It has been two years since Timbaland and Swizz Beatz last hosted music battles as part of their popular series Verzuz. The indefinite hiatus followed the settlement in 2022 of a lawsuit against the social media app Triller. Triller acquired the rap battle show in 2021 and returned ownership to the two mega-producers earlier this year. Now, they are preparing for Verzuz to make its return, this time in partnership with a different social media app: Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
“We are thrilled to partner with X, the most innovative platform globally. Our goal has always been to bring Verzuz to the world which we can now do bigger than ever,” Timbaland said in a statement.
Swizz Beatz added: “We are beyond thrilled to have found the best partner for Verzuz. Not only are we excited to have Verzuz on X, we’re excited to help X build the biggest entertainment company in the world.”
Through the partnership, the pair are hoping to capitalize on the viral conversation that often dominated the app during previous Verzuz battles. Episodes of the series have been streamed on both Instagram Live and Apple Music, bringing in millions of viewers across both platforms — in addition to being hosted in person at venues such as New York’s Madison Square Garden — but the discourse existed largely on X, then known as Twitter.
The newly-launching partnership will allow Swizz Beatz and Timbaland to maintain ownership and creative control of Verzuz while granting exclusive distribution rights to X, which is currently helmed by CEO Linda Yaccarino.
Notable matchups on the show — which features two musicians going head-to-head with selections from their discography — have included Brandy and Monica, Jeezy and Gucci Mane, Ashanti and Keyshia Cole, and Mario and Omarion. The next Verzuz battle will be announced soon, according to a press release about the show’s return.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2022 about the potential return of Verzuz, Swizz Beatz promised that it would come back “harder than we ever went.”
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