Another legendary "Verzuz" beat battle, this time between Sean "Diddy" Combs and Dr. Dre, is reportedly in the works, according to Diddy, April 24.
In an Instagram interview yesterday, Puff Daddy himself told fellow rapper Fat Joe that a battle is definitely in the works after Joe asked him if "there will be a 'Verzuz'... there [are] even talks or whispers of P Diddy, Dr. Dre."
The Grammy award-winning rapper broke the news, "We're definitely talking about it. You heard it here, you heard it here on the show," leaving Fat Joe in disbelief.
This battle comes after Swizz Beatz raised the idea earlier this week in an Instagram video. Swizz told Timbaland, "Dr. Dre, P. Diddy, we are calling you to give back to the people." Swizz Beatz, real name Kasseem Dean, further explained to have it as a UFC-style, pay-per-view event that is not a battle but more of as a celebration, suggesting to donate the proceeds to coronavirus relief efforts.
Should the battle materialize, it would be another "Verzuz" session to go down in history. Aside from their songs and studio albums, both Diddy and Dr. Dre have produced hits for other artists, including Mary J. Blige, Eminem, 2Pac, The Game, Gwen Stefani, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Jennifer Lopez, and more.
The "Verzuz" Effect
In the middle of quarantine, "Verzuz" has rapidly grown into a musical and cultural phenomenon. The Instagram beat battle, produced by iconic producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who also opened with the first bout, has already pitted names against names including RZA and DJ Premier, Babyface and Teddy Riley, and recently T-Pain and Lil Jon.
Aside from drawing in hundreds of thousands of viewers and virtual party-goers, the event also boosts their guests' sales. Billboard reported that after their "Verzuz" match, Babyface and Teddy Riley's songs saw a renewed interest, as evidenced by doubled streams volume.
According to initial Nielsen Music/ MRC Data, the 49 tracks that lit up the 20-round match between the two artist-producers have together earned 3 million streams. This number is from on-demand listening services in the US alone, April 21, after their battle the previous day. It is a significant jump from a total of 1.4 million streams on the day of the battle, April 20. This increase marks a 115% increase.
The song with the most substantial increase in listenership was Tevin Campbell's "Can We Talk," which was produced by Babyface. Campbell's single, which sat on the top of the Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks, posted a 110% increase with 232,000 streams from 110,000 over the same period.
Following the Tevin Campbell hit, the next two songs with the most significant jump are Teddy Riley-produced hits: "No Diggity" by Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre with 173,000 streams and "Right Here/ Human Nature" by SWV with 128,000. Two Babyface singles follow, completing the top five contributors with "I'll Make Love To You" with 101,000 and "End of the Road" with 100,000, both songs performed by Boyz II Men.
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