Both artists enjoyed a string of blockbuster albums and singles that slowed on the other end of the aughts, when Ludacris followed minor roles in Crash and Hustle and Flow into a career in action films, and Nelly took sporadic roles in television.

Verzuz caters largely to aughts nostalgia; hits from ’99 and 2000 don’t always do so well. Highlights: The-Dream playing mini-golf on camera as Garrett came in seemingly sloshed and delivered impromptu opening remarks, Dream showing off the demo version of Jay-Z’s “Holy Grail” with himself on the hook instead of Justin Timberlake, Garrett spooking the crowd with love faces, famous spectators like Fat Joe, Kelly Rowland, and Rick Ross getting fed up and acting out in the comments. The Verzuz battle isn’t confirmed just yet but fans are already excited at the thought of two of ATL’s finest going toe-to-toe. And while we wait for another internet-breaking head-to-head to unfold, we decided to take it back and rank every battle as yet.

From a Cemetery. as screen readers and screen magnifiers, and with users with disabilities who use these technologies. This was an easy test. Jamie Lynn Spears Updated the, Tekashi 6ix9ine Sued by 13-Year-Old in Sex-Video Case, The Rudy Giuliani Moment Going Viral Is Good for, Amber Ruffin Is Done With People Pretending They Can’t Pronounce ‘Kamala Harris’, “Kamala is barely any different than Pamela, and there’s not a white person alive who doesn’t know a Pamela.”, A Concert Review! Last year, Wonder stepped back from the stage to undergo kidney transplant surgery. Their Verzuz battle was a master class in old friends with unresolved business. It’s the breakout hit of the spring, drawing an average quarter million heads every time.) 2: Hard Knock Life to Drake’s Thank Me Later and beyond.

National Treasure Tiffany ‘New York’ Pollard Returns to VH1 for Reunion Special. What’s the rundown?

As Kirk said at the beginning of the night, “He’s the goat, and I’m the alpaca.” The duo played two and a half hours worth of inspirational music to cool tensions in the early days of the protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, chatting and duetting and calling on special guests for what was billed as a night of healing.

You can score points with records mostly made by someone else. Both groups charted strongly through the early 2000s, often in competition. Already a subscriber? Verzuz needs more tact and more women.

Nelly put points on the board, bafflingly avoiding his platinum-selling Tim McGraw collab “Over and Over,” but it wasn’t enough. Well, Miss Badu and Miss Scott made it very easy. Highlights: Both sounding incredible in their late 70s; mic control; Patti kicking the night off with a dance routine to “All Right Now” that gave Mary J. Blige a run for her money; Gladys singing “Midnight Train to Georgia” twice and no one caring about the repetition; Patti kicking her shoes off during “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and having backup footwear options on her desk; every celebrity that got roasted for projecting in the comment section; Dionne Warwick joining the pair for “Superwoman” and “That’s What Friends Are For,” reuniting the lineup from the trio’s iconic 1986 HBO special, Sisters in the Name of Love, which, if you’re anything like me, you’ve already watched this month. Premier, a New York hip-hop hall of famer by way of Houston and Boston, is a turntable wizard capable of creating new melodic lines out of preexisting records. The three-part series will premiere in early 2021. Both artists are masters of soulful love ballads and their faceoff covered a who’s who of R&B’s last 20 years. or call +49 (0)30 235 908 500.

Luda’s porn-rap anthem “What’s Your Fantasy?” completed his pivot from Atlanta-area radio host to airplay mainstay. It seemed as if they hadn’t spoken in years before sitting down in front of the cameras. Both rappers have gigantic back catalogues and more than a few bright spots as guest features, but Chainz mostly stuck to the big singles from his solo albums, which run a little too mainstream-y sometimes, while Ross pulled ahead digging into a treasure trove of lush deep cuts. You would have to follow me to know that.”, #Roommates, #Kehlani explains her previous message to #BrysonTiller. “I was trying to, like, talk about my life, and what it is now, and really do something different with it. Virginia innovator Timbaland was the era’s other go-to.

I’ll tell you what though, since it means that much to you put a date on it,” said Jeezy. The outrageous showdown between Atlanta-based hitmakers The-Dream and Sean Garrett is the reason Verzuz now has ground rules. Witness the legends turn up below. aka KING OF THE SOUTH aka @Tip aka MR. EXPEDITIOUSLY aka YOU SAID YOU WANTED THAT N.Y. ENERGY/SLASH NEW YORK SMOKE ? (This Is Not a Metaphor.).

to a friendly battle after the Grand Hustle frontman “respectfully” shot down an offer from Busta Rhymes. The first Verzuz battle after a recently announced partnership with Apple Music was also the first to offer a landscape-mode option, breaking up the off-the-cuff feel of the early Instagram Live meets (though it was simulcast on IG, so you could still watch if you’re not an Apple Music subscriber). The disastrous event is arguably more legendary now for the many memes it inspired. What’s the rundown? Beenie Man and Bounty Killer are dancehall legends with a complicated history stretching across over 25 years of clashes, feuds, and reunions. Their meet was more a reunion and a Mother’s Day celebration than a proper battle.

I said, 'I'm gonna go from being 70 to like 40.’ I feel like I'm about 40 right now and I just thank everyone for their prayers and love. Without directly naming Tip, Jeezy posted a cryptic video message on Instagram on Wednesday (Oct. 21) subtly calling out his potential rival. Log in or link your magazine subscription, 13.

“I was intentionally trying to not make club songs [talking about] hoes and *itches and all the sh*t I used to talk about,” Ty told Vulture in a recent interview. Timbaland is the more compelling musician; there’s wilder stuff going on in a measure of a Timbo beat than a Swizz one seven times out of ten.

Highlights: Brandy hearing a new Monica song and asking if it was the intermission music, Brandy telling the story of the time she geeked out and yelled “West side!” at 2pac, Monica refusing to give the audience live vocals on “The Boy Is Mine” while Brandy sang hers, the debate over whether Monica was wearing waist-high boots or leather pants obscuring high heels that culminated in Solange creating a Twitter poll in which pants won by a narrow margin. Texas songwriter, performer, producer, and choir director Kirk Franklin followed Hammond’s lead in the ’90s with his choirs God’s Property and the Family, adding funk and hip-hop into the mix and crossing over with unlikely R&B radio hits like 1997’s Funkadelic-sampling “Stomp.” Franklin and Hammond’s Verzuz meet wasn’t a battle so much as a necessary moment of calm led by intergenerational talents. But the scales tipped, and the fight got good when Garrett pulled it together and started to match Dream song for song. Although a few hiccups with Patti’s sound stood as a reminder of how quickly and off the cuff this series came together in just six months, the night’s overall excellence suggests it’ll be here as long as there’s a captive audience. Who won? Highlights: Toni Braxton on the warpath on Twitter, Mariah Carey and Adele getting jokes off, Babyface playing “Change the World” on acoustic guitar while Teddy figured out sound on Monday, Raekwon in the comments talking about robbing people to Babyface songs, Riley’s team trying to sort out mic problems by bringing in even more mics, Babyface getting a little dig in about social distancing while Riley streamed from a room with what looked to be ten heads present but no masks in sight, the MEMES. It was too close to call. The Godfathers of Verzuz, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, kicked off the series with a bang, laying the blueprint for what a competitive beat battle should look like. In the battle, both producers played classics alongside a few newer songs, but the age gap in the crowd was palpable. Storch’s story is complicated in a way that Mannie Fresh’s isn’t — by 2010, Storch’s career had become a cautionary tale about addiction and overspending — but repeat customers like Brown and newer stars like 6ix9ine and Russ sought him out in recent years, as Fresh’s relationship with Lil Wayne led to good placements on Tha Carter V and this year’s Funeral. The crowd swore Garrett smoked Dream, but what really happened is that he pulled a Rocky. Ne-Yo’s hits like “So Sick,” “Because of You,” “Miss Independent,” Bey’s “Irreplaceable,” Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” are smooth R&B classics. “Miss Me,” “Headlines,” “0-100/The Catch-Up,” and “Over” — all him.

If you know, you know. Jadakiss ran off with it because he has written no less than a dozen songs better than the best Fabolous song. As a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the groups Commissioned and Radical for Christ, and later as a solo artist and a producer, gospel music giant Fred Hammond helped to push the form beyond the traditional sounds of early 20th century black church music, advancing on the gains made by R&B/gospel hybridists like the Winans and the Clark Sisters in the ’80s and embracing contemporary R&B across ’90s albums including Deliverance and Pages of Life - Chapters I & II. Over the last 60 years, Wonder has released more than 40 albums, which includes his 23 solo studio albums, several live albums, collaborative projects, and soundtrack albums.

DMX put on a good show, but his well of hits dried up in the mid-aughts, while Snoop caught a second wind thanks to a string of gold- and platinum-certified Neptunes collaborations. Which is basically like becoming the new Spider-Man, but for portraying sad marriages. There’s nothing wrong with a slugfest, but it’s draining hearing people trash timeless classics. You could argue that Babyface won the first night after coming in hot with two Bobby Brown classics and remaining a good sport while Teddy’s full band, hype man, staff, and camera crew fumbled around with microphones and speakers, trying to livestream on two separate platforms and drown out a deadly echo Riley swore at one point was coming from the other guy. The stunning visual, directed by Glenn Michael of Toronto’s Kid Studio, is a creative take on how a relationship can become your entire universe.

What’s the rundown? See How Justin Bieber’s 2020 Is Going In YouTube Doc.

Ah, to be young and sharing a secret diary in the Strand. He ate shots through the early rounds and came out swinging near the end when his opponent wound down.

The battle was a trip back to a raunchier, more reckless time, as X played faves like “Money, Cash, Hoes” and Snoop responded with villainous career highlights like “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None).” When the duo later freestyled back and forth, Snoop reminded us that he’s just as good at rhyming off the top of his head as he is at writing songs, and X barked out a litany of threats and trash talk, forgetting what decade we were in at one point and dropping an F-bomb (the other one). If you’ve cultivated a relationship with an A-list artist, you’re almost guaranteed the win. The catalog also includes Eminem’s Hot 100 topper “Not Afraid” and scorchers with everyone from Rick Ross to Rihanna. Both singers have made movies. Wu-Tang mastermind RZA and Gang Starr’s DJ Premier stepped up. The rematch went to Babyface, and it wasn’t close, although Teddy landed a few good rebuttals, reminding us that Keith Sweat’s new jack swing classic “I Want Her” is (almost) just as good as Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step.”.