JAY-Z Says There's 'Not a Chance in Hell' an Artist Could Beat Him in a Verzuz Battle

Photograph by Mason Poole. Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

Billionaire businessman and rap icon Jay-Z has nothing but smoke for anyone suggesting he entertain a battle on Verzuz, the music platform that rocketed to popularity mid-pandemic pitting artists in head-to-head competition with their contemporaries.

During a surprise appearance Tuesday on Alicia Keys’ Twitter Space, celebrating her new album "Keys," the artist made it clear that there would be no battle for him because any opponent would be outclassed.

“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. I'm just telling you guys the real... there’s not a shot," replied Hov to Genius’ Rob Markman when asked who might be able to go toe-to-toe with him on the Verzuz stage.

Jay-Z said as much while talking with Alicia Keys and Rob Markman on Twitter Spaces as the group discussed the R&B icon’s latest album, Keys.

Jay-Z on never doing a #VERZUZ battle “There’s not a chance anyone can stand on that stage with me” on @TwitterSpaces w/@aliciakeys @Genius @RobMarkman @Kozza @sc pic.twitter.com/Wh6IEdZfKQ

— 🎄jordan (@JustJordan_925) December 22, 2021

He followed up with a reference to his "Grammy Family Freestyle," a cypher made in an appearance on New York's Hot 97 in 2006, considered by many to be one of the best freestyles ever, to illustrate the disparity between himself and other rappers.

"You got to stand in front of the ‘Grammy Family Freestyle’ live? No one has ever even seen me perform that. You got to stand in front of that? That ain’t never going to happen,” Jay added.

Most other artists espousing such sentiment might come off as cocky, but the Brooklyn-born rapper may have the resume to back up such a weighty statement. Beginning with 1996's "Reasonable Doubt" his discography is littered with cultural touchstones and classics. He has also received the most Grammy Awards (23) ever awarded to a rapper.

In recent weeks he landed on the 94th Academy Award shortlists for Best Original Song for his work on "Guns Go Bang" from Netflix's The Harder They Fall, which he performed and wrote with Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi (the film's director, Jeymes Samuel, was also a co-writer). If the 52-year-old becomes an Oscar nominee, it could mark the first time in the award's history a husband and wife have competed against each other in the same category. His wife Beyoncé is also on the shortlists for her song "Be Alive" from the Warner Bros. movie "King Richard." There are 13 other songs on the shortlists.

Daughter Beyoncé and Grandkids Perform Theme for Tina Lawson's Upcoming Facebook Watch Show

©Facebook

Today the original Beyoncé announced she is launching a talk show on Facebook Watch with a little help from her grandkids and one of her Grammy-winning daughters.

Celestine Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson (nee Beyoncé), mother of mononymous music stars Beyoncé and Solange, posted a tease for the new show “Talks With Mama Tina” on Instagram.

The clip begins with her grandchildren — Solange's son, Julez, 17, and Beyoncé's children, Blue Ivy, 9, and twins Sir and Rumi, 4 — saying, "Let's talk about it, Grandma!" Then segues into a classic Beyoncé harmony with stacks inviting viewers to watch the show about “simple conversations with no limitations.”

Knowles-Lawson — a successful entrepreneur known for establishing the fashion brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles — captioned the post:

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my new @wetheculture @Facebookwatch show ‘Talks With Mama Tina,' where I've invited some of my favorite people over to my home and have a talk with me," Tina captioned an Instagram video of the show's trailer. "I loved filming this show and sitting down with so many amazing people because we got to have such honest heartfelt conversations and I got to make them my famous GUMBO! Be sure to tune in starting on THIS Wednesday 12/23 at 5 pm PCT to view.

She added, "Thank you to my baby @beyonce and my beautiful grand babies for making this special theme song for the show," she added. "Are you guys ready to watch?"

With an upcoming guest list that includes superstars like Kevin Hart, Zendaya, John David Washington, Tiffany Haddish Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Kelly Rowland, Ciara and more the show may soon become the talk of the town.

Watch the teaser for the show below:

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Legendary Rapper Kangol Kid Loses Battle With Colon Cancer

©Instagram @yokangol

Hip-hop and branding pioneer Kangol Kid is dead at 55 following a short battle with colon cancer.

A statement released by his family said Kid, who was diagnosed with cancer in February, died peacefully around 3 a.m. Saturday at a hospital in Manhasset, New York.

It was an inauspicious end for the Brooklyn-bred artist, born Shaun Shiller Fequiere, who had been honored by the American Cancer Society in 2012 for his fund-raising efforts. He was co-founder of the Mama Luke Foundation.

The charity for promoting breast cancer awareness was named in honor of Gay Frances Lucas, the
mother of his manager, who passed away from the disease in 2010.

“I watched her deteriorate,” said Kid, who at the time had never had cancer effect someone close to him before, of his reason for starting the foundation. “So, I took on the fight and said alright, there’s no reason anyone else should have to go through what she went through. I reached out to my friends, my hip-hop family … we became the top fundraising team for the American Cancer Society.”

The relationships he called on to fight cancer were built during a groundbreaking career. After starting his career as a B-boy, or breakdancer, at points touring with early rap powerhouses Whodini and Full Force, he took to the mic as one-fourth of the legendary group UTFO.

Formed in Brooklyn and comprised of Kid — whose non-de-plume derived from a neighborhood nickname acquired because of the many Kangol hats he owned — his former breakdancing partner Doctor Ice, the Educated Rapper and D.J. Mix Master Ice, the group, also known as the Untouchable Force Organization, released a string of hits in the 1980s.

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Chief among them was the now-iconic "Roxanne, Roxanne.” The 1984 single only reached No. 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart, but its influence on the genre has been lasting and deep.

Its release spawned imitators, scores of answer-tracks, and was the launching point for the careers of two of hip-hop's early female stars: Roxanne Shante and The Real Roxanne.

UTFO released five albums and continued to innovate, becoming the first rap group to perform at the Apollo Theater in 1985 and collaborating with heavy-metal band Anthrax in 1987.

Following the group's success, Kid wrote a music-industry advice column, first for Black Beat magazine and then for AllHiphop.com, and continued to write and produce for other artists. His relationship with Kangol hats, who ended up sponsoring him, remained strong his entire life with the company granting him free product. One of his newsboy-style Kangol hats is included in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.