Verzuz, the webcast series born out of quarantine earlier this yr, has grown into must-see appointment viewing for music followers due to its nostalgia issue and behind-the-scenes attraction.
The series, created in March at the begin of the coronavirus pandemic by legendary producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, started as a digital DJ battle however has since advanced to incorporate a variety of various musical types, together with R&B, hip-hop, gospel and dancehall.
The Verzuz battles, that includes two musical artists who duke it out with songs, was off to a powerful begin by kicking off its second season in November with Jeezy and Gucci Mane, Bay Area legends E-40 and Too Short, and R&B queens Ashanti and Keyshia Cole. An upcoming battle options Redman vs. Method Man on April 20. Future battles have been introduced for May 8, May 9 and Memorial Day weekend.
The Isley Brothers vs. Earth, Wind and Fire
The two iconic teams confronted off April four in a particular Easter episode hosted by Steve Harvey.
Each carried out a number of of their greatest hits, together with The Isley Brothers’ “Twist and Shout,” “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You),” “It’s Your Thing” and “Shout,” plus Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Let’s Groove,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Boogie Wonderland” and September.”
As for a winner, fans were split.
“Earth Wind & Fire had been out right here singing about shallowness, self-worth, self-love, Black satisfaction, mindfulness and so on in the 70s,” tweeted person @TheCosby. “Shoutouts to these mental health kings.”
“I hate to say it. But the Isley brothers won man,” argued @goat__vibes. “Some of these hits simply can’t be matched.”
But many others called it a draw, expressing their love for both groups.
“We WON tonight with that Verzuz!” tweeted person @PettiTree. “We lived with the highly effective nostalgia music from each teams and it was 4 hours of greatness. It was every thing we wanted tonight.”
“I feel honored to have witnessed this,” added @PeaceandCheese. “All the songs I heard over the years from childhood & I truly bought to see them carry out these songs in my lifetime.”
D’Angelo vs. ‘Friends’
The “Untitled” artist was set to duke it out at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater on Feb. 27. But unlike traditional battles, D’Angelo didn’t have one set opponent: instead, he performed alone with guest appearances from Method Man, Redman and H.E.R.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, family members. Our present to you,” Verzuz stated on its official Instagram account Sunday. “Who you suppose is pullin’ as much as take on the King on February 27th?”
An official poster for the occasion, which D’Angelo shared to his Instagram account with a number of emojis, solely listed his opponent as “Friends.”
Ashanti and Keyshia Cole vs. COVID-19
After having to push their originally scheduled Dec. 12 battle because Ashanti tested positive for COVID-19, fans delighted in the battle between the two R&B artists on Thursday Jan. 22.
Social media users were also quick to share their reactions, including who they think won.
“Ashanti gained. Songs, power, magnificence and the shade. Good tf evening. #Verzuz,” person @pounddcaake tweeted.
“ASHANTI CLEARED. That ‘Foolish’ into ‘Unfoolish’ >>>>” person @WannasWorld tweeted.
“i actually was rooting for keyshia however ashanti actually impressed me #Verzuz” person @jadynassamoah said.
“Keyshia actually skipped like 10 hits,” person @seangarrette said.
OnJanuary 20, the Verzuz Instagram confirmed the pair had been set to battle it, saying the evening was “going to be EPIC!!!”
At the time of the first postponement, Ashanti, 40, assured her fans on social media that she was “okay and not in any ache” and was working with “Verzuz” and Apple Music to see if it would be possible for her to continue the battle virtually from home.
The show was postponed for Jan. 9, but again, was postponed the day prior due to COVID-19 concerns.
“This has been an emotional week. In addition, as COVID-19 numbers proceed to extend, security is a prime precedence for us. As a lot as we get pleasure from having everybody collectively in the identical room, to guard the artists and everybody who works with us in placing the reveals collectively, we’ll be going again to separate areas for a bit,” Verzuz introduced on their Instagram page.
The two collaborated on a song in 2012, titled “Woman to Woman.”
Gucci Mane, Jeezy address beef in Season 2 premiere
During the head-to-head event, Gucci Mane, 40, performed his 2012 diss monitor “Truth” about fatally shooting Jeezy’s friend Pookie Loc, which prompted Jeezy, 43, to stand up and explain why the pair were doing the battle.
“When I stated I needed to do that (expletive) for the tradition, that is what I needed to do… I introduced you right here to point out you the world care about what the (expletive) we bought going on, as a result of we’re the tradition,” Jeezy stated.
Jeezy also shouted out King Von, Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke and other rappers who died from gun violence before starting his own track, “Get Ya Mind Right.”
The two rappers reunited to perform their collaboration “Icy” for the first time in years to end the battle.
The battle, which also featured a video appearance from Stacey Abrams, garnered plenty of reactions from viewers on social media, with more than 1.5 million people tuning into last night’s IG live.
How Timbaland, Swizz Beatz started Verzuz
The series was created by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, who were the first stars to participate during an Instagram Live broadcast in March.
During an interview with GQ published Thursday, the stars explained how the series was born after COVID-19 stay-at-home orders shut down clubs, leading people to look for things to entertain themselves with online – and people ate it up. GQ reports more than 20,000 people tuned in for the first swapping of stories and songs, which led the series to have its own official page and following participants.
Speaking to The Associated Press in April, Timbaland defined the lineup course of.
“Me and Swizz sit down and we really kind of curate the matches well. We try to do the unpredictable, not what people predict. And that comes with a lot of work on me and Swizz’s part,” he said. “We have to make a lot of phone calls to get these celebrations lined up. It’s a process.”
Originally, Verzuz included artists streaming in live from separate locations with two 10-song rounds. In May, in order to ensure better video quality, the battles were filmed live from the same location.
Though no official winner is called at the end of the night, usually viewers share their own picks on social media.
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Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg and more artists have participated
Some of the most notable early battles have included T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott and Nelly vs. Ludacris. Teddy Riley and Babyface’s first attempt at their much-hyped battle was derailed by audio issues, but they didn’t miss a beat during their rematch, with more than 500,000 people tuning in.
Alicia Keys and John Legend took half in a Juneteenth celebration model of the series, and much more attention-grabbing lineups adopted later in quarantine, together with DMX vs. Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross vs. 2 Chainz and Brandy vs. Monica.
And after a short break following Gladys Knight vs. Patti LaBelle’s “Auntie-chella” battle in September, the series returned in Novembr for Season 2, kicking it off with Jeezy and Gucci.
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How to watch Verzuz
The series streams live on its official Instagram page (@VerzuzTV) as well as on Apple Music. Fans can also listen to the battles on playlists shared on TIDAL, Spotify and Apple Music.
Contributing: Cydney Henderson and Hannah Yasharoff
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