Erykah Badu and Jill Scott to Face Off in 'Verzuz' Battle
Get your incense and wine ready.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have announced their next “Verzuz” challenge–Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott. A day before Mother’s Day, the neo-soul powerhouses will take over the Instagram Live airwaves on May 9 at 7 p.m. EST. They are the first female battle in the popular “Verzuz” series, presented in partnership with “Femme It Forward.”
“It’s time for the Queens to represent🙌🏽 @erykahbadu vs @missjillscott the paper work is in @timbaland 🙌🏽 shout out @femmeitforward let’s Go may 9th the day before Mother’s Day Zone,” wrote Swizz.
Badu and Scott follow Babyface and Teddy Riley’s much-talked-about battle, which set a new record with over half-a-million people tuned in. Diddy recently teased a potential “Verzuz” battle with Dr. Dre. Past challengers have included DJ Premier and RZA, Ne-Yo and Johnta Austin, Scott Storch and Mannie Fresh, and Lil Jon and T-Pain.
“We don’t really like to use the word ‘battle’ — although it’s natural to say battle when two people are playing songs with each other,” Swizz told The Associated Press. “But this is more of a celebration, an educational celebration. Me and Tim’s mission is to bring happiness, to help everybody get past this hard moment because we’re all being affected.”
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia were also set to battle during their own “Face Off” showdown, but it has been delayed and will now be hosted on the “Verzuz” platform. A new date will be announced soon. “We want to make sure we get this one right for the culture!” said Krayzie Bone.