Information & Comments About "Verzuz" Music Battles

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about "Verzuz" music battles. Thus far, most of these "battles" have been between two American music performers. 

This post presents some article excerpts that provide information and comments about "Verzuz" music battles.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/07/examples-of-tweets-about-july-22-2020.html for Part II of this series. Part II presents some tweets about the July 22, 2020 Verzuz battle between Hip Hop legends DMX and Snoop.

The word "verzuz" is pronounced the same as the English word "verses" and undoubtedly was coined as a stylized reference to music.

The content of this post is presented for cultural and entertainment purposes.

All copyright remains with their owners.

Thanks to Swizz Beatz & Timbaland for conceptualizing  Verzuz battles. Thanks to all those who have participated in Verzuz battles, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT VERZUZ  BATTLES
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Videos and GIFs aren't included in these excerpts.

Excerpt #1:
From https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/verzuz-effect-how-swizz-beatz-timbalands-beat-battles-showcase-musics-past-present-and

The Verzuz Effect: How Swizz Beatz & Timbaland's Beat Battles Showcase Music's Past, Present And Future

Now streaming in quarantined homes via Instagram Live, the song-for-song set continues to serve as a celebration of Black musical pioneers: the DJs, songwriters, singers, rappers, producers, performers—and everybody in between

By Malika Michaud, May 27, 2020

“The culture will not be televised. Better yet, it shall be streamed.

What originally started as a live song-for-song set at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert in 2018 between musical powerhouses Timbaland and Swizz Beatz has now found its way into countless quarantined homes. The recommence of Verzuz began and continues to serve as a celebration of Black musical pioneers: the DJs, songwriters, singers, rappers, producers, performers—and everybody in between.

The battles are selected by how sonically and entertaining both artists can be together. Kicking off in March, the growing phenom has showcased battles between Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, Boi-1da vs. Hit-Boy, The-Dream vs. Sean Garrett, Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott, Johntá Austin vs. Ne-Yo, Nelly vs. Ludacris, T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, Scott Storch vs. Mannie Fresh, DJ Premier vs. RZA, Ryan Tedder vs. Benny Blanco, 112 vs. Jagged Edge and Beenie Man vs. Bounty Killer.”…

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Excerpt #2
From  https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/23/us/verzuz-instagram-battles-popularity-explained-trnd/index.html

'Verzuz' has everyone flocking to Instagram. Here's why the weekly battles are such a hit

By Amir Vera, CNN; Updated 6:59 PM ET, Sat May 23, 2020

"Music producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland created "Verzuz" to bring joy and entertainment to millions of hip-hop and R&B fans stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic. But they may have ended up spawning a new cultural touchstone.

The idea was simple: Pit two of the biggest names in music against each other on Instagram Live for a friendly head-to-head battle. No one would actually be declared the winner. But fans could hear their favorite songs and endlessly argue over who had better hits.

The performances are powerful, the format is sometimes glitchy and the audience is altogether hilarious. In short, it's a good time.

And given the tragedy unfolding around us, Verzuz is a welcome distraction.

Here are 5 reasons why the weekly showdown is such a big hit.

It's a joke machineThe cultural jokes made in real time and after the livestreams are what make the Verzuz battles amazing.

Viewers tune in for the talent and songs, but especially for the comments section, where they often poke fun at the artists and their performances.
Whether it's technology issues, song choice or even what the artists are wearing, folks on social media come ready with the jokes.

[…]

Folks in the comments section aren't safe, either.

[…]

It takes us back in time

[…]

The songs played during Verzuz battles bring us all back to that moment in time where we either first heard the song or were constantly replaying it on our MP3 or CD players, or even our Walkmans.

[…]

Specific song lyrics also brought about unity during Verzuz. Many viewers were tweeting their favorite lines to hit songs.

[…]

We get to see stars interacting in real time

Sure, we all know these stars have all interacted in some way or another, but on Verzuz we get to see it in real time.

At times it feels like eavesdropping on a private conversation. And when they express respect and mutual admiration for each other's work, the feels kick in.

[…]

It brings us together

The biggest draw about Verzuz is that it feels more like a house party than a competition.

The cookout vibes attract all different types of viewers, from Snoop Dogg to Michelle Obama.

"Our First Lady is in the chat!" tweeted director Jennifer Lé in April during the Babyface and Teddy Riley battle.

[…]

The livestreams also cut across generations. Many of those commenting on the battles admitted they were watching with a parent or older relative.

[...]

Others had to teach their parents how to use Instagram just for the Verzuz occasion.

And that's the thing about Verzuz, it's not just a Generation X or a millennial thing, it's for everyone across all generations to come together. Flashbacks for some were new additions to playlists for others.

It's a break from coronavirus

For a lot of fans, tuning in and singing along has been a welcome distraction from the scary news on TV. It's transported listeners back in time -- maybe to a better time -- when life seemed easier and more carefree.

"The #Verzuz tweets have had me HOLLERING. Whew, I needed this laughter," tweeted poet Saeed Jones.

"Yo, I haven't laughed in two weeks. I needed this. Thank you #VERZUZ," tweeted writer Sean A. Malcolm.

Journalist Yamiche Alcindor summed it up perfectly.

Yamiche Alcindor

@Yamiche

#Verzuz is literally saving the week.

We needed this y’all."

7:33 PM · May 9, 2020

-snip-

There's been at least one Verzuz battle between non-African Americans- Jamaican DJ's Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. 

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.vulture.com/2020/07/verzuz-instagram-live-battles-ranked.html  All the Verzuz Instagram Live Battles, Ranked; By Craig Jenkins@CraigSJ, July 2, 2020

"Throughout quarantine, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz beat battle series has grown from a novel event bridging hip-hop’s past and present into uplifting excitement in our indoor spring, joining DJ sessions by D-Nice, Questlove, and others as well as Ontario artist Tory Lanez’s unpredictable Quarantine Radio series as the must-see remote-but-live viewing for rap and R&B fans while live shows and festivals are sidelined by COVID-19. Verzuz reimagines the DJ battles of hip-hop’s early days for the “one gotta go” set. The premise is simple: Two prominent producers (or singers or songwriters) pair up live on Instagram and compete to decide who has the better catalog. The rules came together on the fly through trial and error. As it stands, each battle goes 20 rounds, with each contestant playing a hit and hearing a rebuttal.

Verzuz is fun, simple, and wide open — maybe a little too wide open. The audience is mostly in charge of the scoring, and there’s rarely a consensus on points. Regional bias and generational schisms creep up. Playing a deep cut almost categorically loses you the point, even if it’s one of the greatest songs of all time. There’s nothing wrong with a slugfest, but it’s draining hearing people trash timeless classics. You can be a legend with decades of hits and lose the crowd trailing too far away from radio. You can be a veteran who changed the game forever and get smoked in the court of public opinion because someone else’s music is fresher in everyone’s shared memory. You can score points with records mostly made by someone else. If you’ve cultivated a relationship with an A-list artist, you’re almost guaranteed the win.

In spite of these minor issues, Verzuz is making drab weekends feel fun again and restoring a spirit of friendly competition to the game. It’s also teaching fans how many heads it can take to make a hit record. You might hear the same song at three different battles: once from a producer, again from a co-producer, and then again from a songwriter who helped fine-tune melodies or flesh out lyrics. That said, hits being repeated also highlights a need for greater variety in the cast of contestants, a concern Swizz and Timbaland seem to be addressing in the lineup going forward. Still, Verzuz needs more talent from different regions and different eras, and it desperately needs more women.”…

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Excerpt #4:
From variety.com/2020/music/news/verzuz-snoop-dogg-dmx-apple-music-battle-1234712792/

Jul 21, 2020, Janet W. Lee Snoop Dogg to Battle DMX on Verzuz

"The Verzuz series is coming to Apple Music and Beats 1 with a face-off between Snoop Dogg and DMX scheduled for Wednesday, July 22 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

The series, founded by hitmakers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland found its audience on Instagram Live — and will continue to live there — and is now also available on-demand via Apple.

The Verzuz series has grown from a novel event bringing together producer peers to an online phenomenon during the pandemic.”…

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.

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