Verzuz

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Can Take A Lesson From Jay-Z’s Response To Backlash Around TIDAL Subscription Fees, Calling Out The Devaluation Of The Black-Owned Brand

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Verzuz x Black-owned Businesses

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 […]

Nicki Minaj Reveals Her Conditions For A Verzuz Hits Battle

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Ever since the start of the Verzuz hits battle web show during the lockdown of 2020, one person plenty of people wanted to see step on the stage is Nicki Minaj. Lil Kim said that she’d want to battle Nicki considering their history during the BET Awards red carpet last year, and surely fans agree. However, until now, Nicki herself hadn’t addressed the possibility of a Verzuz or who her own idea opponent would be.

This week, though, Houston radio station 97.9 The Box managed to get Nicki on-record pondering a potential matchup when she stopped by the Good Morning H-Town radio show to promote her upcoming single with Lil Baby. During the interview, Nicki shot down the idea of doing a battle against either of her Young Money compatriots Drake and Lil Wayne on the grounds that they’re more firmly established in hip-hop (arguable). But see, Drake and Wayne have so many bona fide hip-hop hits, so I don’t know,” she said, before giving hope. “But I do think there might be a female or two that can…[battle me].”

While she didn’t elaborate on which ones she thought would make it a decent battle (come on, now, the list is like… Cardi B and maybe Doja Cat or Megan Thee Stallion), she did reveal that she’d had conversations with the show’s organizers Swizz Beats and Timbaland. “They were talking to me about it,” she said. “If it’s going to be fun, then you never know. That’s all I’ll say about that. It should feel like a celebration, that’s exactly what I would like it to feel like. Fun, happiness. Because a lot of times with my career, stuff would feel like work. And now I’m just like, ‘No. Everything needs to feel good. That’s it.’”

E-40 Is Confident That Busta Rhymes Will ‘Eat’ Eminem If They Faced Off In A ‘Verzuz’ Battle

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Many legendary hip-hop acts have taken part in Verzuz battles: Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Dipset, The LOX, Ludacris, Nelly, DMX, Snoop Dogg, and more. Fans often debate which artists would make for a good duel. Recently, thanks to a post from Dr. Dre, many have wondered who should be pitted against Eminem. Swizz Beatz, who created Verzuz with Timbaland, mentioned Busta Rhymes as an opponent, but many disagreed with this recommendation.

One of those people includes E-40, who shared his opinion on a proposed Eminem-Busta mash-up during a recent interview. “Busta Rhymes would eat Eminem in a Verzuz battle. I really believe that,” E-40 said. “Busta Rhymes goes crazy. Because, now, it’s turned into a performance type of situation. Busta Rhymes is animated. He got gas. He raps fast, all that. He do all that stuff that Eminem do. And Busta Rhymes got up-tempo slaps that get the party goin‘. Anytime you got up-tempo slaps, you’re gonna win.”

E-40 also made sure to highlight praise the other rapper. “Eminem is so legendary,” he noted. “You know, definitely. Can’t take nothing away from him. Great hits, great style—I mean, he’s legendary, he’s an icon …” He went on to say, “I feel like Busta Rhymes gots what it takes to bring it to the surface, man, to let people say, ‘Damn, I didn’t even know he had all these hits, man’ …” he said. “The stuff he did with Mariah (Carey) and the stuff he did with Craig Mack, and he got his own slaps, bro. And he’s animated.”

You can listen to E-40’s comments in the video above.

Swizz Beats & Timbaland Are Taking Triller Public With Over 120 Celebrities As Initial Shareholders. Here’s How To Get Your Shares

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Triller Investors

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 […]

Future Agrees That People In Atlanta Believe He Can Beat Jay-Z In A ‘Verzuz’

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Jay-Z left the rap community to argue amongst themselves after he made a bold declaration during a conversation on Twitter Spaces earlier this week.. “Ain’t nobody that can stand on that stage with me,” Jay said in response to a question about Verzuz from Alicia Keys who was a part of the Twitter Spaces conversation as well. “I ain’t gonna lie, no disrespect. Everyone’s amazing, they’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me. Theres not a shot.” Fans of the rapper later duked it out on Twitter with supporters of other big-name acts like Ye, Lil Wayne, and Drake who felt that their favorite artist was worthy of a matchup with Jay-Z.

Another rapper that some brought into the conversation was Future. Podcaster and Atlanta personality Big Bank TDE took to Instagram to say that Atlanta residents believe that Future would not only fair well against Jay-Z but beat him in a Verzuz battle. “I Promise You, Errbody from Atlanta Feels Like Pluto Can Win A Verzuz Against Hov,” he wrote. Moments after the message was shared on Big Bank’s Instagram Story, Future reposted it to his own Instagram page leaving many to believe that he agreed with the message.

Future’s repost comes after he teamed up with Lil Baby to supply a pair of verses on Rvssian’s “M&M.”

You can view a screenshot of Future’s repost of Big Bank TDE’s message above.

Jay-Z Says He Won’t Do A Verzuz Battle Because ‘No One Can Stand On That Stage With Me’

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Last week, Alicia Keys dropped her album Keys. Her eighth studio album debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200 chart, which may not have met the expectations surrounding this much hyped release. But Keys has been on the promo path all week to spread the word about a mammoth double album that was accompanied by a short film and which features Pusha T, Brandi Carlile, Khalid and others. But what happened today may get her some more attention.

Keys jumped on a Twitter Spaces conversation with Rob Markman of Genius to promote the album. “…another MAJOR special guest texted me that they are jumpin’ in with us,” Keys tweeted just hours before the chat began. “Please don’t say we didn’t warn y’all,” Markman tweeted. And then moments before it began, Keys went out on a limb to tweet “This twitter spaces is about to be one of the most legendary conversations of the century.”

https://mobile.twitter.com/aliciakeys/status/1473441811309817862

For those who heeded Keys and Markman’s alarm calls, they would have heard the illustrious Jay-Z hopping on the call for a solid hour and a half. That’s a feat in and of itself, considering Hov follows exactly 0 accounts on Twitter and gave up on Instagram quick. But there he was, chopping it up with Keys and even having the conversation pointed back at him. When Keys asked him if he’d ever do a Verzuz Battle, he basically said no.

“Ain’t nobody that can stand on that stage with me. I ain’t gonna lie, no disrespect. Everyone’s amazing, they’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me. Theres not a shot. Theres not a chance in hell that anyone can stand on that stage for I don’t know how long it is? 2 hours? 2 hours….That’s ain’t gonna never happen. Let’s move on from Verzuz and move on to this Keys album.

Jay-Z even said all he would have to do is drop his elusive Hot 97 Grammy Freestyle on the Verzuz stage and it would be over right then and there. We won’t disagree. Regardless, Keys pulled the ultimate ace up her sleeve to promote her new album, and her husband Swizz Beats even got a little promo for that little Verzuz project of his. You can listen to a portion of the conversation below.

Mariah Carey Refuses To Say Whether She’d Challenge Beyonce To A Verzuz Battle

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Mariah Carey is the undisputed Queen of Christmas. And in case there was any doubt, “All I Want For Christmas” is breaking what seems like every holiday music streaming record with over a billion spins. Heck, she even has an all “Mariah Menu” available now until Christmas at McDonald’s. So when Carey sits for a video interview from her immaculately decorated Christmas set, alongside a cheerily placed McCafe and brown McDonald’s bag with the words “The Mariah Menu” printed on it, surely any questions seems fair game, right? Well, maybe not all of them…

In a conversation with E!’s Rebecca Ray, Carey spoke about everything from ’90s nostalgia to what it is that she specifically loves about Christmas. While Carey admits that she was too busy in the ’90s to know Seinfeld the show, she adds that “I love Jerry Seinfeld now!” and that her favorite part of Christmas is “The actual feeling that I have during the holiday season.” These were fairly innocuous answers, but when Ray asked Carey about music executive LA Reid’s suggestion that she and Beyonce should do a Verzuz battle and whether she would A) Be open to it? and B) Who would win? Carey got serious with her answer:

“Oh stop. That’s the worst… I’m sorry, I love you Rebecca. We can’t ask that question. First of all, I love Beyonce and I admire her so much as a performer, for what she’s done for the world, and everything else. So I ain’t answering that question. ‘Cause I’d be disrespecting myself and I’m not gonna do ’cause [singing in perfect tone] it’s Christmastime!”

She also took advantage of the opportunity to address anyone who thinks that her love of Christmas isn’t authentic: “Whatever Scrooges! I don’t care what you say. This is the truth. I DO love the holidays. And what?!”

The one and only Christmas Queen is a very powerful one. But we already knew that.

Rick Ross Calls Jay-Z His Dream ‘Verzuz’ Opponent: ‘Why Not?’

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Despite already participating in a Verzuz opposite 2 Chainz last year, Rick Ross would love the chance to give the big homie his flowers on another. During an appearance on the daytime talk show The Real to promote his new album, Richer Than I Ever Been, Ross was asked which artist would be his favorite Verzuz opponent, to which he responded: “Jay-Z.”

“Why not?” he said. “To me, that’s what makes Verzuz special because it brings out the best in both parties. That’s a possibility, but I gotta give my flowers to the big homie. I got to. My homie gave me my first opportunity signing me to Def Jam Records, and he’s one-of-one.”

Unfortunately for Ross, it seems semi-unlikely that Jay would deign to participate in the hits battle series and certainly, the matchup that seems to be most cited on social media is the one with the most history behind it: Jay-Z vs. Nas. Still, that won’t stop fans from dreaming.

One of those fans turned out to be LA Reid, who recently caught flak for proposing a Verzuz between Beyonce and Mariah Carey. His suggestion was roundly criticized as being out-of-touch and lopsided, considering Mariah’s solo career began nearly a decade before Beyonce’s.

Check out the clip of Rick Ross praising Jay-Z above.

LA Reid Thinks Beyonce And Mariah Carey Should Have A Verzuz Battle But Fans Disagree — A Lot

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Verzuz battles have become a great way to salute and pay homage to the legacies of artists who probably don’t get as much recognition as they should — or at least, give them their flowers while they’re still around to appreciate it — but as the series continues, there are some who want to see even bigger stars hit the stage to play their hits.

One of those who do is LA Reid, who stated during an interview on The Real that his dream matchup would be between two megastars in Beyonce and Mariah Carey. While both are vocal powerhouses who have sold millions of records and become nearly ubiquitous household names — especially now that it’s December, which is slowly but surely becoming more of a celebration of Mariah than yuletide cheer — many fans, upon hearing the suggestion, voiced their disapproval on Twitter.

While much of the chatter was the typical stan war stuff (“Beyoncé is the Queen of what exactly?” one user questioned), there were others who pointed out that the two aren’t exactly peers, since Mariah debuted a solid decade before Beyonce’s solo career took off. The best Verzuz battles so far have been those between artists from similar generations, such as The Lox and The Diplomats, or the recent showdown between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia.

Meanwhile, still, others pointed out, simply, that neither artist seems particularly interested in doing Verzuz, which has always seemed to book artists who are perhaps slightly past their commercial prime or who flew under the radar as songwriters and producers. Beyonce and Mariah Carey are both still selling millions of records — even if it’s just “All I Want For Christmas,” Mariah’s pull is enough to warrant a month-long McDonald’s menu — and thus, Verzuz “couldn’t afford” them.

And others wondered why LA Reid was being given a platform at all, considering he was recently accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, leading to his ouster from Epic Records, and a huge settlement payment from Sony.

Check out more responses to LA Reid’s dream matchup below, and watch the full interview above.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Bizzy Bone Says His ‘Verzuz’ Fight With Three 6 Mafia Is Just A Part Of Hip-Hop

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The highlight of Thursday night’s Verzuz battle between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia, unfortunately, had nothing to do with the music that was played. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Bizzy Bone and Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J got into an argument on stage that nearly led to a brawl. After one of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s performances, Bizzy Bone said to his opponents, “You ugly motherf*ckers ain’t finna be mockin’ me while I’m on stage.” Juicy J told him to “shut the f*ck up,” which caused Bizzy to throw a water bottle at Juicy.

Now, nearly two days after the incident, Bizzy Bone spoke out about the fight and he was fairly chill about the whole scrape. “I just think, you know, it’s pretty self-explanatory how it went down,” he said during an interview with TMZ. “I can’t even say it on TMZ, you know, they’d have to bleep it out.” He continued, “Yeah, it ain’t really about bothering me. It’s just about class, it’s just about being a grown man and being in the heat of the moment and sh*t like that. Everybody pretty much understood what it was. From what everybody was telling me, they was like, ‘You really ain’t do no wrong.’ But, you know, it is what it is man, it’s hip-hop, people fight.”

Bizzy also said that Swizz Beatz, who co-founded Verzuz along with Timbaland, was not upset with him. “Swizz was like ‘it’s hip-hop, I ain’t tripping,’ and everybody was acting like he was saying something, he wasn’t talking about us,” he said. “We do our own prayers, we ain’t have no problem with no money, we ain’t ask for no special cups or none of that, we street dudes. He wasn’t talking about us, but of course, he’s being politically correct and I dig that and I appreciate that about him.”

You can watch Bizzy Bone’s interview with TMZ here.