Nick Cannon says the only musician who can battle Mariah Carey in a Versuz is R. Kelly

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey may be divorced, but the respect the 40-year-old has for the mother of his children with regards to her musical prowess and achievements remains intact.

And in a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, the rapper and actor made a case for that when he was asked which musician could go head-to-head with the Always Be My Baby singer in a Verzuz battle. The father-of-seven said the only artist he believes can square up against his ex-wife in a Verzuz battle is disgraced musician R. Kelly.

“The only person in this day and age that could’ve gone against Mariah Carey—because she writes of all her songs, she actually produces all of her songs, she puts the songs together and performs them at a high level—[is] R. Kelly,” Cannon said.

Despite his comments, the Get Crunk Shorty rapper agreed with co-hosts Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy when they said it’s obvious that’s not going to happen. “I told you it’s not gon’ happen because of his personal endeavors and all the things,” he said.

Cannon then went ahead to commend his ex-wife’s talent, saying, “Mariah is a musician.” “I’m not impressed by people who can perform songs that it took 30 people to make with you,” he added.

Though Charlamagne Tha God chimed in saying there’re artists who haven’t written all of their music but have also made a mark for themselves, Cannon was adamant on his stance, saying, “The greatest are the ones you can put somebody in a room by their damn self and they come back with a hit.”

That notwithstanding, Cannon said someone like Janet Jackson could do a Verzuz battle with Mariah. “People talk about like Mariah and Janet, which on that level of ‘diva’ I would love to see it…Mariah and Janet would be fire but if we just talking about skill level…we talking about matching talent, because Mariah is a writer who has written more hits than anybody, only other person I could think of that has that ability that could sit down and make music on the spot was R. Kelly,” he said.

The Wild ‘N Out creator also said that though R. Kelly may be going through legal woes after he was slapped with several sexual abuse allegations, that does not take away his music talent. “We still gotta acknowledge that the man was gifted,” he said.

Created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz during the lockdown period last year, Verzuz has grown to become one of the most popular online music series.