Swizz Beatz has responded to the strong reactions elicited by the announcement that he and Timbaland had forged a partnership between Verzuz and Elon Musk’s X.
On Friday (June 21), the mega-producer shared a photoset captured in Cannes, France — where he and Timbo announced during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity that all future Verzuz content will be released exclusively on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
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In the first photo, the two can be seen sporting merch created to celebrate the partnership. Over the photo, in cursive, Swizz included the phrase, “We will show you better than tell you.”
He echoed the statement in the post’s caption, adding, “Blessings to all,” along with a series of emojis.
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Unfortunately, the post did not seem to sway the naysayers, as many took to the comments to call Swizz Beatz and Timbaland out for “selling out;” while others suggested they should have partnered with any other social media platform.
“It’s cool to ‘show us’ but don’t play in our faces and act like folks don’t have a valid reason to question this partnership,” wrote one commenter.
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To which Swizzy replied: “But nobody said anything before we been on that platform since Verzuz started.”
Check out a few of the responses as well as Swizz Beatz’s original IG post below:
Swizz Beatz addresses backlash over Verzuz deal with Elon Musk & X
📸: prime.2 (via IG) pic.twitter.com/o87ztcIzIX
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) June 23, 2024
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz made their original announcement in a joint social media post on Wednesday (June 19).
“We are beyond thrilled to have found the best partner for Verzuz,” the Ruff Ryders beatmaker said. “Not only are we excited to have Verzuz on X, we’re excited to help X build the biggest entertainment company in the world. I would like to thank Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Brett Weitz, Mitchell Smith and the entire X team for believing in the Verzuz vision. We can’t wait to get to work.”
Timbo added: “We are thrilled to partner with X, the most innovative platform globally. Our goal has always been to bring Verzuz to the world which we can now do bigger than ever.”
The duo also stated that they plan on building new “Entertainment Businesses” on the platform.
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About the alliance, X chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino said: “X is so proud to partner with trailblazing creators, artists, and entrepreneurs Swizz Beatz & Timbaland. Our platform stands at the forefront of innovation, and Verzuz defines the essence of an innovative content experience.
“As we continue to work with the most exciting voices to bring premium content to X, there is no better fit than this series. Together we will redefine how consumers engage with their favorite entertainment, one Verzuz at a time.”
