It was an all-out R&B party on Instagram Live this evening (May 25). For Memorial Day Weekend, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland decided to hold two Verzuz battles, first kicking things off with Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, and later with 112 and Jagged Edge. The latter saw the Bad Boy and So So Def quartets facing off with some of their favorite hits, and hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to groove to catch some "Quarantine & Chill" vibes.

Frederick M. Brown / Stringer / Getty Images

Songs included favorites like "Let's Get Married (Remix)" featuring Jermaine Dupri and Loon (JE), "Peaches & Cream" (112), "All Cried Out" with Allure (112), "He Can't Love You" (JE), "Cupid" (112), "Where the Party At" featuring Nelly (JE) and many more. Stevie J, 2 Chainz, Tory Lanez, Tamar Braxton, Lena Waithe, Troy Ave, Tank, Ja Rule, The-Dream, Monica, Kyla Pratt, Snoop Dogg, Teddy Riley, Papoose, Ludacris, Questlove, Sevyn, N.O.R.E., Fabolous, Jadakiss, The Game, Bun B, Lance Gross, Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, and so many more tuned in to celebrate R&B. While there were a few sound issues pertaining to low volumes and static here and there, it was great to see the two groups—sans Daron Jones and Q Parker from 112—complimenting each other on 20 years in the music industry.

At one point, 112 pulled in a surprise guest and it was none other than Keith Sweat himself. Viewers were begging for a Keith Sweat interlude so that everyone could hear "Twisted" just one time, but instead, 112 played Sweat's favorite song by them titled "Player." We've pulled together some clips of the event as well as some reactions, so check it all out below.

Years ago, The Lox found a home with Bad Boy Records. The New York rap trio was featured on a number of the label’s hits, but somewhere along the line, things began to grow sour between Sheek Louch, Styles P, Jadakiss, and the label’s head honcho, Diddy. The rappers petitioned to have The Lox released from Bad Boy, even speaking with radio stations to air out their grievances, but it wasn’t until Styles P reportedly threw a chair at Diddy did they all agree to part ways.

Theo Wargo / Staff / Getty Images

The Lox recently revisited that incident when speaking with HipHopDX, and Styles P was remorseful about how everything went down. “The moment with tossing the chair at Puff was a combination of being really f*cking stupid and really f*cking angry,” said Styles P. “I think for me, Big was always the barrier, and the mediator, and the middle person. He was always able to make things make sense to me. So I think when Big passed, it was just kind of really hard for me to deal with it and see certain things.”

While Styles may feel bad about those moments filled with tension, he still stands by everything he said about Bad Boy and Diddy at the time. “We don’t regret anything at all. It was like us saying you want some of this old man,” he added. Sheek Louch chimed in, “Man it’s a part of the history, baby. To be honest, if you would’ve known how many artists and MC’s came to us after that saying, ‘Yo, we should’ve did that,’ or ‘We wish we would’ve did that. It was still a very dumb thing to do, but it felt good to do because I think a lot of people wanted to do it. But they ain’t have the balls.”

“It made us who we are,” added Jadakiss. “It showed us, like he said, it might have not been the smartest thing to do today. But we was young, we was rebellious, and we was savage mode.” Meanwhile, make sure to keep an ear out for The Lox’s forthcoming record, Living Off Xperience, that’s set to hit streaming services sometime this year.

[]

Are we about to watch quartets from Bad Boy and So So Def go hit-for-hit? These Verzuz battles have certainly been a cornerstone of entertainment during this COVID-19 pandemic. As we’ve been quarantined at home, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have managed to craft a formidable business from Instagram Live. The “Stay Home” ordinances have become “Safer At Home” orders as governments worldwide are lifting their quarantine laws, but Verzuz has still managed to be the at-home concerts that hip hop and R&B fans have desperately needed.

In recent weeks we’ve watched Erykah Badu and Jill Scott heal our souls with a few of their noteworthy tracks yanked from their catalogs, and just this past weekend, Nelly and Ludacris had folks jamming to their award-winning songs. While many R&B fans have been waiting on Brandy and Monica to share a Verzuz session, Brandy recently revealed that Monica turned down the opportunity. So, it’s time for Swizz and Timbaland to chat about who’s up next, and the conversation has shifted to Bad Boy’s 112 versus So So Def’s Jagged Edge.

“Get ’em on the phone [Jermaine Dupri], let’s make that happen,” said Swizz Beatz in a video. Timbaland chimed in, “Come on now, don’t play no games.” Tyrese and Keyshia Cole didn’t hesitate to share their enthusiasm in the comment section, but Swizz came through to update that he’s still waiting for Dupri’s call. Check out the clip below and swipe through to take a look at the two group’s radio hits. Meanwhile, while we know these Verzuz battles are really “celebrations of music,” who do you think would take the crown when it comes to Jagged Edge vs. 112?

It's time to put some respect on Stevie J's name—that is, according to the hitmaker. The Grammy Award-winning producer is known for his work with Bad Boy Records and crafting tracks for Diddy, Notorious B.I.G., Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Rick Ross, Summer Walker, Bobby V, Faith Evans, Black Rob, Jay Z, and more. He's responsible for "Only You" by 112, Biggie's "Mo Money Mo Problems," and Mariah Carey's "Honey," but Stevie J feels as if people aren't giving him the props he deserves.

Leon Bennett / Stringer / Getty Images

All of this Instagram Live Battle and Verzuz talk has rap and hip hop fans bringing up artists and producers that some people have overlooked, including Stevie. A fan wrote on Twitter, "I really want @hitmansteviej to go against any producer!!" to which the Love & Hip Hop star replied, "I’ll end any x every producers career." That's a bold statement, but he believes he has the receipts to back up his declaration.

When someone asked if Kanye West was in that group, Stevie J said, "He’s dope but yep." There have been rumors that Timbaland and Swizz Beatz are attempting to get Diddy and Dr. Dre to face off in a Verzuz battle—for a price with proceeds going to charity—but someone tweeted that those two aren't a proper match. According to the Twitter user, Dr. Dre should go up against Kanye while someone like Diddy should battle an artist like Stevie.

"Dudes not bringing my name up because NONE of them can touch me vocally or musically. Not cocky jus facts!" he wrote in response. Do you agree with Stevie J on this one?

There isn’t a song this year that’s been dominating the streets, radio, and social media as much as Fivio Foreign’s “Big Drip.” Layered with ab-libs that do more damage than the punchlines themselves, Fivio’s string of releases in the past year have emphasized the raw energy coming out of the East Coast right now. Over the accelerating beat produced by UK sound smith Axl Beats, Fivio Foreign painted a hot summer in Brooklyn with a visual that drove the imagery home — substituting Super Soakers for straps, Henny bottles in hand, and, most importantly, everyone outside. 

The Brooklyn drill sound, commonly noted by Axl Beats’ production, has gained steam across the globe. It became the backdrop for the controversial, often masked artists that have come from London and its surrounding area over the past few years, but Axl himself found placements in the budding scene. 22GZ “Suburban” and Sheff G’s “No Suburban” were among the two songs to set this new scene ablaze with Axl’s groundbreaking production. Arguably, it’s Fivio Foreign and the late Pop Smoke that carved out an even bigger space for that sound to thrive in the mainstream. 

Fivio Foreign releases his major-label debut on Columbia Records today. Propelled by “Big Drip,” and a remix featuring Quavo and Lil Baby, as well as the recent single, “Wetty,” all eyes are on Fivio. In between the singles, leaks hit the Internet including a forthcoming collaboration with Drake which the Canadian rapper recently played during a live stream. 

Though the rap game has been put on hold somewhat, along with the rest of the music industry, in the wake of COVID-19, Fivio’s sticking to his original game plan to release the project this spring. Posted outside with a blunt in hand just days after testing negative for COVID-19, Fivio explained how his M.O. from the jump is keeping it organic — whether it be with releasing music or his flamboyant dance moves.

“I’m just being myself in the video,” he told HNHH over Facetime during a windy day in New York City. “Like, I’m having fun, that’s what I like to do, I like to turn up. It’s just natural. That’s just how we get it out. Music make you dance anyways. You gonna wanna bust a move when you hear that music, anyways.”

Fivio discusses the late Pop Smoke, the leaked Drake collab, and more. 

Stream his new project 800 B.C.right here.

Image Publicist

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

HotNewHipHop: Yo, what’s going on?

Fivio Foreign: What’s up, boy? I’m outside. My phone might be dying soon. 

You just announced the release date for the new project, right?

Yeah, April two-four, two-four. 

I know you’ve been spotted with a lot of big artists. Can you tell me about some of the features you’re going to have on the project?

Yeah. I got n*ggas like Lil Tjay, Meek Mill, Polo G, Pop Smoke. I got some shit up there. We gonna go viral. 

Oh sh*t, you got the Pop Smoke feature on there.

That’s a fact. RIP Pop.

Rest In Peace, for sure. What can you tell me about your relationship with Pop Smoke? 

That’s family. That’s hometeam right there. That’s family for real.

Who produced the joint with Pop Smoke?

Oh, damn. I don’t even know. I don’t even know who produced it. 

It’s not an Axl beat?

Nah, I don’t think it’s an Axl beat.

I know you just mentioned Meek and obviously you got work with Tory as well. Justbeing new in the game, how does being around artists like that help you maneuver in the industry?

It gives everybody a chance to look at it like “oh damn.” I get to learn from these guys. I get to better my craft. Everybody I been around, like, I speak to them and they speak to me and they tell me certain sh*t like how this sh*t goes and sh*t like that. 

I know there was a snippet of your Drake collab on the web.

Yeah, that was dope. That wasn’t really supposed to get out there like that. It’s out, though.

How did that collaboration come about? I know Drake was a fan of “Big Drip.”

Drake is just in tune with mad sh*t. That’s Drake so you can’t really hit up Drake for a song, you gotta wait till he ready.

So he reached out randomly and it worked out from there?

That sh*t bust my ass. I was like damn.

I know you did a little video with Lil Kim that you posted on Instagram, and you have relationship with Ma$e, and you shouted out Diddy in a recent interview. Being from New York, what did Bad Boy mean to you growing up?

Bad Boy was like — We looked at Bad Boy as the platform, how we really supposed to do this sh*t. How we supposed to have artists and go viral. See me in the videos, go crazy. I f*ck with Diddy.

Have you and Diddy spoke yet?

Um nah, I don’t think I’ve ever spoke with Diddy, but I’m real cool with his sons and sh*t. 

You have any music coming out with Christian?

I got a song with Christian. It’s out already. Earlier on, it’s on WorldStar.

Brooklyn Drill is taking over the world and that’s in part to what you’re doing and to what a lot of people from your neighborhood are doing right now. What’s your opinion on how this new generation of Brooklyn is coming out and what you guys are doing to carry the legacy of hip hop from your borough?

To carry on a legacy, man. We just gone keep doing what we do. It should be natural, feel me? I got mad people coming behind me too. I’m just gon’, like, I’m just gon’ keep it going natural. I’m just like whatever happens, happens. It ain’t really too much pressure.

What I find dope about what you guys are doing is you’re bringing dancing back into hip hop again. It kind of felt like there was a space where it wasn’t as incorporated anymore. What inspires you to make sure you’re still keeping it jiggy and having fun in your videos?

For the most part, we just being ourselves. I’m just being myself in the videos. Like, I’m having fun, that’s what I like to do, I like to turn up. It’s just natural. That’s just how we get it out. Music make you dance anyways. You gonna wanna bust a move when you hear that music, anyways.

Why was it important to release your music in this whole Coronavirus debacle that’s going on?

I already had it planned. I had it planned and I like to stick to the plan. 

You weren’t gonna let that derail you?

Naah. Can’t let nothing derail me, you know what I mean?

I wanted to ask you about Bobby Shmurda. What’s that relationship like, if there is one or how he’s influenced you, the way Brooklyn’s been moving. 

Bobby is home team, too. That’s like somebody who brought all the eyes to this sh*t, anyways. That’s something I’m always going to keep in my mind.

Do you guys have something in the cut? Do you have something with the GS9 guys?

I mean, I been knew them. I got old sh*t with Rowdy Rebel. Ain’t nothing new, ain’t nothing going crazy. They come home, we probably gone go crazy. Like you know, That’s automatic.

What could we expect after this mixtape and when do you plan on dropping the album?

Right after the mixtape, I’ma get right into the album. That sh*t gone go crazy. Viral. 

Are you trying to drop that before the end of the year?

Yeah, summertime. Hit ‘em up.

Although he’s hailed as a rap icon, the late Biggie Smalls only has two albums under his belt. The slain rapper lost his life to a drive-by shooting back in 1997, and his family, friends, and loved ones are left to speculate a life and career that could have been. On his second and final album, Life After Death, Biggie collaborated with his fellow Bad Boy artists The Lox to deliver the classic track “Last Day.” Over the years, The Lox member Jadakiss has shared stories about his times with Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, and he recently bestowed a few more memories with People’s Party with Talib Kweli.

“We would just go inside his session and pick his brain,” Jadakiss recalled. “Ask him mad questions, just ask him about all type of sh*t. Ask him what was he thinking when he wrote certain verses. Ask him what to expect. He told us Puff was gonna do a lotta things we didn’t like, but he was gon’ make us stars. That was actually a reality.”

Jadakiss added that Biggie was a big supporter of The Lox and admired their work ethic. “He had big plans for us working together,” the rapper added. “As you can see, we was one of the only rare features on the Life After Death project. Wasn’t too many. For us to be young, new artists, to be on that album was a big thing for us.”

Biggie told Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P to always be hungry in the rap game and to “never take no days off.” Jadakiss also said that after Big performed at the Apollo Theater with Mase and Junior M.A.F.I.A., the late rapper told him that he needed that show because he only had $200 to his name.

“That’s one thing I might do. Sh*t come across the table that other artists might not do and if it ain’t too much going on, Imma take it,” Jadakiss said. “I always remember him saying that.” Check out the clip of Jadakiss talking with People’s Party with Talib Kweli below about being in the studio as Notorious B.I.G. recorded his classic and final album Life After Death.

“Now, what y’all wanna do? Wanna be ballers? Shot-callers? Brawlers?” You don’t have to be a fan of hip hop to know where those lyrics are pulled from. “It’s All About the Benjamins” dropped way back when in 1997, but it’s still a relevant hip hop, party jam. The Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie-produced classic had multiple versions that featured Diddy, Notorious B.I.G., Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Lil Kim. Diddy’s bars are some of the most memorable from “It’s All About the Benjamins,” and Jadakiss talked about penning Puff Daddy’s lines during a recent visit with People’s Party with Talib Kweli.

According to Jadakiss, he was just minding his business, spittin’ a few bars when Diddy overheard him. “I already had that rhyme,” the rapper said of Diddy’s verse. “He heard it and was like, ‘Nah, that’s me. Let me get that rhyme right there. He took that and put that on ‘Benjamins.’ Me and [Sheek Louch] didn’t like the ‘Benjamins.’ He almost forced us to record the verses that we have on there. We didn’t really understand what that beat…it [didn’t] grasp us at the time. We wasn’t eager to just record it.”

Yet, Diddy had a vision and knew it would be a hit. “That’s what makes Diddy Diddy,” Jadakiss added. “That really was like, our first commercial and ‘hood hit that catapulted us besides the mixtape stuff that we was doing.” Diddy’s final “All About the Benjamins” verse wasn’t how it was initially penned, because Jadakiss also revealed that the rap mogul “did about four versions of it.”

Check out what else Jadakiss had to say below, including bits about Mase writing for Kanye and how he felt about being mentioned in Yeezy‘s 2005 hit “Touch the Sky.”

As Diddy revives his hit show Making the Band over a decade after the last season ended, some of his former contestants are speaking out about their experiences. Danity Kane is hailed as the most successful act to come from the MTV series, but not all of the ladies share fond memories of their time on reality television. Aubrey O’Day previously told Diddy to finish what he started with the acts he’s already helped shape, and now Danity Kane’s D. Woods tells Page Six that she was “miserable” on the series.

Paras Griffin / Stringer / Getty Images

Danity Kane has reunited in recent years, but only with three of its members. Wanita “D. Woods” Woodgett decided not to rejoin her former girl group as she continues to grow her career in the entertainment industry. Prior to joining Making the Band in 2005, Woods said she was an intern at 40 Acres and a Mule, Spike Lee’s production company, and worked at radio station Power 1015.1. She’d even gone on tour as a dancer for Bow Wow and Snoop Dogg.

“It was a hard part of my life,” said Woods. “It was not pleasant.” Danity Kane won a record contract with Bad Boy following Making the Band, but Woods claims it was rigged. “[I] knew so much about the industry but really [couldn’t] apply any of it,” she said. “I had no leverage. Nobody cared.” Diddy has been criticized for some of the things that he said to the Danity Kane ladies about their appearances, and Woods recalled when the music mogul told her he was just “a burger away” after questioning her about her stomach and asking her if she’s “feeling a little thick.”

“Do you know how long people would stop me on the street and say, ‘You must have lost a lot of weight,’ and I’ll be like, ‘No, I am actually the same size.” She made it clear to Page Six that she wouldn’t be tuning in to watch Diddy’s forthcoming Making the Band reboot.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, 112’s was one of the reigning R&B groups. The Bad Boy Records quartet was one of the biggest singing groups in the world at the time with hits like “Only You” with Mase and Notorious B.I.G, “Anywhere” with Lil’ Zane, “Peaches & Cream,” “Cupid,” and “It’s Over Now.” Like many other singing groups of music history’s past, 112 eventually disbanded over personal differences, but Q Parker sat down with TV One for Life + Lyrics to chat about what it was like in 112’s heyday.

Leon Bennett / Stringer / Getty Images

“Being signed to Bad Boy was a dream come true,” Q recalled. “It was sort of like, our gift, because all we watched were Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Take 6. So when we finally put our group together it was like, that’s gonna be us one day. Jermaine Dupri passed on us, Dallas Austin passed on us, Teddy Riley passed on 112.”

Then, the R&B group got their big break. “Here comes Puffy who had this edge about him,” said Q. “I believe the gift for us was we were supposed to sign with Bad Boy because he brought an element out of us that I don’t know would have been brought out of us had we signed to those other executives. We would’ve still been the balladeers and the crooners and all of that, but Bad Boy gave us like—we were the guys you could take home to mom, but we were the guys mom want you to stay away from. We had a nice blend of bad boy but church boy, too.”

He said Bad Boy’s era from 1194-2004 is something that is etched into R&B and hip hop history. “And you can’t mention that era, and the dominance of that era, without mentioning 112,” he said. Q added that the group met Diddy outside of the nightclub 112 and they sang for him on the spot. They soon became the fourth artist to sign to Bad Boy.

Check out Q Parker talk about his Bad Boy memories, his relationship with Diddy now, and why he’ll always show the hip hop mogul love.

After Diddy was bestowed with the Industry Icon Award at the Pre-Grammy Gala a few weeks ago, Mase came forward to criticize Diddy’s business tactics. According to Mase, when he was signed to Bad Boy Records, Diddy bought his publishing for a mere $20,000. Recently, Mase supposedly approached the mogul to buy back his publishing for $2 million, but Diddy declined as he had a higher offer on the table. Mase aired Diddy out for expecting him to outbid a European, while he’s preaching about black excellence. 

50 Cent has been in the music industry for quite some time now and he’s got a solid understanding of how business works in general. He’s also always willing to share his opinions on any topic, so he didn’t shy away from exposing Mase when appearing on RapRadar’s “Cigar Talk”. Fif argued that Mase was in no place to publicly shame Diddy for holding his publishing hostage when Mase is apparently doing the same thing with up-and-coming Brooklyn rapper, Fivio Foreign. 

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

“This is just personal shit between the two of them and those feelings are there because they have dealt with each other for years and years and years,” 50 started before going in on Mase. “When he’s pointing out the publishing shit, he’s doing the same shit to young boys now. Fivio [Foreign]. He’s doing the same thing that they did to you, boy. What the fuck you crying about some shit that somebody did to you and you doing it to someone else? Get the fuck out of here man.”

Putting aside judgments on the morality of these sorts of publishing deals, 50 believes artists need to accept their past decisions rather than getting salty. “You can’t cry over spilled milk after the fact, look at it and go ‘Oh, I should have never did this’… Things you go through make you who you are… At that point, when he did the deal, that’s the right deal. If you ask me if Fivio did the right deal, I’d say yeah.”