Verzuz co-founder Swizz Beatz had to run for cover after he seemingly suggested that singing legend Janet Jackson couldn’t take on iconic rapper and producer Missy Elliott.
Swizz, 42, co-owns the phenomenal Instagram webcast series with fellow producer Timbaland, aka Timothy Zachary Mosley, 48, and the Apple music streaming service.
Fans believed that Swizz disrespected the 54-year-old Jackson by insinuating that she could not duel with Elliott, despite the fact that Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2019. Jackson also boasts 27 Top 10 hits and 10 No. 1 songs, according to Billboard, with No. 1 hits across three decades and No. 1 albums over four decades.
Therefore, any insinuation that Jackson could not perform well in a Verzuz battle with another artist was interpreted as shade against Michael Jackson’s venerated sister, especially when Swizz said: “Missy can be multiple people. Janet just gonna be Janet.”
Check out Swizz Beatz’s comments on the IG live post that no longer exists but was recorded by The Shade Room:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFJ-BfZBpOz/
The backlash from fans forced Swizz, who was born Kasseem Dean, to explain to his 3.4 million followers that he did not mean to have his words interpreted as shade toward an “icon” like Jackson.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFKRW4qH1cX/
After Alicia Keys’ husband broke it down like that, many fans actually agreed with Swizz.
“That battle doesn’t even make sense,” said one IG follower, while another added: “They music don’t even go together. Y’all doing anything now 🙄”
A third person crystallized the overall sentiment, writing: “If we being honest, she’s very talented, be he’s right. Missy catalog different.”
