Round by Round Preview of a Potential Busta Rhymes vs Eminem Verzuz

Kevin Benoit

Feels like ever since these Verzuz battles started, folks have been trying to figure out who would be the best opponent for Busta Rhymes. The rapper is as eclectic as he is animated and he has a career that spans over 3 decades. Last month, Eminem emerged as a a possible opponent after a viral post from Dr. Dre suggested that he was open to doing a Verzuz. So we decided to put together a preview of a potential Busta Rhymes vs Eminem Verzuz battle.

We understand that most fans want a Busta Rhymes vs Missy Elliott Verzuz, but both artists have said that they wouldn’t want to go against each other. And honestly, they probably aren’t as good a match as people think. Busta doesn’t have enough of an R&B bag to go against Missy!

Here’s how we went about putting this together:

We caught up with a super Busta Rhymes fan/supporter and a super Eminem fan/supporter. Holding it down for Busta was James. He runs the weekly ‘Man Knows Hip-Hop Podcast’ @mkhhpodcast | Holding it down for Eminem was Danny. He’s an admin for @MainlyEminem on Twitter and has been a Hip-Hop blogger, focusing on Eminem and Shady Records since 2017. Turns out they are both from the United Kingdom!

Over a chat, they came out with the 22 songs for each emcee.

Then, I got 5 judges with various ties to Hip-Hop and music to judge the 22 rounds.
01) Hip-Hop Journalist, editor, director, producer & admin for Hip-Hop Discussion Group on FB: Theron “Tee Smif” Smith, Broooklyn, NY native, Greensboro, NC resident
02) Rapper and co-host of the Geekset Podcast: Young Deuces out of Milwaukee, WI
03) 30-something diva mom + wife journeying through life with her family, her notebook, and her makeup bag in tow. Founder of the beauty and lifestyle blog, So She Writes: Miss Dre of North Carolina
04) Hip-Hop Journalist and playlist curator for Check The Rhyme, out of Sacramento, California: Ruben
05) Decorated Emcee, Educator and XXL Freshmen Alum: Bronx, NY native, Mickey Factz

We have since added
06) Fan vote. Fans were able to judge via a Google Form throughout the month of March
07) My vote.

We also created playlists to go with this Busta Rhymes vs Eminem Verzuz. You can listen to the Busta Rhymes vs Eminem playlist here: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal

Round 1: A Tribe Called Quest featuring Busta Rhymes – “Scenario” vs. Eminem – “Square Dance”

Judges: Unanimous across the board

Winner: Busta Rhymes
A Tribe Called Quest featuring Busta Rhymes – “Scenario”

Round 2: Busta Rhymes – “Woo Hah! (Got You All In Check)” vs. Eminem featuring Joyner Lucas – “Lucky You”

Judges: Unanimous across the board

Winner: Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes – “Woo Hah! (Got You All In Check)”

Round 3: Busta Rhymes – “Gimme Some More” vs. D-12 “Fight Music”

Judges: Unanimous across the board

Winner: Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes – “Gimme Some More”

Round 4: M.O.P. featuring Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma & Teflon – “Ante Up Remix” vs. Eminem featuring Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”

Tee Smif: Busta
Young Deuces: Eminem
Miss Dre: Busta
Ruben: Busta
Mickey Factz: Busta
Fan vote: Eminem
Kevin: Busta

Winner: Busta Rhymes
M.O.P. featuring Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma & Teflon – “Ante Up Remix”

Round 5: Busta Rhymes – “Party Is Goin’ On Over Here” vs. Eminem – “White America”

Tee Smif: Busta
Young Deuces: Busta
Miss Dre: Busta
Ruben: Busta
Mickey Factz: Eminem
Fan Vote: Eminem
Kevin: Busta

Winner: Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes – “Party Is Goin’ On Over Here”

Round 6: Busta Rhymes – “Touch It”/”Touch It Remix” vs. Eminem – “Like Toy Soldiers”

Judges: Unanimous across the board

Winner: Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes – “Touch It”/”Touch It Remix”

Round 7: Busta Rhymes featuring Q-Tip, Kanye West & Lil Wayne – “Thank You” vs. Dr. Dre featuring Eminem & Xzibit – “What’s The Difference”

Tee Smif: Busta
Young Deuces: Eminem
Miss Dre: Busta
Ruben: Eminem
Mickey Factz: Eminem
Fan Vote: Eminem
Kevin: Eminem

Winner: Eminem
Dr. Dre featuring Eminem & Xzibit – “What’s The Difference”

Round 8: Craig Mack featuring Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J & Rampage – “Flava In Ya Ear Remix” vs. Eminem featuring Lil Wayne – “No Love”

Tee Smif: Busta
Young Deuces: Busta
Miss Dre: Eminem
Ruben: Busta
Mickey Factz: Busta
Fan Vote: Eminem
Kevin: Busta

Winner: Busta Rhymes
Craig Mack featuring Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J & Rampage – “Flava In Ya Ear Remix”