INSTANT CONCERT: THE IMPORTANCE OF VERZUZ TV

Let’s face it: COVID-19 has us all posted in the house for a good, long minute. And none of us knows how long it’s gonna keep us here. But the silver lining in all of this? We’ve received some of the most amazing, unfiltered music battles and celebrations have taken place on Instagram through Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s venture, Verzuz TV. From Scott Storch vs. Mannie Fresh, to T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, to Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott and most recently, Nelly vs. Ludacris, we’ve had a ton of musical memories brought back from these virtual hookups. And Lord knows we’ve needed it. Badly.

The New York Times calls it “the most powerful quarantine-friendly entertainment franchise going” and “a yesterday-focused engagement using modern technology to help influence tomorrow’s music-making.” Previous battles truly have been more along the lines of celebrations, with RZA and DJ Premier squaring off on Instagram and bringing back some good old-fashioned boom bap NYC Hip Hop memories for hundreds of thousands of people to partake in. While a few weeks ago, we were all treated to Erykah Badu and Jill Scott giving us some smoky, wavy, neo-soul vibes and women’s’ empowerment that put us all at ease and felt like a warm, inviting hug in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and us losing the musical legends Andre Harrell and Little Richard.

Now that Verzuz has been established as a powerful social media musical curation brand, we’ve come up with a few potential battles/celebrations to keep things going and growing for Verzuz.

QUEEN LATIFAH VS. MC LYTE- Another women-centered music head-to-head that would give us hit after hit, including “Ladies First”, “Georgie Porgie”, “U.N.I.T.Y.”, and “Ruffneck”.

FOXY BROWN VS. LIL KIM- Another set of elite NYC women emcees who would bring a bevy of hits, and we’d certainly be here for it! We’d definitely wanna hear “No Time”, “Crush On You”, and “The Jumpoff” from Kim, while Foxy would hit us with “Get Me Home”, “Oh Yeah” and “Touch Me Tease Me”.

USHER VS. CHRIS BROWN-  A big time heavy weight R&B bout. Both Ursher and Breezy have too many albums AND hits to name, so we’d be in for at least a good two to three hours of classic new school hits. This one could easily go for hours.

D’ANGELO VS. RAPHAEL SADDIQ- Two artists with catalogs that are basically endless when it comes to R&B. We’d likely need to light the incense for this one too. Get ready to hear the likes of “Brown Sugar” and “Still Ray” back to back, as well as a ton of collaborations from each.

DIDDY VS. JERMAINE DUPRI- Since we know that a Diddy vs. Dr. Dre Verzuz Battle likely ain’t gonna happen, it’s only right to have a battle that makes much more sense and would likely be more entertaining and filled with both Hip Hop and R&B hits. Another IG battle that could last for hours on end and would probably be the biggest yet!

For as long as we’re all posted in the house, we should all be thankful for what Verzuz is doing to help us, educate us, and get us through these times. Who would you wanna see do a Verzuz TV battle next?

Ron Grant is a Freelance Writer, Music Blogger and Journalist originally from Detroit, MI and based in Atlanta, GA. He’s written for Hip Hop music publications such as HipHopDX and was deeply involved in the Orlando, FL independent music scene for years. Follow him on IG at @nerdvocatellc.