Rappers Faced Off As Teenagers
6:00AM ET October 11th, 2010
Contributor : Stephen Willis
A Rocky Williform Company

Veteran emcee Busta Rhymes recently recalled battling Jay-Z when the two were in high school. Rhymes was on the verge of making his first recordings with his old crew Leaders of the New School and Jay was still hanging out with his old mentor, Jaz-O. But Rhymes says that Jay was already a fierce rhymer and admits that Hov would test him as a youngster.

"He kind of got the best of the situation," Busta says regarding battling Jay. "I got to give it up. He was so ill and his arsenal was so long that he had more than what I did. I spit my one rap, and my tank was empty real fast. He came with two or three after that, and I was like, 'Here we go.' But I gave it my best. That was probably the first time that I lost a battle that mattered. "

"[Jay-Z] always exemplified greatness as an MC. He was a scientist with it."