest hits along with their collaborations.
The battles were initially just live-streamed on Instagram but with the relaxing of COVID restrictions, they’re beginning to have a live audience.
Other Verzuz battles include DMX vs Snoop Dogg, Ghostface Killah vs Raekwon, The Isley Brothers vs Earth, Wind & Fire and Bow Wow vs Soulja Boy.
Witness the Ja Rule vs Fat Joe battle below:
