This past Saturday another Verzuz battle was held on Instagram between reggae legends. These were started by legendary producers Timberland and Swizz Beats. They wanted to provide a platform for legendary artists to showcase their work to new audiences by competing against one another. The artist each get 20 songs and got hit for a hit until there is a winner.
So far Neyo, Ludacris, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Nelly, Babyface, and many more have participated in the competitions. These artists mostly represent the genres of Rap and R&B, but this past Saturday the competition took a different turn by entering the world of reggae/dancehall. They switched up the format a bit and had music legends Beenie Man and Bounty Killer compete in a joint live performance on Instagram live.
These battles are a great source of entertainment and tons of other artists are even looking to join in! Swizz Beats mentioned reaching out to Mariah Carey and other artists as well but, this past battle really stressed the importance of cross-genre unity and even cultural acceptance of different styles of music. There was also another Verzuz battle on Monday evening featuring R&B singing groups 112 and Jagged Edge.
After the battle, Swizz Beats and Timberland got on Instagram and spoke on integrity. They spoke on how they invented Verzuz and why, and that they even have received a million-dollar offer on the business that they rejected.
The Instagram music battles are becoming a major staple in the culture during this quarantined timed, and I expect it to evolve into a major business soon given the positive response by fans.
Man. I have yet to view a Verzuz battle. I’ve seen Youtube views of dj’s going back and forth, but never two artist challenging each other live on Instagram. It’s great that Swizz Beats and Timbaland are finding innovative and empowering ways to shift the culture.