Over the past two months or so, COVID has brought on concerts galore. Virtually of course. And we are here for it and want more of it…apparently. Because ever since the first battle occurred between Baby Face and Teddy Riley, artists all over IG have decided to hop on the ‘battle’ wagon.
Why not right? I mean…
It’s a great way for artists to hike ratings and stream numbers. It’s an opportunity for artists to tug on the hearts of their fans, bring their favorite songs to life again, become a bit transparent and show some authenticity. So the Verzuz battles are a great catalyst for ‘comebacks’.
However, not so much for some. It all started when Swizz Beats and Timbaland shared classic hits on Instagram live, which essentially formulated what we now know as the Verzuz. Brandy and Monica are two very talented solo artists who have been loved and adored since they were kids. They both sing the same genre of music, and are recipients of Grammy Awards, thanks to their duet, “The Boy is Mine”.
According to songwriter and producer, Dallas Austin, Monica disliked Brandy from day one. He said that Monica punched Brandy before the very first performance of “The Boy is Mine” back in 1998.
“Before they could even get to the stage, Monica decked her in the face, popped her in the face backstage and this was even before the performance,” Dallas shared. “Monica never like Brandy”, he said. He shared the hit single the arch rivals made was only possible because they recorded the song separately. “And when it was time to film the music video, there was “no interaction, no friendship”, he said. Dallas claimed, “Monica was at the epitome of finding her real self”. She went through a lot of stuff and if you didn’t have gold teeth, she didn’t like you. She was really hood in Atlanta”.
Austin discovered Monica and executive produced her first two albums. The hitmaker, “The Boy is Mine” spent 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard hot 100 charts.
Recently, both Brandy and Monica spoke with V103 Atlanta’s Frank Ski, Monica stated that she is not interested in battling per say, but is down for a celebration.
“The reality is that us (Monica and Brandy) being polar opposites makes it dope”, said Monica. “The only battle or Verzus they want to see with me is me against Brandy and the reality is people have pit is against each other 20 something years”.
When Frank Ski asked Brandy about the singing competition, she was down to do so if Monica would join her.