"I’ma kill it" — Ludacris reveals who he thinks would be the winner in a verse-writing contest against Jay-Z

American rapper and actor Ludacris recently made an appearance on Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast. Among other topics, the two discussed what would happen if Ludacris and Jay-Z were given two hours each to write a rhyme.

Answering the question, Ludacris stated:

“I would have to say, I would win on that one.”

Expanding on his answer, the Act A Fool rapper also explained how he would win the verse-writing competition against Jay-Z:

“Verses, man, I’m just gon’ go in and metaphor and style, in terms of like flow, I’ma kill that s**t. It’s not to say that Hov is not gon’ kill that s**t.”

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Ludacris mentioned Jay-Z's name in the list of rappers he considers professionals

Talking about the verse-writing competition between himself and Jay-Z, Ludacris mentioned that the question puts him in the same category as the Young Forever rapper which is why he has to get into every word, every line, every flow, every style, and every metaphor.

The Get Back rapper also mentioned that he has worked with Nas and Jay-Z in his 2008 track I Do It For Hip Hop from the album Theatre of the Mind, and that the question reminded him of the same.

At the beginning of the interview, Cam Newton asked Ludacris about who he thought were true professionals in the music industry at the time. Answering the question by stating it is subjective to him, the Area Codes rapper mentioned:

“But for me, it would be the ones like the Jay Z's. Like the 2pac's, may he rest in peace, the [Notorious] B.I.G’s. It would be in the same conversation and category of what we arguably talk about as the greats.”

Elaborating his statement, Ludacris said that he mentioned those rappers because it was evident they eat, breathe, sleep, and sh*t rap music in the studio, indicating they do it with their heart. Additionally, he mentioned that he doesn’t think any artist has had an emotional impact on humans the way Tupac did.

In his appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s All The Smoke podcast dated May 25, 2023, Ludacris mentioned that in Jay-Z’s opinion, the Money Maker rapper’s music videos are the reason he doesn’t get enough credit for his songwriting talent.

Commenting on the same, Ludacris told the podcast:

“It was big. But there was a downside to it because even Jay-Z was one of the ones that said, you know, he don’t think I get the lyrical credit that I deserve because of the visuals."

Another instance of Jay-Z coming out in support of the Stand Up rapper’s talent was mentioned by Ciara in her Level Up Radio Show in 2020. Ciara said that her collaboration with Ludacris on the song Oh was a dream come true and that the Runaway Love rapper’s verses were the best he’s ever done.

Ciara also mentioned in her radio show:

“I know he’ll tell you how Jay-Z called him up and was like, “Yo, your verse is crazy.”

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Apart from talking about other rappers, the Body Shots rapper also spoke about his journey as an artist, comparing how the "foundational elements of getting things done" never change.

He talked about being an independent artist who saved money to make his own album, and mix and master it by working at a radio station.