Verzuz staged another very New York battle last night, pitting turn-of-the-century city icons Fat Joe and Ja Rule against each other in the heart of the city, at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. The longtime friends traded hits, boasts, and barbs — yes, including many an attack on Ja Rule over Fyre Festival. And the battle also featured a number of guests, from rappers Remy Ma and Nelly (who turned heads for performing his own hit “Hot in Here,†and who, need we remind, is an alleged rapist) to writer-producer Dre (of Cool & Dre) to Ashanti, who nearly stole the whole damn show for a few songs. The R&B superstar returned after her long-delayed battle against Keyshia Cole to perform with both Joe and Ja, guesting on both Ja Rule’s “Mesmerize†and Fat Joe’s “What’s Love,†also alongside Ja. (Joe gifted Ashanti, along with Remy Ma, a Hermès handbag after her appearance, which we’d say is a pretty fair payment for multiple songs of stunning live vocals.) The performance ended in a fittingly New York moment, with Joe and Ja coming together to perform their song “New York†alongside Jadakiss, who’d already stolen the show a few weeks before, leading the Lox in their own New York standoff against Dipset. Not that Joe and Ja were looking to declare winners, anyway. “I love this n- - - - like my brother,†Ja Rule said of Joe at the end of the battle. That’s love, we’d say.