Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Tease ‘Verzuz’ Return At BET Hip Hop Awards

At the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 10, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland were presented with the Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award. During their joint acceptance speech, the musical pioneers announced that their platform Verzuz would be making its comeback soon. 

Fifty-one-year-old Timbaland said, “I always dreamed I’d be on stage accepting an award about hip-hop. Doing music back in Virginia, I never thought I’d make it, but I’m here.”

He proudly shared that he and Swizz Beatz would continue Verzuz. “Me and my brother created something special, and it ain’t over. Black-owned, Verzuz, me and Swizz Beatz. I’m glad to share this with my brother,” He said.

Swizz shared Timbaland’s excitement about the show’s comeback. He described that Verzuz was going onto bigger things and that they would be showing viewers something that they hadn’t seen before with the show.

 “Like Tim said, we own Verzuz again. We got quiet for a minute, but we’re gonna come back strong and show you what it is. That wasn’t just something for the pandemic; that’s something for the world,” Swizz said.

According to Billboard, Verzuz has had some of its biggest and most successful battles in the past few years. It features Jeezy against Gucci Mane and even Brandy battling Monica. 

Swizz Beatz formerly teased that Verzuz was undergoing an extensive restructuring process to make it more interesting and prepare for its awaited relaunch. In a March interview, he explained, “What we’re doing right now is taking the first half of the year to reorganize. It became so big that we had to restructure how we were doing things, how we’re moving, how we want to relaunch. We feel that it’s so unique that when we come with what we’re getting ready to come with, people will understand me and Tim’s decision on how to move as entrepreneurs and as creatives.”

He finished by saying that he thinks the new launch will prove to be trendsetting for the industry. 

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