Jadakiss agrees with Jim Jones‘ recent sentiments that he should have put an album out amid the hype from The LOX’s Verzuz win over Dipset in 2021.
Kiss addressed Capo’s statement while appearing on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday (May 2). While he did agree, he also had his reasons for why he didn’t do it.
AD LOADING...
“Out of all the crazy stuff he been saying lately, that was definitely right on,” Jadakiss began. “I should have, but I’m just trying to get my business affairs right. That gave me some leverage on the label to fix some stuff. You gotta learn – artists, when you can get the benefits on your side, you gotta work it.”
He continued: “I definitely should have dropped something, but I can’t really do microwave music. I got a bunch of songs on the hard drive – this, that and the other. Just ’cause I had the momentum, I didn’t feel… I still feel like I’m gypping the people if I just put out anything. You know, I like to cook my meals.”
The LOX went head-to-head with Dipset in an epic Verzuz battle at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in August 2021, which was watched by around 645,000 people online at its peak.
Jadakiss received a ton of attention after the battle thanks to his MVP-worthy performance, but Jim Jones doesn’t think he capitalized on the moment enough.
AD LOADING...
“Kiss reaped a lot of benefits from the Verzuz, man,” Jones told AllHipHopTV in an interview last month. “I mean, we all do things different and shit like that, but he had a hell of an opportunity to do a lot.
“I wish that he would have dropped a project at that time because it didn’t even matter what he would have put out in that window of time that he had. He could’ve just took eight records he had in the stash and just put them bitches out, that bitch was going platinum.”
AD LOADING...
He added: “That was one thing I wish he would’ve did as me being a fan and me being a n-gga in the industry. Like, ‘Yo, man, it’s a moment, he’s supposed to go. Next day, single out, everything. I’m in the studio right now with Swizz tonight, like n-gga!’”
Despite Jim Jones’ comments, Jadakiss didn’t completely fumble the bag after their Verzuz. Speaking to Complex last August, the Yonkers native revealed the battle helped him renegotiate his record contract with Def Jam.
“My numbers went up for hostings and walkthroughs, for shows, and TV cameos,” he said. “Just in general my numbers went up. It also showed Def Jam that they got to do the right thing [and] restructure my contract. It really showed the world my true worth, what I can do.”
Not only that, but The LOX’s catalog, which includes 1998’s Money, Power & Respect and 2000’s We Are the Streets, racked up 3.4 million on-demand streams in the U.S. the week of the battle.
AD LOADING...
That figure represented a 215 percent increase on the previous week’s amount, marking The LOX’s fifth-best streaming week ever.
