50 Cent Thinks Jeezy Participated In Verzuz Battle Out Of ‘Desperation’

UPDATED: 10:00 A.M. ET, Mar 10th, 2021 —

50 Cent is never shy about speaking his mind, especially when it involves taking shots at one of his opponents.

Source: Eugene Gologursky / Getty

During a recent interview on The Morning Hustle, 50 admits that he thought of Verzuz battles as something artists had to do because the world was quarantining. But now that things are starting to open up again, he simply doesn’t find a purpose for the platform. Not only that, he thinks the battles make the artists participating look desperate for money and for record sales.

“Soon as we come back outside I’m like, I don’t know why we’re still doing [Verzuz],” he said. “I think when they did the Jeezy, Gucci Mane [Verzuz], I think that that was desperation on Jeezy’s part trying to sell a record.…No, the record didn’t sell.”

50 continued, “But I think that’s what that was leading up to it because they looked at how much a catalog would sell and how much exposure you’ll have ‘cause he was releasing a record at that point. Other than that, I don’t know why you would do that.”

While 50 doesn’t think the battles can survive post-pandemic, that might not be the case. Verzuz was acquired by Triller on Tuesday, with every artist who did a Verzuz now becoming a shareholder in #TrillerVerzuz. Clearly, they’re looking to expand.

The masterminds behind the series– producers Swizz Beats and Timbaland released a statement expressing their excitement about the big deal with Triller, sharing that it “is a momentous occasion not only for Verzuz and Triller but the music business as a whole.”

“By putting Verzuz in the Triller Network ecosystem and expanding the Verzuz brand to be side by side with the powerful Triller app, we will be able to continue to grow and evolve the music business as a whole, as we have been doing,” the music legends added.

The Verzuz competitions became an instant success over the quarantine lockdown period as the live-streamed show put R&B and rap legends against one another for virtual music battles. Every episode brought in millions of viewers with each match. So far the VERZUZ battles have included a star-studded list of contenders like T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, Brandy vs. Vs. Monica, and Gucci Mane vs. Young Jeezy.