Dr. Dre Ignites Rumors Of Eminem Rap Battle, Swizz Beatz Names His Dream Verzuz Opponent For Marshall Mathers

Dr Dre hints Eminem Verzuz rap battle, Swizz Beatz names Busta Rhymes as dream hip-hop opponent.

Getty Image / Kevin Mazur / Contributor


Dr. Dre ignited a firestorm of speculation by firing off an inquisitive post on Instagram. The social media post by the prolific hip-hop producer hinted that Eminem could engage in a Verzuz rap battle. Hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz suggested a dream opponent for Marshall Mathers in a Verzuz rap battle.

Dr. Dre posted a video of Eminem rapping the rapid-fire closing verse of his 2020 hit Monster with the caption: “Marshall Mathers vs Who???!!”

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The Instagram video was watched over 2.4 million times, and received thousands of comments – including one from Swizz Beatz. The On to the Next One producer suggested that Slim Shady go head-to-head with Busta Rhymes in a Verzuz battle.

“BUSTA!!!!!!!!!!! Let’s go,” Swizz wrote on Dr. Dre’s Instagram post.

In November 2020, Busta Rhymes named three rappers that he would want to challenge in a Verzuz rap battle – which included Eminem.

“I would love to spar against anybody,” Busta told Complex. “As long as their catalog is a powerful catalog because I don’t want to do a corny Verzuz.”

“I don’t wanna do no Verzuz with anybody whose catalog isn’t crazy,” said Busta – real name Trevor George Smith Jr. “And I would love to do a Verzuz with somebody that I’m a fan of because I’m only trying to compete with somebody that brings the best out of me.”

“I would love to do a Verzuz with Eminem, I would love to do a Verzuz with Lil Wayne. I would love to do a Verzuz with Hov,” Busta Rhymes proclaimed.

In October 2021, iconic b-boy dancer Crazy Legs revealed that Busta Rhymes told him that five rappers respectfully declined to battle him on Verzuz.

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One rapper who openly admitted that he wants nothing to do with a rap battle against Busta Rhymes is Fat Joe.

“Fat Joe is scared to do Verzuz with Busta Rhymes and so is everybody else,” Fat Joe said during an Instagram Live session. “You gotta understand, sometimes you ever notice—you seen boxers and they knock everybody out? People be scared to fight those boxers.”

“Busta Rhymes is gonna out-rap, out-perform anybody who goes up in a Verzuz with him. That’s a fact,” Joey Crack proclaimed. “Yo, Busta Rhymes nobody wanna get in there with you, man. You might have to be an honorary—they gotta give you the check for no reason.”

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