(Updated: 4/21/20):
The Verzuz battles created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland may be one of the best things to come out of this quarantine.
In last night’s matchup between two of the biggest influences on R&B, Babyface and Teddy Riley broke the internet in a historic win for the culture.
With over 3 million people tuning in to watch them go song for song, Instagram acknowledged their platform was to blame for technical difficulties this time.
We love how much you’re all enjoying the #TeddyRileyvBabyface Live on Instagram! We’re experiencing some technical difficulties on mobile apps but we’re working on it. In the meantime, live is available on desktop!
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) April 21, 2020
We all relived generations of hits with both Babyface and Riley walking us through how some of the tracks came to life. From the live acoustic guitar performances to the keyboard, the pair set the scene for viewers to actually feel the music.
Riley: “That’s where we’re going, ” Babyface: “That’s where we went.” Last night we got to see more of the slick-talking side of Babyface with users coming to the conclusion that from this point on he shall be referred to as Kenneth “Shadyface” Edmonds.
“Is that a remix? They count?
Doesn’t matter. Not like I was gonna comeback with one. I don’t do remixes”
– Shadyface Edmonds pic.twitter.com/oxYNEvMacF— Franklin Saint (@35DBack) April 21, 2020
Riley took to his IG to thank everyone who played a part in last night’s battle, especially Babyface who has been, “a big brother from afar,” continuing with, ” this is so priceless, you can’t buy it. I’m gonna remember this day forever.”
Despite the cancellations and the technical difficulties, it was a beautiful sight to watch the two show love to one another and to watch the culture give both Babyface and Riley roses that are well deserved.
Listen to all of the songs played during last night’s performance below:
The highly anticipated Verzuz battle between legends Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Teddy Riley is set for tonight at 8 pm ET.
We all know great things take time and it looks like the third time’s the charm. Will this go down in history?
The first reschedule occurred due to Babyface facing complications from COVID-19 and the rematch, set for this past Saturday, ended abruptly due to technical difficulties.
Now it’s no sound. We got to wait 7 whole days for this? ? pic.twitter.com/CcC2grMsGf
— Toni Braxton (@tonibraxton) April 19, 2020
Saturday’s mishap really showcased how Black Twitter always finds a way to laugh through disappointment – memes and GIFs for days. Afterward, both Babyface and Riley took to their IGs to thank fans for their patience and confirm the battle will indeed happen.
“Tonight was really special and so many people joined in on us that I think that it’s only right that we postpone this thing,” said Babyface.
We can always count on the culture to pull through and keep us together during times like these! With us being hours away from the rematch, are we re-wearing our fits from the weekend or pulling something new outta the closet?
