Ahead of the upcoming Mothers' Day, mega-producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have set the stage for the next "Verzuz" battle between Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.
Both Timbo and Swizz announced on their respective social media accounts on Friday, May 1. The announcement is captioned, "It's time for the Queens to represent" with the accompanying visual tagged "Femme It Forward."
Fans have been pitching Badu's name in the online battle series, first suggesting a match-up between her and Ms. Lauryn Hill. The First Lady of Neo-Soul weighed in, confessing, "I'll be pulverized."
The upcoming battle of the Queens is set on Saturday, May 9, at 7 PM EST and marks the latest installment in the hit Instagram "Verzuz" series.
It's time for the Queens on Verzuz @fatbellybella vs @missjillscott shoutout @FemmeItForward let's go @THEREALSWIZZZ @verzuztv pic.twitter.com/q0yfwZEV6w — Timbaland (@Timbaland) May 1, 2020
"Verzuz" Battle Series
Badu vs. Scott follows other high-profile music battles that started with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland themselves and have featured Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, and DJ Premier vs. RZA.
Recently, Sean "Diddy" Combs announced in the "Fat Joe Show" that a "Verzuz" battle is already brewing between him and Dr. Dre. Puff Daddy's announcement came after Swizz Beatz put out a call on his IG, saying, "Dr. Dre, P. Diddy, we are calling you to give back to the people." Swizz further suggested making the mega-producer battle a pay-per-view event, with the proceeds going to support COVID-19 efforts.
The cultural phenomenon is now credited with reintroducing classic hits from the 80s and 90s to the younger generation, mainly due to its viral Instagram Live sessions drawing fans and curious online passers-by, dubbed the "Verzuz" effect. Taking the Teddy Riley vs. Babyface session last April 20, Billboard reported the sharp spike in listening volume for the tracks played by both music artist-producers, from Nielsen Music/MRC Data reports from audio streaming services.
Meanwhile, Variety noted that Teddy Riley's online presence surged as his Instagram followers rising from 328,000 to 855,000 or a 141% increase. The New Jack Swing pioneer also saw his Twitter followers increase by 3021.4% shortly after their battle.
Battle of the Queens
Erykah Badu, born Erica Abi Wright, is a singer-songwriter as well as a record producer. She started her music career with her debut, "Baduizm," in 1997, which earned triple Platinum certification from RIAA. She currently has five studio albums, with the first three being certified gold or higher. Her latest album to date was "New Amerykah Part Two" in 2010.
Badu was widely regarded as the "Queen of Neo-Soul," a title she disputed herself. Her success in music helped cement her reputation as among the leading artists for the neo-soul genre, with her debut album being recognized together with D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and Maxwell's "Urban Hang Suite" as landmark works in the neo-soul genre.
On the other hand, Jill Scott is also a model and poet in addition to her music and acting careers. Her first three albums were also gold or higher with the RIAA - her first volume of the "Words and Sounds" series was certified platinum while the second and third volumes were both certified gold.
She also starred in the 2014 film "Get On Up," portraying the second wife of funk pioneer James Brown as well as the lead role in the HBO/BBC comedy-drama series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."
