The artist matchup platform — Verzuz — is rolling out a fee-based subscription model and Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are catching a lot of heat on social media about charging fees. According to Jay-Z, the backlash may be because the brand is black-owned. Timbaland And Swizz Announce Verzuz Subscription The Verzuz battles will cost a […]
The artist matchup Verzuz battles popularized at the beginning of the pandemic will no longer be available to the public for free. Swizz and Timbaland are catching a lot of heat on social media after announcing their next Verzuz will be by subscription only. According to Jay-Z – the backlash may subconsciously be because the […]
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz are on top of the world right now because Verzuz via Triller is set to become a publicly-traded company on the stock market. This new group of investors who are mostly creatives would make this venture historic. Timbaland And Swizz Beatz Set To Make History Swizz and Timbo shared a graphic […]
The Weeknd has dropped what many are calling the best R&B album of the year so far. But when Grammy-winning producer Timbaland compared it to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, fans say he crossed the line and dragged Dawn’s shortcomings. Dawn FM Criticized After Timbaland Hype Timbo took to IG Live to say, “This album different y’all. […]
TImbaland and Swizz Beatz have been named Top 100 Most Influential People of 2021 for their creation of VERZUZ. How It All Began The concept for VERZUZ began in 2017 between Just Blaze and Swizz Beatz but did not reappear until 2020 during the pandemic. Verzuz showcases two participants, usually Hip-Hop or R&B, and lasts […]
Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and D-Nice made a major impact on the music landscape in 2020, and now their efforts are being recognized: The three will be receiving the ASCAP Voice Of The Culture Award during the 2021 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, for their inventive and uniting virtual music events — namely Verzuz and Club Quarantine — during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The award celebrates the most-performed R&B/hip-hop, rap, and gospel songs from the previous year. The virtual celebration will be held on June 22 through June 24 via social media. Registration for the virtual chats and other events is available at the ASCAP Experience website.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s Verzuz was the virtual singing competition series that gained instant claim on Instagram Live by pitting musical legends from all genres against each other, including Gladys Knight vs. Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott, Earth, Wind & Fire vs. the Isley Brothers, Snoop Dogg vs. DMX, and more. The two Grammy-winning producers and label founders created must-see spectacles that brought millions of isolated people together over music.
Similarly, the legendary DJ Derrick “D-Nice” Jones, turned his Instagram Live broadcasts into a virtual dance party with Club Quarantine. D-Nice’s DJ sets were praised as a much-needed respite by millions during the 2020 lockdowns. Even A-listers like Will Smith, Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Diddy tuned in for D-Nice’s heavy rotation of funk, disco, hip-hop, and R&B. D-Nice teamed up with Issa Rae’s Raedio to co-curate the official playlist of the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inauguration. His full-length studio album is set to arrive later this year.
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland earned acclaim by launching the series Verzuz during the pandemic, giving musicians a chance to square off while social distancing. But on Saturday they came full circle, doing one of their own. While the battle went well, there was one moment that caught the attention of many viewers as it came when Swizz called out Justin Timberlake for not partaking in a battle.
When Timbaland played Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake’s “Holy Grail,” which he produced, Swizz took a direct shot at the singer. “Until you can get Justin Timberlake on Verzuz, I don’t really wanna hear those vocals,” he said, according to Vulture. Later on, when Verzuz entered overtime, which occurs after both participants play 20 songs each, Timbaland played a pair of songs by Timberlake: “Cry Me a River” and “SexyBack.” That sparked another response from Swizz. “Until Justin let the world know that he —”, he started saying. But Timbaland cut him off, adding, “Justin gotta come out, he’s coming out.”
However, Swizz wasn’t done. “He gotta admit that he love the Black culture and he gotta be on this stage,” Swizz said. “You took from the Black culture, you give to the Black culture. Come to Verzuz and be a part of the Black culture.”
Later on, during a recap of the battle which they held on Instagram Live, Timbaland told Swizz he “went a little hard on my brother JT.” Swizz then gave his reasoning. “Look, man, I had to go hard,” he said. “Did you hear how them songs were sounding on that stage? You and JT, it was like JT was in the building. I was like, man!” Swizz added that he “was just having fun” and “don’t got no problem with JT.”
He then invited the singer to partake in a future battle. “Shout-out to JT,” he said. “We can’t wait to get you onstage having fun, ’cause you deserve it too.”
After a few months of teasing the project, J. Cole finally released The Off-Season last week. The full-length effort delivered a batch of songs that left even his biggest critics satisfied. Days after its release, Cole gave the effort a boost with a fiery video for the track “Amari.” But it turns out the song’s creation didn’t go easily, as J. Cole revealed during a sit-down with Timbaland’s BeatClub YouTube channel.
“Amari” began life during a Twitch livestream held by Timbaland, who produced the song, during which he created what became the song’s beat. After Cole heard it, he decided to record over it. “So I looped up the YouTube lil’ rip, made a whole song on this sh*t,” he said during the sit-down. “I spent the next two days writing and recording the song, and right when I was 90% through writin’ it, I was like, I should probably call him now and get the real file.”
However, things didn’t go as Cole might have expected. When he asked Timbaland to send him the beat, the producer told him he forgot to save it. Luckily, Cole and Timbaland found time to recreate it.
You can watch the BeatClub interview above.
