The year 2021 was filled with plenty of memorable moments for the culture, even in year two of a pandemic. Many of those moments came from Verzuz, the Swizz Beatz-Timbaland created the platform for cultural giants to show off their catalogs as they compete with one another.
Here are some of the top 10 Verzuz moments of 2021. Please note battles like DMX-Snoop Dogg, Gladys Knight-Patti LaBelle and Jeezy-Gucci Mane were all in 2020.
10- Bone Thugs performs “Tha Crossroads” as Virgil/Young Dolph tribute
Days after the hip-hop community lost Young Dolph and Virgil Abloh, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony performed “Tha Crossroads” to end the night against Memphis-group Three 6 Mafia, Dolph’s hometown.
9- Redman and Method Man pay tribute to DMX
On April 20, 11 days after DMX died, Redman and Method Man paid tribute to the legendary rapper by performing LL Cool J’s “4,3,2,1,” which features all three rappers. Method Man got teary-eyed after performing the song and requested viewers put their X’s up.
8- KRS-One debuts “Knock Em Out”
In a battle against Big Daddy Kane, the 56-year-old MC ended his performance in the Barclays Center with an original freestyle over a sample of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story.” The delivery, bars and breath control showed he still had it.
7- Stephanie Mills raps over “Crush on You”
Mills began to separate herself from opponent Chaka Khan by a wide margin, solidified by her performing “Something in The Way” in freestyle over Lil Kim’s “Crush on You.” It’s a transition she’s done in her set before, but on the Verzuz stage, it was impecable.
Stephanie Mills – Something In The Way / Crush On You 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/50TEwd7WyH
— Riki P. (@itsrikip) November 19, 2021
6- Earth, Wind & Fire performs “Reasons”
Philip Bailey was nearly 70 years old nailing every falsetto note of “Reasons” in the battle against Isley Brothers, who went toe-to-toe in a Sunday night battle hosted by Steve Harvey and DJ D-Nice.
She’ll be mad if she knew I posted it but me & my grandma was cute as hell dancing to Reasons x Earth Wind & Fire earlier on #Verzuz 🥰❤️ pic.twitter.com/u33BOmuqUB
— Hydéia (@freedapain) April 5, 2021
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