Hip Hop

Dipset Verzuz The LOX Hits Madison Square Garden

It’s an all New York Verzuz when Dipset and The LOX meet up at Madison Square Garden next month.

The evolution of the Verzuz phenomenon has inevitably come full circle with the announcement of an in-person performance featuring legendary New York crews Dipset and The LOX. The news came on Wednesday, July 14th, with a Verzuz Instagram post captioned, “NYC stand up this one is for the history books!!! THE LOX vs DIPSET TUESDAY, AUGUST 3RD LIVE from @hulutheatermsg!!”

The post included details about attending the in-person show at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theatre, announcing that tickets go on sale on July 15th. The faceoff will also be streamed on the Verzuz Instagram and the Triller app, which allows viewers to cast the performance to their televisions.

Both crews had repeatedly shown up in conversations about possible Verzuz contenders, leading to Jim Jones commenting on the dynamics of each group when he called into The Joe Budden Podcast back in December.

“Dipset and The LOX, a lot of camaraderie, a lot of good energy, a lot of energy to bounce off each other,” said Jones. “Cam, Jadakiss, and Styles P literally started the same year to get into this game off of freestyles and things like that. We represent the uptown part of New York City. We represent the culture for New York City.”

Taking to social media in anticipation of the show, Styles P offered his prediction about the outcome of the battle, saying, “If you got us losing you can’t be thinking about lyrics because when it comes to that…. No one is in position to challenge our expertise..!!!!!! No one …..!!!!!”

No matter which group comes out on top, it is remarkable to watch the Verzuz platform evolve from a purely online performance arena born out of necessity during the pandemic into a hit-for-hit battle happening in front of a live audience at Madison Square Garden. The event is a welcome sign that the world is returning to in-person entertainment while still holding onto some of the best things to come out of 2020.