Possibly as a show of respect, neither opted not to play arguably their most popular songs (Beenie Man’s being “Who Am I” and Bounty Killer’s being “Hey Baby” with No Doubt). by Usher. Throughout, Snoop would get up and cripwalk to “B— Ain’t Sh--” with Dr. Dre (a song DMX knew all the words to), while the Ruff Ryders member pulled out raucous favorites like “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” and “Money, Power Respect” with The Lox and Lil’ Kim. But the prolific producers/performers decided to one up everyone by starting a new trend of beat battles over Instagram Live. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. Jakes. Boi-1da gets the win for surprising fans with two unreleased Drake songs, one of which features rap breakout Roddy Ricch. In response to the tragedies happening nationwide, with the unjust killings of Black Americans, Verzuz prefaced its first gospel event with a prayer from Bishop T.D. That left room for DMX to clinch the title with obvious winners like “Party Up (Up In Here)” and legendary LL Cool J posse cut “4,3,2,1” featuring him alongside Method Man, Redman, and Canibus. Thursday night’s Verzuz may go down as the most historic yet. pg.acq.push(function() { The ultimate winner, as with all Verzuz matches, was the music. ga('ads.send', { Both came guns blazing with Jadakiss playing “Blackout,” a song his group The Lox did with DMX and Jay-Z, against “You Ain’t Got Nuthin’” a Lil Wayne song featuring Fabolous that was on the multi-platinum Tha Carter III album. Potential winner: Meek Mill. WINNER: Earth, Wind & Fire. As for many rap artists, they can use their collaborations or 'feature' segments from other ar… Timbo and Swizz Beatz are so successful on their own that they finished without running out of hits. Between Beenie Man being so charismatic he was able to shoo away a cop who came in to complain about the noise, and Bounty Killer’s delightful back-and-forth with Rihanna in the comments, the audience were the true winners. ", One posted, "Keyshia knew every Ashanti song but Ashanti didn’t know every keyshia songs and that should tell you who the winner was. I want to sing your songs in front of you. Part 2 featured Kirk Franklin vs Fred Hammond, Alicia Keys vs John Legend, DMX vs Snoop Dogg, Brandy vs Monica, and others. While VERZUZ battles tend not to declare winners, this time, it was clearly Ciara who walked away with the crown. Still, Storch put almost everything he had on the table, while Fresh didn't even play "#1 Stunna.". One user wrote, "Ashanti and Keyshia Cole better make sure this VERZUZ get done today. ", Ashanti and Keyshia Cole better make sure this VERZUZ get done today. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Teddy Riley mostly kept to the former with Riley playing cuts from his Guy and Blackstreet days like "I Like" and "Before I Let You Go" respectively. In terms of going song-for-song though, Babyface was the unequivocal victor. Meanwhile, LaBelle fell into medley rounds by the end of it, combining “New Attitude” and “On My Own” (her song with Michael McDonald) towards the end of it. I want to enjoy my flowers, and I want us to be united as one. hitType: 'event', ga('ads.send', { LaBelle has a slight edge, putting it all on the table, and mixing it up so much that “ABCs” landed next to “Lady Marmalade.” Knight is definitely right there with her though, winning the first round with “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” If anything their enduring friendship won the night. For a Juneteenth celebration, the two Best New Artist Grammy winners came on stage with dueling pianos, already coming in hot with Alicia Keys playing her Usher collaboration “My Boo” up against John Legend’s breakout ballad “Ordinary People.” Some fun later moments include Keys doing her own spin on “Empire State of Mind,” the anthem she made with Jay-Z, and Legend playing “American Boy,” the song he co-wrote with Estelle and others after he signed her to his record label. Not even an Adele song could prevent Blanco from sealing the deal on his victory with "Diamonds" by Rihanna. ... and took an early lead in the battle. WINNER: Beenie. Updated On : 20:48 PST, Jan 21, 2021. The text image read, “Hey y’all. ", Ashanti and Cole's fans have taken to social media handles to share their excitement for the online event. },false) ga('ads.send', { The 5 Best Battles from Verzuz's First Season Before season two of the hit series returns to pit Gucci Mane against Jeezy on Thursday, Nov. 19, a look back at highlights from Verzuz… In this epic battle, Fabolous and Jadakiss went head-to-head as they helped take the Swizz Beatz and Timbaland platform to … ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); RZA and DJ Premier curated playlists that reflected why they are pillars of New York rap. }); Angry fans fight over winner: 'Keyshia had time to pay WiFi bill'. ", Meanwhile, another user wrote, "Ashanti got 4 hits without features!! The January 21 event at Verzuz marked the fourth women-led showdown. Ashanti and Keyshia Cole has finally gone against each other in a much-awaited Verzuz battle. The long-awaited battle featured two artists who had a deep grab bag of both songs they had performed as musicians and songs they wrote and produced for other singers. East Coast Hip-Hop is back in the spotlight on the latest edition of Verzuz. Ashanti and Cole were all set to go up against each other in December 2020, but the 'Always on Time' singer revealed she tested positive for Covid-19 just a couple of hours before her online battle. The modern workplace starts with Surface for Business. }); Only someone who's band made "Apologize" while he was also co-writing breakout hit "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis could go against Blanco's run of hits from Katy Perry's Teenage Dream era. The true winner in this one was the audience. I’m OK and not in any pain. T-Pain and Lil Jon went for the kill from the jump, with the singer playing his biggest Kanye West collaboration, "Good Life," and the rapper playing his smash "Get Low" featuring the Ying Yang Twins. eventAction: 'view' Still, the King of Crunk wins the close match off the breadth of his work, even if "Turn Down for What" was an anticlimactic closer. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I tested positive for Covid-19. eventAction: 'render' if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ Swizz Beatz and Timbaland could have gone the usual route and performed a virtual solo set of their songs during quarantine. WINNER: Ashanti I want you to enjoy our flowers. Yall better stop playing with the girl Keyshia!!! Hit-Boy showed the most variety by playing "Ni**as In Paris" by Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Goldie" by A$AP Rocky, and "Drop The World" by Lil Wayne and Eminem. Would it be a real Verzuz without a WiFi mishap? hitType: 'event', } },false) Verzuz can sometimes get a little loose with the term “hit” when referring to some of the playlists choices, but these R&B icons have both had multiple top 10 hits. }); Having broken Instagram Live records, the event itself was one big win. hitType: 'event', As 2 Chainz entertained the audience by counting the plaques he’s gotten for hits like “Mercy” with the fellas from G.O.O.D. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. As for a winner, fans were split. gads_event = event; } }); The long-overdue Verzuz TV battle between Ashanti and Keyshia Cole has finally streamed on Verzuz's Instagram account on January 21. And another shared a meme: "Ashanti when it’s Keyshia turn #Verzuz. 10 tracks, two artists and a few billion views – one year on from the very first Verzuz battle, Jenessa Williams investigates how Swizz Beats and Timbaland crowned music the ultimate winner. With everyone now stuck in their homes, they moved the stage version onto social media — and soon began inviting other pairs to participate, including Ne-Yo and Johntá Austin, The-Dream and Sean Garrett, and Hit-Boy and Boi-1da. In August, Monica and Brandy took to the Verzuz stage for a battle that attracted record-breaking viewership. }) From then on, T-Pain focused on playing many of his biggest hits and collaborations, from "Low" with Flo-Rida to "Blame It" with Jamie Foxx, while Lil Jon mixed in some surprising tracks he produced like "Blow the Whistle" by Too $hort. ga('ads.send', { https://www.vulture.com/2021/04/verzuz-instagram-live-battles-ranked.html With another high-profile Verzuz battle, check out how Billboard scored Saturday night's hip-hop duel between Ludacris and Nelly below. The … When even Teddy Riley is making fun of your wifi connection in the comments, you know you're at a disadvantage, but shoddy video quality was not the only thing that took Nelly down. Although the new single is solid, viewers collectively agree that the final round of a Verzuz is not the time and place to debut a new track nobody has heard. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Both groups took turns spinning their classic hits to the delight of music fans across social media. ga('ads.send', { if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ Every RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 runway look, ranked, Spread the love with EW's Valentine's Day gift guide, The Masked Dancer revealed: Every unmasked celebrity on season 1. While each battle gives birth to memorable memes, it serves as a masterclass and introduction to the other masterminds behind some of our favorite songs. While Jeezy’s Trap or Die intro was rightly hailed as “legendary,” it wasn’t gasp-inducing in the same way. ROUND 10: Beenie Man feat. ", Even with his focus on mostly regional hits, and Cash Money Records artists, Fresh came remarkably close to defeating Storch. However, to amaze everyone, Ashanti and Cole have finally got down on Verzuz TV to have their online battle. From there, Badu played hits like "On and On," Scott played "Cross My Mind" to fulfill late record executive Andre Harrell's request, and when Badu's connection failed for a moment, Scott came through for her by hitting play on the celebrated live version of Badu's song "Tyrone.". The newest pivot from the Verzuz experience is Verzuz Sports, which kicked off at the end of January featuring an NFL Pro Bowl lineup of football players who battle each other career highlight for career highlight. Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond, two heavyweights of the genre, followed with some of their most iconic devotionals including Franklin’s 1997 song “Stomp” and Hammond’s 2001 single “King of Glory.”. Mya “Girls Them Sugar” vs. Bounty Killer ft. Nona Hendryx & Cocoa Brovaz “It’s a Party” Beenie closed out the first half of the battle on a strong note with one of his most beautiful records, a Neptunes remake of one of his immortal dancehall classics adorned with a sweet hook sung by Mya. Night night." As huge of a hit as Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" was, Ne-Yo simply could not overcome Austin's knockout blow: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey. "I want to love on you. New Orleans legend Mannie Fresh almost exclusively played Juvenile and early Lil Wayne, bringing it back to the '99 and the 2000 with "Back That Azz Up. Credit: Erika Goldring/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, Your guide to the Verzuz Instagram battles: Ludacris vs. Nelly, Babyface vs. Teddy Riley, and more. A fun nostalgic night of back-to-back club hits went haywire when Lil Jon shared his hesitations about vaccines, and T-Pain played an R. Kelly song. One year of Verzuz – how musical competition brought the timeline together. Of course RZA fit in mostly Wu-Tang Clan songs like "Protect Ya Neck," or Method Man's "Bring the Pain," but Preemo hi back with Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and even D'Angelo. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. If this battle were to stick to the normal 20 rounds, it's hard not to say Premier won with haymakers like Hov's into to In My Lifetime Vol. Both hitmakers agreed to mix their set up with some surprise, but while Blanco was throwing out a 3oh!3 party-starter, or honoring his late collaborator Juice Wrld, Tedder was slowing down the momentum of the battle with OneRepublic ballads and a late stage Paul McCartney track. Babyface though, without even touching his numerous songs with Whitney Houston, shining a light on lesser known artists like Karyn White and Tevin Campbell instead, was able to trump songs by Michael Jackson and Jay-Z that Riley produced. Too Short and E-40 played their classic tracks, put down some classic dancing and told classic stories -- so yeah, the last "Verzuz" of 2020 was a West Coast classic.. In one corner, representing Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Recordings, was Jagged Edge scoring points with their gracious track “Good Luck Charm,” and the energetic “Where The Party At?” featuring Nelly. Monica won some rounds, like when she played her song “Slow Jam” with Usher (Brandy only had a forgettable song with Chris Brown to play in response), but ultimately lost to the “Sitting Up In My Room” singer by not playing her signature ballad “Angel of Mine.”. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Yall better stop playing with the girl Keyshia!!!" Each battle is often paired up by the genre of categories. }); ROUND 3: Beenie Man's “Slam” vs. Bounty Killer's “Living Dangerously”. ... 'An epic celebration': Fans go wild when Brandy, Monica reveal they'll reunite in Verzuz battle. Night night, Ashanti when it’s Keyshia turn #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/Z4Phv08Yfn. 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