Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky had a rap battle. One is claiming victory

NEW YORK (AP) : A$AP Rocky had no idea Denzel Washington was going to throw Nas at him.

Midway through Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” a New York riff on Akira Kurosawa’s “High to Low,” wealthy music executive David King (Washington) has cornered aspiring rapper Yung Felon (Rocky) after he tried to kidnap King’s son. They meet in a music studio. A rap battle ensues.

While the scene was scripted, much of what Washington freestyled — mixing in lines from Nas, Tupac, DMX and others — startled his professional rapper co-star.

“I’m like: How does this man know who Moneybagg Yo is?” Rocky says, sitting alongside Washington.

“And I’m 70,” Washington says with a grin.

“Highest 2 Lowest,” which A24 releases in theaters Friday, two weeks before it lands on Apple TV+, is a heist thriller that hits hardest when Washington and Rocky are going at it. Washington, o ne of the mightiest of living actors, is, of course, an imposing presence. Even though Rocky might usually have the upper hand in the studio, he’s just beginning to prove himself as an actor.

“Denzel is such a powerful force. Not a derogatory term, but he’s a beast,” Lee said. “Rocky is from Harlem, uptown. So I knew that he’s not going to punk out. He’s going to stand there, feet planted to the ground, as a heavyweight fight, blow to blow to blow. If you got somebody who don’t got it, Denzel is going to slaughter them. SLAUGHTER.”