The moment we’d all been waiting for finally happened: Teddy Riley and Babyface went head-to-head on Instagram Live, playing their biggest hits during an iconic Verzuz battle.
But after breaking the Internet—literally and figuratively—Verzuz producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have gone back to the drawing board on who they believe will take the series to a new level. And Dr. Dre is one producer they want.
“I need him to know that we need him and P. Diddy,” Swizz said on Instagram Monday night. “We need Dr. Dre versus P. Diddy Pay-per-view for the culture. Let’s bring the two kings in and give back to the people. This is a give back to the people.”
“Dr. Dre, P. Diddy, we are calling you to give back to the people. Pay-per-view [or] UFC-style with Verzuz,” Swizz added. “As a celebration, not a battle.”
To say that Dr. Dre and Diddy are music moguls would be an understatement. Both getting their respective starts in music before venturing to other entrepreneurial pursuits (such as Beats by Dre and Ciroc, respectively), Diddy, who founded Bad Boy Records, is credited with discovering and producing for talents such as the late Biggie Smalls, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, 112 and more (which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on his individual rap career, which gave us the classic hit “I’ll Be Missing You”).
Dr. Dre, on the other hand, helped create his rap group N.W.A and produced for Death Row Records at its peak, giving artists such as the late Tupac Shakur, Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Dogg classics before venturing to solo pursuits that later led to acts such as Eminem and 50 Cent. Dr. Dre also recently produced for Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak.
It will surely be a battle for the ages, but will Dr. Dre and Diddy accept the challenge?