T.I.‘s birthday gift to Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is a present for all of us! Fiddy turned 45 on July 6, and to mark the occasion, Tip challenged him to bring his music catalogue to Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz beat battle to see how it stacks up against that of the Atlanta trap pioneer. Tip, 39, made the dare during an Instagram video, where he said Fiddy could bring all of his greatest collaborators including Eminem. But the Queens-born rapper clapped back that T.I. was smoking “weed” if he actually thought he could could dust Fiddy in a competition over their best work.
“I heard its 50 Cent’s birthday. Happy Birthday Fifty. I appreciate you for staying down. For remaining healthy, alive and free for so long man. But for your birthday, I offer you a challenge sir. Pull your a** up with 20 y’all records. Sit across from me,” T.I. — real name Clifford Harris Jr. — dared, referring to Verzuz‘s 20 round battle system where each musician, songwriter or producer plays one of their hits up through the first chorus of the song.
“I understand if you don’t want to answer to that challenges cause last time you got challenged Kanye West dusted your a** off, so hmm…you might not want to do that,” Tip continued. He was referencing the epic 2007 “Clash of the Titans” episode of BET’s 106 & Park where both Yeezy and 50 came on to discuss their respective album drops of Graduation and Curtis at the same time. Whew, 13 years later and Tip still used it to burn Fif.
“Guess who ain’t scared of your motherf**king a** Fiddy. Look man pull up. Pull on up. Bring your a** on that. Bring your records, bring your hit records with you. You and Dr. Dre and Eminem and G-Unit, bring y’all a** on that. C’mon and see the king,” the Family Hustle star explained. Dre and the famously reclusive Marshall Mathers might take part, considering they actually showed up to support their pal Fif during his Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony in Jan. 2020.
Tip then made sure that fans knew that the two men weren’t beefing, and the Verzuz battle would be all about the songs they’ve delivered over the years. “You and me, we’re alright. I fought with you 50, it ain’t you this time. It’s your catalogue that got some trouble, you understand? Your motherf**king catalogue is in trouble,” Tip dissed.
T.I. then went on to say how fans have been wanting him to go up against other rap icons, but its Fiddy who he wants to square off against. “People been talking about me and Jeezy, me and Gucci (Mane)…listen man, I want Fifty. I want Fifty. Atlanta and New York, that we be doing. I want Fifty. Bring you a** outside Fifty. Someone call Fifty and tell him I’m on him. If he wants this smoke, I got the ashtray. Let’s see how long you have before you’ve sprung to my message.”
yo somebody passed TI the weed they gave smokey in Friday. LOL 😆 pic.twitter.com/2eJZgbHNgV
— 50cent (@50cent) July 6, 2020
It took less than an hour for Fif to respond, hitting up Twitter with a headline from an article about Tip’s challenge and the comment “yo somebody passed TI the weed they gave smokey in Friday. LOL,” referring to Chris Tucker‘s character in the 1995 film Friday. Under his tweet, fans were divided over who would win.
User @dan_k123 was confident that Fif will win any upcoming battle, writing, “@50cent 50 will wipe the floor with T.I with his album cuts alone …imagine he brings out his hits from the mixtape era,” while @uFo_98 namechecked Fif’s biggest albums and responded, “Get Rich or Die Tryin over T.I.’s entire discography any day and I have nothing against T.I. he’s dope for sure but against 50… idk about that.” But @draftsmanwolf wrote, “@50cent As much as I love fif, nahhh man TI got this!” and Tip fan @JoseVillaX agreed, tweeting, “It’d be a good match, but my money is on T.I. 50 has a strong catalog, but nothing recent. Tip has expeditiously been putting out good music.”
Tip ended his video by saying, “You have been challenged sir. Swizz, Timbaland, hook those motherf**king speakers up. Let’s get this sh*t on, I’m tired of talking about it. Set a time. Set a time and let’s go. I’m tired of talking about it. This man been picking on people for so long. Man’s been bullying y’all, throwing motherf**kers around. Bring your a** on that Fifty” he exclaimed before adding, “But enjoy your birthday though!”