But last night showed the true beauty of New York rap: all the acts onstage sounded different within that New York rap classification. Talk about “New York sounding like New York” usually comes up to police artists into a rigid rubric of neck-snapping drums and 95 BPM. For all the Timbs and oversized Pelle Pelle homogenization people employ when it comes to New York hip-hop culture, Dipset and The Lox are two starkly different acts. And when you talk about New York rappers with national appeal, Dipset is near the top of the list. When you talk about gritty rap, The Lox is at the top of the list. The tracks had me in a web of thought, delving through the rich history of East Coast rap, which is what the night was about, after all. I pondered if some of the artists he played would make an appearance, then realized that artists like Jay-Z (yeah right), Diddy (maybe), and Beanie Sigel (I could see it) could have shown up to perform for either side. Despite some mishaps that were well-chronicled on social media (“Hit Em Up” in New York?), he did a solid job of keeping the crowd mostly hype, as he ran through a mix of mostly New York and Philly rap staples. New York wasn’t trying to hear that, and large portions of the crowd let Technique know by booing until he switched to another track. But, with respect to Uzi, we were in a different lane last night. In the digital-only format of Verzuz, Technician t he DJ would have never felt backlash for playing Lil Uzi Vert’s crooning in a mix of gritty New York rap.
While Dipset at times seemed too stuck on what Verzuz has been in the past, feeling as unorganized as last year’s shaky wi-fi moments, The Lox put on a show worthy of Madison Square Garden.
The Lox, gritty Yonkers vets (and apparent underdogs for many), brought it to Dipset with a level of showmanship that showed what all live Verzuz events should be going forward. Little did I know that the knockout had set the tone for the rest of the night. Hunter then bowed to the crowd, which, if they were anything like me, was half enthusiastic about his display, and half excited that the preliminaries were over and it was time for Dipset and The Lox to go at it. “Stone Cold about to go down,” an onlooker repeatedly yelled behind me, joking about Wilson’s resemblance to the wrestling icon. Boxer Michael Hunter had Mike Wilson reeling, hitting him flush with blows he was too dazed to do much about.
#The lox and dipset verzuz date full
Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater was already astir when I walked in, though it was probably only 50% full at first. Triller, who bought into Verzuz in March of this year, augmented the main event with a pair of boxing matches on Tuesday, August 3. Santana’s From Me 2 U and What The Game’s Been Missing as well as their seminal debut as a group, 2003’s Diplomatic Immunity.Īnd when you add in each crew’s lengthy list of guest appearances and mixtape catalogs, the fireworks fans can expect when The LOX and Dipset touch the Madison Square Garden stage are sure to be explosive, to say the least, making for what has the potential to be a pivotal moment in modern hip-hop history.The contentious atmosphere for The Lox and Dipset Verzuz battle was set by a literal heavyweight fight. In addition to their group albums, each member has also dropped strong solo efforts, including Kiss Tha Game Goodbye and Kiss of Death by Jadakiss, Styles P’s statement-making Gangster and a Gentleman, and Sheek’s After Taxes, which completed the trifecta.ĭipset, led by Cam’ron, with Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zekey rounding out the group’s core lineup, had one of the more memorable reigns in the history of New York street rap, releasing classic solo efforts, group albums, and compilations, including Cam’ron’s Confessions of Fire, C ome Home With Me, and Purple Haze Jones’ Harlem: Diary of a Summer and Hustler’s P.O.M.E. Comprised of members Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, The LOX unleashed their solo debut, Money, Power, Respect, on Bad Boy Records in 1998 before moving on to Ruff Ryders and doubling down with their acclaimed sophomore offering, We Are the Streets, two years later.
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