Verzuz Archives - New Hip Hop News

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Take Further Legal Action Against Triller Amid “Verzuz” Dispute

March 13, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are accusing Triller of failing to abide by the terms of their recent settlement agreement regarding Verzuz. In a new filing obtained by AllHipHop, the two are seeking an additional payment of over $565,000 to cover attorney’s fees from Triller. They say the company didn’t honor its $100,000 initial payment and are using an Affidavit of Confession of Judgment to increase the total. Assuming their order succeeds, Triller will owe them $565,000 plus an interest of 9 percent.

In their initial complaint, Swizz and Timbaland claimed Triller agreed to pay them $18 million by March 20, 2022, and then an additional $1 million every month for the subsequent 10 months. They eventually settled on a $28 million agreement.

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland During The BET Hip Hop Awards

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 03: In this image released on October 10, 2023, Timbaland (L) and Swizz Beatz (R) speak onstage during the BET Hip Hop Awards at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on October 3, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic)

“VERZUZ has always been a platform that is by the artists, for the artists and with the people,” Swizz and Timbaland said in a statement at the time. “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.” Bobby Sarnevesht, executive chairman and co-founder of Triller, added: “Verzuz and Triller will always be a safe place and outlet for creators and their art. Nothing will change that. Creators started this and will continue building it. This is a victorious moment in the Triller and Verzuz relationship as we march together toward the public markets. Stay tuned.”

Swizz and Timbaland launched Verzuz at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the time since, it’s blown up with numerous stars appearing on various episodes including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Snoop Dogg, Dipset, Alicia Keys, and many more. Be on the lookout for further updates on Swizz Beatz and Timbaland as well as Verzuz on HotNewHipHop.

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Fat Joe Wants Credit For Nelly & Ashanti’s Reunion

January 21, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Fat Joe joked that he wants credit for Nelly and Ashanti’s renewed relationship, after helping set the two up at his Verzuz with Ja Rule in 2021. He discussed the couple’s relationship during a live stream on Instagram with fans, earlier this week. “They look so happily ever after,” Joe said after discussing their meeting.

Later in the stream, he recalled FaceTiming them both after Nelly was seen rubbing Ashanti’s belly on stage, prompting pregnancy rumors. “I immediately tell them I need 10 percent of this kid because if it wasn’t for Verzuz, that I brought Nelly out [during] me against Ja Rule, that’s when they saw each other and energy connected again. That’s when he said I gotta have her. He was over there contemplating; he really wanted to go over there,” he said.

Nelly & Ashanti Attend Fat Joe’s “Verzuz”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Jermaine Dupri, Papoose, Ma, Nelly, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Ashanti and Lil’ Mo attend VERZUZ: Fat Joe Vs Ja Rule at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on September 14, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

From there, Joe explained that someone from his crew encouraged Nelly to approach Ashanti at the event. “He goes over there, and that starts the conversation. You know somebody gotta crack the ice — I don’t know why they fell out.” Fat Joe’s Verzuz opponent, Ja Rule, previously commented on Nelly and Ashanti’s reconciliation and described it as unsurprising. “You can tell sometimes when women – they want that old thing back. I don’t want to blow sis up. But the chemistry was there,” Ja Rule said during a recent appearance on The Tamron Hall Show. “And I think for both of them it came back quick. So I think they missed each other. It had to be that way because of the way they just clicked and came back so fast.”

Fat Joe Discusses Nelly & Ashanti

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Nelly and Ashanti originally dated from 2003 to 2013. They are currently expecting their first child together. Be on the lookout for further updates on Fat Joe as well as Nelly and Ashanti on HotNewHipHop.

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Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Captain Cypher Teams At 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards

October 11, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland both played the role of team captains for the iconic cypher at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards. Swizz Beatz’s team included Foggieraw, Symba, Scar Lip, and Cassidy while Timbaland led Lola Brooke, Lady London, Gloss Up, and Bun B. Throughout the segment, the rappers performed over some of Swizz and Timbaland’s most iconic beats including Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It,” The LOX’s “Fuck You” and JAY-Z and UGK’s “Big Pimpin.’”

“Tonight we’re doing it special with me and my brother, Timbaland. We doing a cypher that you’ve never ever seen before. BET is celebrating the producers so Tim’s got his beats going. I got my beats going. He got his team going. I got my team going,” Swizz said to introduce his cypher.

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland At The BET Hip Hop Awards

Elsewhere during the ceremony, Swizz and Timbaland took home the Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award. “I always dreamed I would be on the stage accepting the award about Hip Hop,” Timbaland said while accepting the award. “Doing music back in Virginia, [I] never thought I would make it, but now I’m here! Me and my brother created something special, and it ain’t over,. I’m glad to share this moment with my brother, Swizzy.” Check out Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s cyphers below.

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Battle For The Cypher Title

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland’s appearance at the BET Hip Hop Awards comes as they prepare for the long-awaited return of Verzuz. During an interview with AllHipHop, last month, Timbaland confirmed that new episodes of the show will be premiering at some point before the end of the year. Be on the lookout for further updates on the show on HotNewHipHop.

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Timbaland & Swizz Beatz Win Cultural Influence Award, “Verzuz” To Return: “We’re Gonna Come Back Strong”

October 11, 2023 by newhiphopnews

The 2023 BET Hip-Hop Awards were another success, which is no surprise given the fact that it has been airing for 17 years. So many fantastic artists and producers were in the house for the evening and there were plenty of great moments throughout it. One of which was Timbaland and Swizz Beatz taking the hardware for the Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award. They are the third winners of it, with it debuting back in 2021. It is great recognition for these two iconic producers who have been pushing hip-hop music forward for decades now. Both gave their sincerest thanks to the fans during their speeches.

Billboard shared some quotables from Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Timb got things started, “I always dreamed I’d be on stage accepting an award about hip-hop. Doing music back in Virginia, I never thought I’d make it, but I’m here.” However, besides being appreciative and humble about the win, he had more to share. “Me and my brother created something special, and it ain’t over. Black-owned, Verzuz, me and Swizz Beatz. I’m glad to share this with my brother.”

Timbaland And Swizz Beatz Accept The Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award

We heard some rumblings earlier this year about a third season, but it seems to be closer to returning. Swizz repeated a similar message. “We own Verzuz again. We got quiet for a minute, but we’re gonna come back strong and show you what it is. That wasn’t just something for the pandemic; that’s something for the world.” With plenty of legends showing up to their show in the past and the news about a new format, this is shaping up to be epic.

What are your initial thoughts on Timbaland and Swizz Beatz winning the Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award? Are you excited for the return of Verzuz? Do you think it will be an improvement over the previous format? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, as well as the rest of the music world.

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Swizz Beatz & Timbaland To Be Honored At 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards

October 3, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland will receive the Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards when the ceremony airs on Tuesday, October 10. LL COOL J, founder of Rock The Bells, will present them with the award. Fat Joe is set to serve as the host for the evening, marking his second straight year doing so.

Additionally, there will be a 30th Anniversary celebration in honor of Jermaine Durpi’s So So Def label. Its members Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, Da Brat, and Dem Franchise Boyz will all perform for it. Other performers throughout the night will include Offset, DaBaby, Fivio Foreign, GloRilla, and Sexxy Red.

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland At Rolling Loud

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JULY 23: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz attend day 3 of Rolling Loud Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on July 23, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Romain Maurice/Getty Images)

The award for Swizz Beatz and Timbaland comes as they continue to prepare for a third season of Verzuz. Timbaland recently confirmed in an interview with AllHipHop that season 3 will kick off by the end of 2023. “Verzuz is still a baby,” he told the outlet in September. “It was something that was built in the pandemic that’s now a household name. Look how you saying it. Now we back open. To make it have the longevity that we need it to have, we have to reorganize the ship.”

He continued: “I believe that we’re gonna drop some good ones before the end of the year. We’re trying to get at least one good one before the end of the year to recalibrate what Verzuz is going to be in the future.” As far as other awards at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards, Marley Marl will receive the I Am Hip Hop Award, and LL COOL J and Rakim will team up for a performance in his honor. The BET Hip Hop Awards ceremony will air at 9:00 PM, ET on October 10. Be on the lookout for further updates on the show on HotNewHipHop.

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Mary J Blige Shoots Down “Verzuz” Rumors: “I Could Put The ‘What’s The 411’ Album On & Just Walk Away”

October 1, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Mary J. Blige says she’s not interested in participating in an episode of Verzuz. In a clip circulating on social media, the legendary rapper explained she doesn’t care about the show. She made the comments while making sure the audience knew she meant no disrespect to Swizz Beatz and Timbaland.

“Let me just say this. I love Swizz. That’s my friend, that’s my brother. That’s my people. I just don’t care about no Verzuz. I don’t wanna be up there. And it’s no disrespect. I just don’t care. Like, I don’t need to say I had the hottest– I know I had some of the hottest records. I know I got a cr*zy catalog.”

Mary J. Blige Performs At Super Bowl

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on February 13th, Mary J. Blige rehearses for the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

As for who she would want to face if she did do the show, she added: “I mean there’s so many people that have great music out there. I mean, there’s so many women that have just catalogs, you know. So, I don’t like the putting everybody up against each other. I don’t like it, I mean, I could just put my shit on and just walk away. I could put the What’s The 411 album on and just walk away.” Check out Blige’s full comments on Verzuz below.

Mary J. Blige Speaks On “Verzuz” Rumors

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It’s not the first time Blige has turned down the idea of appearing on Verzuz. She echoed similar sentiments on The Breakfast Club back in 2021. “I don’t know what a Verzuz would do for me,” she said at the time. “I’m not sure what a Verzuz could do for Mary J. Blige right now, but um, right now, it’s not something that’s on the top of my list.” Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are currently gearing up for a return to the iconic show.

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Bow Wow Denies Romeo Feud: “I Have Mad Love”

September 27, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Bow Wow says he doesn’t have any issues with Romeo Miller, despite their social media spat in 2021. Bow Wow put the idea of a feud between them to rest on Twitter while replying to a fan on Monday.

When the user wrote: “Trying to figure out why you and lil Romeo beefing but other than that, I’m making burgers,” Bow Wow replied: “I dont beef. I have mad love for rome. He know that.” The fan then clarified that they were kidding: “That’s good man!!! Obviously it was a joke!!! Be well!!”

Bow Wow Performs In Atlanta

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 10: Bow Wow performs onstage at Buckhead Theatre on September 10, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

The tension between Bow Wow and Romeo picked up back in 2021 during Romeo’s appearance on Fox Soul’s The Mix. During the episode, he discussed fans’ calls for the two to battle on Verzuz. “If Bow Wow do a godddamn battle and it’s not with me, don’t do it. If Bow do a battle, I’m open for it,” he said. Bow Wow quickly responded on Twitter: “You sure you want this smoke? I see you calling me out. You sure this what you want to do?”

Bow Wow Shoots Down Romeo Beef Rumors

I dont beef. I have mad love for rome. He know that. https://t.co/80VrqpTQM8

— Bow Wow (@smoss) September 26, 2023

Things escalated from there, with Romeo writing on his Instagram Story: “Regarding this Verzuz talk, I’ve gave this man Bow @shadmoss his roses since we was kids and even reached out myself (multiple times) to celebrate him and our era together in a creative way. I could put my pride to the side if it means doing something positive and bringing back nostalgia for a dope ass generation.” He continued: “Now if you think this is smoke my brother, we could hit up @loganpaul and get on one of those boxing tickets. You know me in real life bro, we aren’t kids anymore; leave that for the fans. This ain’t about the competition for me, this is about showing the impact that 2 young black kids had on the entire industry. That’s the Win. To inspire the next! It’s NoLimit. You got my number, hit me.”

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Funk Flex Thinks Busta Rhymes Would Be Unbeatable On “Verzuz”

September 24, 2023 by newhiphopnews

For Funk Flex, there’s only one true MVP for Verzuz. Flex revealed his pick after being asked who he thinks could beat Jay-Z. “You want me to tell you who would beat JAY-Z at a Verzuz? Hands down embarrass him? Busta Rhymes would spank anybody in a Verzuz. There is no one that will beat Busta Rhymes as a solo artist in a Verzuz… Maybe it could be a tie with Missy [Elliott],” Flex told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson earlier this week.

While Jay-Z versus Busta Rhymes would be amazing, it would be hard to pick anyone over Busta, even Hov himself. As we all know, Busta has a style, flow, and intensity that simply transcends the confines of battle rap. However, Flex was far from done discussing the ins and outs of various hypothetical Verzuz matchups.

Flex Can’t Pick A Winner In Jay-Z Versus Nas

Another hypothetical matchup that Flex discussed at length was Jay-Z versus Nas. The topic came about after Memphis Bleek argued that Nas simply didn’t have the catalog to compete with Jay-Z. “Nas has enough songs, but Jay’s swagger is strong. That’s very hard. If you’re talking Jay-Z-Nas, they’re equal in music, but Jay’s swagger on that stage might edge him out. He has a lot of swag. Nas is a weird G.O.A.T. I think lyrically, they’re both 10s, but they’re really two different styles to me. Lyrics, Nas edges JAY-Z. Swag, JAY-Z edges Nas. That’s my personal opinion.”

Things were only complicated when LL Cool J was brought into the mix. “He’s a weird G.O.A.T. as well. I’ve seen him ruin a lot of careers, so his track record of battling is enormous. But Nas, LL and Jay-Z are all multi-platinum artists with different styles, so I don’t know who would win that. That’s probably a three-way tie because if you really… but I can’t call who would win that!” Who do you think things Jay Z versus Nas? Do you agree with Flex that there’s no one who could beat Busta Rhymes? Let us know in the comments.

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Timbaland Details What Fans Can Expect From “Verzuz” Season 3

September 11, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Timbaland says that he and Swizz Beatz are focused on making Verzuz a “serious business model” amid its ongoing break. The legendary producer discussed the upcoming third season of the show during a recent interview with AllHipHop. Speaking with the outlet, he also detailed what fans can expect from the series going forward.

“Verzuz is still a baby,” he explained, “It was something that was built in the pandemic that’s now a household name. Look how you saying it. Now we back open. To make it have the longevity that we need it to have, we have to reorganize the ship. We have to know how are we scaling up. We have to do things not how people used to us doing things.”

Timbaland & Swizz Beatz In Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA – JULY 20: (L-R) Timbaland and Swizz Beatz attend as DJ Khaled hosts the inaugural We The Best Foundation Classic at Miami Beach Golf Club on July 20, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for We The Best Foundation )

Timbaland also explained that they’re working on transitioning Verzuz out of the pandemic model in which it began. “With everything going on in the world, we have to convert back and really make this a real serious business model and a real serious thing, because I feel like Verzuz changes people’s lives,” he said. “What me and Swizz have created, we have changed the lives of a lot of things and built up catalogs, so we have to really structure who we are and when we come back, what we stand for.”

Despite this, Timbaland knows they can’t switch up the model so much it becomes unrecognizable. “Once you reintroduce a business that you built in front of people, it has to be somewhat nostalgic of what it was, but as it builds into what the future is going to be, you have to organize—and that’s what we’ve been doing,” he added. “I believe that we’re gonna drop some good ones before the end of the year. We’re trying to get at least one good one before the end of the year to recalibrate what Verzuz is going to be in the future.” He also says the battles need to be authentic and compared the brand-building to WWE. “It’s almost how we look at the WWE and wrestling. It’s like, ‘OK, now I gotta do WrestleMania, I gotta do this, I gotta do that.’ I gotta build this stuff to captivate the people,” he said.

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Boosie Badazz Would Take R. Kelly Over Michael Jackson In A Verzuz

August 14, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Boosie Badazz is once again sparking controversy with new statements. This time in a recent Instagram live, he discussed how R. Kelly’s hit catalog can stand up to anyone else. “Nobody got more hits than R. Kelly. You gone’ have to put him in a Verzus with Spotify,” the controversial rapper began. Where fans really began to question his take was when he brought up Michael Jackson. “Hit for hit, he would blow Michael Jackson,” Boosie claims. “How many Michael Jackson songs you know and how many R Kelly songs you know? Aint nobody got more hits than Kellz. Y’all don’t wanna keep it real ‘cause he in the position he in.”

The claim sparked controversy for a number of reasons. Almost any discussion of R. Kelly is bound to spark controversy due to the extent of the allegations against him and the severity of them. But during the livestream even more fans were making the case that Michael Jackson, while controversial in his own right, is the more definitive hitmaker. Fans flexed commercial accomplishments Jackson had achieved as examples of why he would win in a Verzuz battle.

Boosie Badazz Claims R. Kelly Could Beat All Of Spotify In A Verzuz

Boosie Badazz has long advocated for both Kelly’s music and leniency for his crimes. He called for a lowering of Kelly’s 30-year sentence claiming that some people only 20 years for murder. While he doesn’t apologize for Kelly’s actions he believes the rapper can help make a difference if he’s released.

Boosie is also involved in some legal trouble at the moment. Yesterday he learned that a judge refused to dismiss recent gun charges, meaning they will head toward a trial. The charges date back to an arrest for felony gun possession that took place in June of this year. It’s only the most recent in a decades-long series of legal battles for the rapper. What do you think of Boosie Badazz’s claim that R. Kelly would beat Michael Jackson in a Verzuz? Let us know in the comment section below.

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