Verzuz Cheat Sheet: Bow Wow x Soulja Boy

Verzuz Cheat Sheet: Bow Wow x Soulja Boy

Even if you don’t remember “Marco Polo,” the 2008 single from Bow Wow and Soulja Boy, you’re likely familiar with some part of the pair’s history. After the release of that single, the two would slip in and out of beef, going on to release diss tracks about each other, record videos lambasting the value of each other’s Lamborghinis, deride one another’s video game skills—and then, in 2016, release a mixtape together. A now decades-long rivalry finally comes to a head on June 26 when the two get together for another legendary edition of Verzuz. Who will be crowned King of the Youth for their era? That depends on who you ask. Bow Wow had a historic run that began with an interlude on a Snoop Dogg album and went on to deliver elementary-school birthday party smashes “Bounce With Me,” “Puppy Love,” and “Let’s Get Down” before he’d steal grown women’s hearts with “Shortie Like Mine,” “Let Me Hold You,” and “Outta My System.” You’d be a fool to count out Soulja Boy, though—a man who’s reinvented himself more times than most rap fans care to admit. He’s delivered hits that stand far apart from each other—both in time and in cultural impact—starting with rap’s first viral smash “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” and then others like “Pretty Boy Swag,” “Donk,” “Turn My Swag On,” and his latest, “She Make It Clap.” Both Bow Wow and Soulja Boy are entitled to claim that they made child rappers cool, but together as adults in a Verzuz face-off, they should be proudest that they’re still around and still having an impact. Get reacquainted with their catalogs by way of the official Bow Wow x Soulja Boy Cheat Sheet playlist, as curated by Apple Music host Lowkey.

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