Kodak Black wants a Verzuz battle with Jay-Z and is willing to bet a lot to make it happen. Despite the obvious imbalance in audience and legacy, the Florida artist is apparently convinced he can hold his own. In fact, he’s so confident in his ability to pull out a win, he’s offering up 15% of his catalog should he lose — although he stands to gain more with a win, banking on a Vice President role at Jay’s Roc Nation management company. “I’ll do a versus wit Jay Z,” he tweeted last evening. “‘IF’ he win, he get 15% of my catalog! I win he make me Vice President of roc nation.”
I’ll do a versus wit Jay Z “IF” he win he get 15 % of my catalog ! I win he make me Vice President of roc nation
— Kodak Black (@KodakBlack1k) January 4, 2022
It’d be unexpected were Jay to accept any of these terms — there’s little evidence that Kodak has any managerial experience, let alone with such a prominent position. Plus there are the obvious risks of hiring an executive-level employee who’s just as likely to get locked up within a year as anything (please see: Kodak’s laundry list of offenses including gun possession, sexual assault, and more). Jay hasn’t even accepted challenges from those he considers peers, such as Rick Ross and Snoop Dogg, boasting that “no one can stand on that stage with me.”
That hasn’t stopped a number of rappers, from Kodak to Future to Young Thug, from sending out challenges and expressing their belief that they could beat him — even where there’s no significant overlap in their fanbases. Truth be told, there’s rarely actually been a clear “winner” in most of the Verzuz battles, which are more about celebrating legacies than they are settling competitions. Still, it speaks to Jay’s towering profile in the hip-hop world that so many artists still want a piece of him It looks like he still has the throne — and he’s not giving it up anytime soon.