Instagram – Almost two years removed from their 15-minute battle at 2018 Summer Jam in New York City (and following hours of back and forth), iconic producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland gave quarantined Hip Hop heads, for lack of a better term, life Instagram.
Amid a live feed packed with just about every outlet and some of the genre’s most respected figures, the two vets went back and forth for over two hours with an endless stream of hits.
Despite a few technical setbacks, most of which stemmed from a combination of a poor connection and novice-level knowledge of IG Live (Swizz ended up doing the battle in his car due to dicey wi-fi in his house), they held a captivated audience that peaked at 23,000 viewers.
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While they both have incredibly deep catalogs, Tim has an R&B stronghold — having produced hits for the likes of Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Playa, Justin Timberlake and more. More than once, Swizz could be heard remarking that “playing Aaliyah is cheating.”
At one point, Tim even took his shirt off while playing Justin Timberlake’s ”Sexy Back.”
Swizz on the other hand — the architect of the Ruff Ryders sound — has a discography that includes street gems by the likes of DMX, LOX, Cam’Ron and more. He cracked numerous jokes about Tim putting him to sleep, though he reminded everyone of the R&B hits he had his hand in, such as Angie Stone’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and Mýa’s “Best Of Me” (featuring Jadakiss).
Still, some of the more exciting moments came in the form of crossover material, like when they went back-to-back with JAY-Z records earlier on in the battle (which they both have plenty of in the stash).
Regardless of who you think edged out who, the clear winner was Hip Hop.