Latest Instagram Live 'Verzuz' Battle Features Jamaican Artists, Brings In Nearly Half A Million Viewers
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- "Jamaicans" and "Caribbean" were trending on Twitter Saturday night after two legendary performers put on an Instagram Live show for the entire world.
Music producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz created Verzuz, a weekly Instagram Live battle, to bring together music lovers stuck inside during the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday's installation featured Jamaican dancehall artists Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, whose real names are Anthony Davis and Rodney Price, respectively.
About 450,000 people tuned into the show, which unlike other Verzuz battles, hosted the artists in the same room.
The show even led to some memes about Davis' dance moves.
Davis won the Best Reggae Album Grammy for "Art & Life" in 2001 and Price was nominated for the Best Reggae Album Grammy for "Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery" in 2002.
The dancehall showdown was visited online by several celebrities, including Usain Bolt, DJ Khaled, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliot, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Diddy, Ella Mai, Amanda Seales, Busta Rhymes, Rihanna and others who commented during the battle.
At one point, police showed up, according to the artists, but the show still went on. Jamaica has instituted an 8 p.m. curfew due to the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica.
The battle started with the Jamaican National Anthem and ended with Bob Marley's "One Love."
Here are some of the artists who have been featured in the battles over the past few weeks:
- Swizz Beatz vs Timbaland
- Boi-1Da vs Hit-Boy
- The-Dream vs Sean Garrett
- Ne-Yo vs Johnta Austin
- Ryan Tedder vs Benny Blanco
- Scott Storch vs Mannie Fresh
- RZA vs DJ Premier
- T-Pain vs Lil Jon
- Teddy Riley vs Babyface
- Erykah Badu vs Jill Scott
To tune in, check out @VerzuzTV on Instagram.
