Ice Cube has explained why he turned down Verzuz battles with LL COOL J and Scarface.
Appearing on the Bootleg Kev Podcast alongside fellow Mount Westmore members Too $hort and E-40, the N.W.A legend revealed why he turned down the invites and how he had a different idea in mind.
“I think they was talking LL at one point, they was talking Scarface at one point,” he began. “I said, ‘No.’ Verzuz is good, but my concept would have been, ‘Yo, I’m a fan. You do this song for me.’ Like, okay, I get to have LL do my favorite LL songs and he gon’ have me do my favorite Ice Cube songs.
“And it’s not Verzuz, but it’s love. It’s like, ‘Yo, do this, and he do ‘Rock the Bells,’ and he asks me, ‘Yo, do ‘Once Upon a Time in the Projects.” That would have been my concept.”
He added: “I can’t go against people I admire. LL is an OG to me in the game, so I can’t see it. Me and Scarface love each other, but we don’t communicate enough to do a Verzuz together. I don’t want it to be competition.”
Ice Cube previously told The Breakfast Club last year that he had nothing against Verzuz, but it wasn’t something on his bucket list.
“It’s a great idea, a great concept, but it’s nothing that’s on my bucket list, wish list or nothing like that,” he said. “It started off on an adversary tip and then it showed a lot of love in Verzuz. So I like how it’s evolved because guys shouldn’t be really going up there putting catalogue against catalogue. That right there, to me, ain’t what it’s about. It’s about showing love.”
Speaking to The Breakfast Club that some month, Scarface revealed he was down to do a Verzuz with Ice Cube, but also wanted to put a twist on the usual format.
“I’ll do one with Cube on solo,” he said. “I’ll play all my favorite Cube shit, he’ll play all his favorite Face shit. I’ll beat him with that. I’ll kill him with the favorite Cube shit because I got favorite Cube shit that can’t nobody touch.”
