Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have been curating dream battles on Instagram between artists, producers, and songwriters to help pass the time during the Corona quarantine. Titled #Verzuz, we’ve seen heavyweight matches among legendary music titans, but Saturday’s showdown (April 11) featured two revered luminaries in the production world – DJ Premier and RZA battle it out for the golden era crown.
Watch them go classic for classic making it extremely difficult for anyone to judge. In the end, it’s a win for the culture! (Reup’d by Maschinemasters.com)
- Round 1: GZA’s “Liquid Swords” (RZA) vs. Jay-Z’s “A Million & One Questions/Rhyme No More” (DJ Premier)
- Round 2: Method Man’s “Bring the Pain” (RZA) vs. M.O.P.’s “Breakin’ The Rules” (DJ Premier)
- Round 3: Wu-Tang’s “Maria” (RZA) vs. Mos Def’s “Mathematics” (DJ Premier)
- Round 4: Raekwon’s “Wu-Gambinos” (RZA) vs. Big L’s “The Enemy” (DJ Premier)
- Round 5: Ghostace Killah’s “Run” (RZA) vs. KRS-One’s “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know” (DJ Premier)
- Round 6: Wu-Tang Clan’s “Shame on a N—a”(RZA) vs. Das EFX’s “Real Hip-Hop” (DJ Premier)
- Round 7: Wu-Tang Clan’s “Protect Ya Neck”(RZA) vs. Group Home’s “Livin’ Proof” (DJ Premier)
- Round 8: GZA’s “Cold World” (RZA) vs. D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie” (Remix) (DJ Premier)
- Round 9: Wu-Tang Clan’s “Method Man” (RZA) vs. Gang Starr’s “Just to Get a Rep” (DJ Premier)
- Round 10: Ghostface Killah’s “Motherless Child” (RZA) Vs. Jay-Z’s “D’evils.” (DJ Premier)
- Round 11: Raekwon’s “Verbal Intercourse” (RZA) vs. Nas’ “Nas Is Like” (DJ Premier)
- Round 12: Ghostface Killah’s “Buck 50” vs. Gang Starr’s “The ? Remainz” (DJ Premier)
- Round 13: Raekwon’s “Ice Cream” (RZA) vs. Biggie’s “Unbelievable” (DJ Premier)
- Round 14: Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Brooklyn Zoo” (RZA) vs. Jeru the Damaja’s “Come Clean” (DJ Premier)
- Round 15: Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” (RZA) vs. Biggie’s “Kick in the Door” (DJ Premier)
- Round 16: The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Long Kiss Goodnight” (RZA) vs. Gang Starr’s “Above the Clouds” (DJ Premier)
- Round 17: Ghostface’s “Assassination Day” (RZA) vs. Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” (DJ Premier)
- Round 18: Raekwon’s “Criminology” (RZA) vs. Gang Starr’s “Dwyck” (DJ Premier)
- Round 19: Raekwon’s “Incarcerated Scarfaces” (RZA) vs. Royce Da 5’9”’s “Boom” (DJ Premier)
- Round 20: Method Man’s “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need to Get By” (RZA) Vs. Biggie’s “Ten Crack Commandments” (DJ Premier)
Who won? You decide!
this was an amazing time for the culture, especially for the heads…. preemo vs the Abbott? Cmon son… I got DJ Premier 11-9 #GIMMEMYSHINE