Swizz Beatz says ‘Verzuz’ to return to IG: ‘It’s fixed’
The latest 'Verzuz' between Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild will be free to view live on Tuesday from California.
Verzuz co-founder Swizz Beatz stated that Tuesday night’s Verzuz will available on Instagram and free to view, after initial reports otherwise. The original announcement of the latest music competition stated that fans would not be able to see it on Instagram.
Swizz Beatz, who started Verzuz with Timbaland, posted early on Tuesday that the battle between Grammy-winning soul singer Anthony Hamilton and 13-time Grammy nominee Musiq Soulchild will be viewable live on Instagram on @verzuztv, as well as on the Verzuz webpage in HD.
“I was out the country don’t ask me who did it,” Swizz posted. “It’s fixed.”
The verified social media account for Verzuz also confirmed that Tuesday’s battle would be tailored to suit the preferences of their audience.
“We heard you! You can watch TONIGHT’S #VERZUZ with Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild on a platform that is convenient to you,” the post read.
On Monday, the official Verzuz Instagram commented in its promotion post that the event would not be available on Instagram for fans for the first time. To view the festivities, viewers would have to go to VERZUZTV.com and sign up for a 14-day trial with a #TrillerVerzPass.
Swizz and Timbaland sold Verzuz in March 2021 to Triller, who has been distributing the live music competition series ever since, as theGrio reported. The two are also shareholders in Triller.
After the deal, the production of Verzuz has included an elaborate, multi-camera production in front of a live audience.
Many fans were not pleased with the battle switching from Instagram. One user, @livinonthenylev, commented that Verzuz is “starting to carter to the wrong audience.” Another user, @jahri_skin, commented that selling Verzuz to Triller was a mistake. “It takes the organic out of it. Now their number will be low because of greed.”
People expressed their anger on Twitter as well.
Tuesday’s Verzuz between Hamilton and Soulchild will be the first of 2022. The battle will be live before a sold out audience at Avalon Hollywood in California.
The previous two Verzuz battles were Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan on November 18, 2021, and Three 6 Mafia and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on December 2, 2021. The latter Verzuz took a controversial turn when the music battle got physical when Bone Thugs member Bizzy Bone started a fight with members of Three 6 Mafia, causing the event to temporarily stop until cooler headed prevailed, theGrio previously reported.
The next Verzuz will be sports-based with NBA Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady going highlight-for-highlight on Feb. 18.
TheGrio is now on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!
