When I first heard about Swizz Beatz and Timbaland starting Instagram battles, titled Verzuz, where producers catalogs are played track vs track in a battle format, I thought the concept was amazing! Being a Hip Hop producer myself, I'm always drawn to the idea of giving producers more outlets to shine. I tuned in to watch a few of the battles and loved the interaction between the producers as well as the engagement of the IG live audience.
When I heard the news that RZA was going up against DJ Premier, I couldn't believe it! Two of my favorite producers going head to head and we get to watch it for free?!? I didn't believe it was real until I saw the post of Premier's Instagram page.
When talking Hip Hop today, you don't come across many people that understand how iconic these two legendary producers have been throughout the decades. I grew up in era that most Hip Hip heads consider the golden age of Hip Hop.
I grew up loving the underground, hardcore sounds of RZA's production: from Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers, to Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, to all of the hits each member of Wu-Tang made on their solo albums. It's easy to forget how many hits these guys created- all under RZA's production.
DJ Premier's hard hitting production style always amazed me. In my opinion, Preemo's production stood out from the rest when you heard it on an album. He is credited on so many certified Hip Hip classics; from Nas's Illmatic, Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death, to Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt. The list goes on and on...
If you are not familiar with these juggernaut's catalogs, do yourself a favor and watch the full battle. Tidal also has every song in the exact order from the battle available in a playlist. I can't stop listening to this playlist. Brings back so many good memories. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.