Originally published March 12, 2021. 

Front Seat

This is what's driving hip-hop this week….

A MEMORY FOR MOST when they think back over the past year in experiencing this COVID-19 pandemic, will be the Verzuz battle series and the spirit of community built by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Born out of quarantine, the exercise grew into a full-on production. As a culture, we witnessed it organically grow from this thing of ours to a full-fledged phenomenon. To mark the one-year anniversary, Swizz and Tim shocked the game when they announced they sold Verzuz to the Triller Network, home to the Triller app, a not-quite-as-good competitor to TikTok. The producers popped off in celebration, as did their peers who they shared their bounty with. Fans weren’t as enthusiastic. Power’s Michael Rainey spoke for some when he called the pair sellouts for espousing a Black-owned company philosophy. Swizz responded saying he owns Triller, though I’m not sure if his retort answers the complaint 1:1. It’s certainly a battle. And in that spirit, I wanna take a look at Verzuz then vs. Verzuz now. The winner is….

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

THIS PAST WEEK WE HIT THE ONE-YEAR MARK stuck inside Panera Bread and it’s been met with a mix of anger, anxiety and reflection. Personally, this time last year, I remember my big brother had just landed from Florida to spend his birthday with me and my family. Instead, we ended up stockpiling toilet paper while he was here and sent him off a few days later with masks and rubber gloves. There was soon-to-be a bright spot, though, while we were all quarantining as a country/culture. One night Swizz Beatz and Timbaland decided to go live together on Instagram to battle hit for hit. The two producers put on a show, mainly Swizz’s showmanship (due to spotty Wifi; stars, they’re just like us!) against Timbo’s bass-thumping productions. The link-up became the talk of Twitter and thus Verzuz was born.

The pair quickly recognized they had something on their hands.

Soon, as we continued to stay on lock down, in succession we witnessed battles between Hit-Boy and Boi-1da, Ludacris and Nelly, Teddy Riley and Babyface (with an assist from Black Twitter), Ne-Yo and Johnta Austin, Beanie Man and Bounty Killer, DMX and Snoop Dogg, among many (many) other memorable competitions-cum-celebrations.

Lena Waithe even swooped in to announce she was producing a documentary on Verzuz.

Each battle grew in scale. The IG audience size soared, the production evolved from participants' homes to in-person and culminated at the Compound showdown between Jeezy and Gucci Mane. The possibilities seemed endless.

While a lot of companies wanted in on the action, from being all in the comments section to dangling deals, Swizz and Timbaland were adamant they weren’t gonna take money while the economy was in free fall. They also vowed to not sell the company. Verzuz was something more, they claimed, without offering many details. To be fair, it’s their wont to do, be it sell, change their minds, abandon producers, etc.

Nothing lasts forever, however, in more ways than one.

Verzuz first tested the financial waters by securing sponsorship deals with Ciroc and a content partnership with Apple.

The pacts proved fruitful. You would watch Verzuz on-demand via Revolt’s YouTube (a Combs Enterprise synergy play between Ciroc and Revolt). And fans also had the option to watch the battles in HD via Apple TV. Plus, money.

Each battle grew in scale. The IG audience size soared, the production evolved from participants' homes to in-person and culminated at the Compound showdown between Jeezy and Gucci Mane. The possibilities seemed endless.

Then Swizz and Timbaland announced they sold Verzuz to the Triller Network, parent company of Triller, an app that’s not even in the Top 200 free app chart on Apple’s App Store, and an operation in the midst of a grudge match with Universal Music Group, the most powerful entity in all of music.

News of the deal didn’t even trend nationally on Twitter.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Though from the messaging and information made public we know a few things:

• This was a full-on acquisition

• Verzuz will continue to expand away from just music, including sports and comedy

• Timbaland and Swizz will join Triller as strategic advisors

• We don’t know how much Verzuz was valued out but the producers received equity in Triller and extended their portion to all the Verzuz participants, in addition to Instagram’s Fadia Kader

I don’t love it.

While Tim and Swizz established a brand, which was very valuable, specifically the much-touted Verzuz Effect (the rise in participants’ streams the day after), there seemed to be a lot of juice left to be squeezed before putting up the For Sale sign.

I haven’t owned a business before, nor created something with the value of Verzuz.

But what I know from my time at Vevo is finding a way to activate against catalogues was an onus of ours. The Verzus Effect was a rising tide that not only lifted the streams of the contestants, any artist who put out music that week saw their numbers impacted on DSPs. Surely, that’s a benefit that UMG, Sony and Warner could get behind with an investment. They’ve invested in less, be it podcasts, production companies or bad movies. (Even Triller.)

We’re all going to be back outside soon. Moneybagg Joe said Fourth of July. Live Nation is going to be looking to rebound. AEG wants to compete.

Or how about this: the visual content from each showdown is currency that could be used to power a Verzuz-branded channel on an OTT service like Samsung Plus TV.

If they got tired about Tweeting and IG’ing all the time, certainly a Verzuz Radio with Pandora could have been hashed out; then you have their social arm to help in promo and 24/7 branding.

Erykah Badu minted money selling merch before and after her battle. You don’t think Verzuz capsule collections would have done numbers? Take all my money. Gimme a DMX/Champion hoodie!

Or, what about an NBA Top Shot deal where we could own video images of Teddy Riley with his hands on his hips when he was confused about why his computer wasn’t ‘puting?

And we’re all going to be back outside soon. Moneybagg Joe said Fourth of July. Live Nation is going to be looking to rebound. AEG wants to compete. The next iteration of Verzuz could include a tour.

This could all still happen.

I’ve heard from the homies, well, maybe they thought it peaked so they sell now and the money could go a long way to doing some of the things you suggested. True.

Or, I’ve heard, Black owned is the new bait & switch Ponzi scheme in hip-hop. Ouch.

Lemme grab a little bit from each. Maybe it’s not Black-owned, but it could have been Black powered, by doing a little bit more and leveraging some wins into revenue/capital and hirings before a larger sale. Then you could have a Black GM, Director of Content, or licensing executive, etc. Bonus if you put on folks in roles who were qualified but never had proper opportunities.

Yeah, Triller could help you do a lot of things. Look at the Mike Tyson deal. (Though, aside from the fight, did anyone watch the content series on Triller TV leading up to the bout?) But, the Triller execs are also popping off about UMG. That’s not gonna help you much. (I suspect the terms of the deal weren’t announced in the first place to keep the money in Triller’s coffers private during their negotiations with UMG over rights.)

We’ll just have to wait and see exactly what more looks like.

Verzuz was a lifeline to many over the past 365 days. It burned bright, brought unity where it was missing and accomplished a lot of different things. Swizz and Timbland should be lauded for that.

I just wonder if Verzuz 2020 battled Verzuz 2021, who thinks the newer version is winning that matchup?

Trunk

Music, reads, podcasts and videos (music and more) I'm checking for.

• Rod muthafuckin’ Wave returns with “Street Runner.” I was gonna say he’s like Jagged Edge but with a gat tucked under his gut. This YouTube comment, though, said it best: “I used to be a fan but after listening to this masterpiece I am a whole air conditioner now.” [Listen]

• Benny The Butcher feasts on “Thanksgiving,” a new joint freed from his upcoming Plugs I Met 2. If this is the table setter, then I’m in. [Listen]

• Nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Grammys, CHICKA is taking advantage of the spotlight with a brand-new EP, Once Upon a Time. For my bread, “Hickory Dickory,” “FWB” and “Cinderella, Pt. 2” are standouts. BJ The Chicago’s voice is ridiculous; he’s featured on the first track. [Listen]

• Triller acquired Verzuz. [Read]

• Speaking of Benny, The Butcher had a good chat with William Ketchum where the pair spoke about Plugs and its darker side for NPR. I’ve said this on Twitter a couple times but Benny really is head and shoulders above the rest of the Griselda crew, in my opinion, because there’s a real balance between snapping in his bars plus the tension of regret that comes across in his music. He has an introspection that makes for a spark. [Read]

• Pusha T’s next album will be produced 50/50 by Kanye West and the Neptunes (which, to my recollection/the whispers that made it my way, was the plan for the Clipse reunion album.) [Read]

• The Grammys are this weekend and The Weeknd has had it with the Recording Academy. The Toronto singer, arguably the most successful artist of the past 12-18 months, both critically and commercially, was shut out, in terms of nominations. And (as the Grammy board loves to exist), behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on. Related: The NYT Sunday Magazine’s annual “Songs That Matter” cover, which annoys me every year; it never reads like they actually like music. But the design is always dope. [Read] [Read]

• Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch are among the performers who will take to the stages on Sunday night. [Read]

• Donald Glover and ‘em going overseas to shoot the next two seasons of “Atlanta.” [Read]

• A good, long read about Freddie Gibbs’ rise from blog darling to critical darling. (The hed and dek are ridiculous, btw. Not the writer’s doing, but he did quote Kevin Durant and that’s ridiculous.) [Read]

• Something in the streaming sauce ain’t looking right, this piece alleges about a pay-for-play operation. The Blueprint Group catches some shrapnel. [Read]

• OTHERTone is still finding its footing as a podcast. Pharell wants to be homely and down to earth in service of the conversation, but, to his guests, he’s God. There’s an approach there to be found and P is working his way toward it. The Rosalia episode was one to build one. This new one with Brent Faiyaz has its moments, too. Less Brent Faiyaz musical history, but you get a good sense of how he’s wired. Check it. [Listen]

• Big Sean and SZA both dropped their music videos after I hit the publish button for the newsletter last week, so I wanted to give them a nod. Big Sean honors Nip in “Deep Reverence” with a nice touch of class. SZA’s “Good Days” is as delightfully weird as a visual as her lyrics are sharp. [Watch] [Watch]

• Lil Durk performed on The Tonight Show. Man’s stock going UP. [Watch]

• DJ Muggs has a new album out and his label dropped this doc short on the producer called “Past Is Prologue” to remind folks about his legendary career. It’s short on a lot of things, i.e. his creative process, influences, equipment he uses. But it has some trippy moments and cool footage, if you’re a die hard of his. [Watch]

• Saweetie and Issa Rae should talk on camera every week. Here, the pair connect for Issa’s Raedio show on Apple Music. A lot more than humor. [Watch]

• I’m not head over heels about “Hip-Hop Uncovered,” mainly because it’s trying to do too many things at once. Maybe if it weren’t on network TV. I can’t wait until we reach a point where a topical hip-hop doc doesn’t have to include the genre’s entire backstory to provide basic context. But having said that, there’s a lot of fascinating footage and riveting segments, specifically centered around Bimmy and Haitian Jack. Here, Bim and Big U get with The Breakfast Club; lot of G talk. [Watch]

• Instagram roundup: Big Boi is a grandpa. Big’s life after death story told through the eyes of Russell Poole, due next month starring Johnny Deep and Forest Whitaker. Cardi B becomes the first female rapper to go diamond. Big Latto flames this freestyle. Chloe Bailey flipped Young Bleu’s “You’re Mines Still” something crazy.

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by Jayson Rodriguez for Smarty Art, Inc. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. And follow me elsewhere:

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