Too $hort rejects another E-40 faceoff and proposes a two-on-two Verzuz built around their decades of Bay Area history.
Too $hort wants Verzuz to test a new tag-team format, and he believes E-40 makes him nearly impossible to beat.
The Oakland legend issued an open challenge during a new Associated Press interview, inviting any two artists or groups to face the Bay Area veterans.
“We did one in 2020, but it wasn’t a battle. We had a good time. We did a lot of laughing, a lot of togetherness.”
Too $hort made clear that competing against E-40 remains off the table because their decades-long friendship matters more than Verzuz bragging rights.
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“I didn’t want to battle 40 then, and I don’t want to battle him now. That’s my best friend in hip-hop.”
He then proposed changing the established format by letting two longtime allies combine their catalogs against another powerful partnership.
“I’d sign up for me and 40 against anybody. That’d be fun. They haven’t had two groups. … I put that out there: Who wants to battle Too $hort and E-40 in Verzuz?”
The challenge fits the spirit of their December 2020 matchup, which operated more like a Bay Area family reunion than genuine combat.
Before the event, Too $hort told GQ, “I don’t wanna approach this like I’m trying to beat E-40. I’m approaching it like it’s me and E-40 versus the entire planet.”
AllHipHop’s coverage of the nearly three-hour show documented both men trading classics, stories and jokes while representing Oakland and Vallejo.
Their bond reaches back to the mid-1980s, although their first released collaboration arrived through E-40’s 1996 song “Rapper’s Ball.”
The pair later created the 2012 companion albums History: Function Music and History: Mob Music, strengthening a partnership built across different Bay Area generations.
They also released the bundled Ain’t Gone Do It/Terms and Conditions project alongside Verzuz before joining Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube in Mount Westmore.
Too $hort recently told AllHipHop the supergroup recorded enough material for three albums but continues debating how that unreleased music should reach listeners.
“When we recorded the Mount Westmore album, we recorded enough material for three albums,” he said. “Nobody really wants to put too much effort into recording because we already recorded so much, so we’re just trying to decide how to cook it all up and package it.”
Too $hort released Sir Too $hort Vol. 2: Drink & Smoke, his 23rd studio album and latest collaboration with Lil Jon, on July 31.
