Source: Leon Bennett / Getty
Before Musiq Soulchild and Anthony Hamilton’s Verzuz battle on Feb. 15, there was outrage about access to the matchup’s not being free anymore. In a promotional post for Soulchild and Hamilton, fans were asked to sign up for a 14-day trial on the paid Triller platform in order to watch the R&B battle. After the trial, users would havehad the option to pay $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for access to Verzuz battles and other Triller events. Once Swizz Beatz, who created the series with fellow hip-hop heavyweight Timbaland, saw what was going on, he quickly corrected it.
“See y’all rite here tomorrow on insta @verzuztv,” he wrote on Valentine’s Day on Instagram. “You can also watch in HD on verzuztv.com. I was out the country don’t ask me who did it. It’s fixed.”
After things went back to normal, viewers tuned in via Instagram to watch the night of neo-soul, which was also a sold out event at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.
Hamilton surprised the crowd when he brought in Jermaine Dupri to be his resident DJ for the night. He then kicked off the night by wooing the mothers in the audience with his song “Mama Knew Love.”
“What’s up to all the mothers out there, how y’all feeling?” he said. “We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, but we wouldn’t be here without all the mothers. So, let’s give all the mothers some love!”
Soulchild also had some tricks up his sleeve. After being introduced by comedian Jack Thriller, Soulchild performed his collab with The Roots, “Break You Off.” Robert Glasper and Lucky Daye then made surprise appearances during his set. The best surprise of the night was when the Philly crooner brought out Donnell Jones, who delighted the crowd with his 1999 hit “U Know What’s Up.” He also brought out Kameelah Williams of 702, whom he shares a son with, but she didn’t go into her bag of hits. Instead she gave a cute shout out.
“Of course I’m here Team Musiq,” she said. “Thank you Musiq Soulchild, my baby daddy…He hates when I do that,” she joked.
Hamilton, who has a slew of impressive features, was joined by his notable collaborators. Big V of the Nappy Roots hit the stage with him to perform their 2002 introductory hit “Po’ Folks.” Leela James then came out to perform the “Complicated (Remix)” which Hamilton is featured on. Raheem Devaughn and Eric Robertson then surprised the crowd as well when they joined Hamilton to perform Robertson’s “Lessons (Remix).”
Soulchild performed hits like “So Beautiful,’ “Just Friends,” “Girl Next Door,” “Dontchange,”143,” “Buddy” and of course “Love.” Hamilton performed goodies like “Can’t Let Go,” “Charlene,” “Comin’ From Where I’m From,” “The Point Of It All” and “Amen.”
If you didn’t see the Verzuz, watch it below.
