Ashanti Verzuz Keyshia Cole is seemingly not happening again — at least not tomorrow as previously rescheduled.
With the people already in need of some positivity, the team behind the popular digital battle Verzuz is looking to give people that old thang back for its new season. On Friday morning, the official Instagram account posted an announcement confirming that Ashanti versus Keyshia Cole will happen at some point but the battle will be returning to its original format of broadcasting with each performer filming from separate locations.
“This has been an emotional week,” the account posted. “In addition, as COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, safety is a top priority for us. As much as we enjoy having everyone together in the same room, to protect the artists and everyone who works with us in putting the shows together, we’ll be going back to separate locations for a bit. We’re excited for the next few events, and look forward to getting back to the show in the coming weeks.”
The comments section was happy to hear that the battle was returning to its original, DIY basics. “Should be this way from now on,” commenter @DetroitPlair wrote. “COVID-19 will be around at least for the next year and a half,” @Rakabash added. “Part of the charm of early Verzuz were 2 [two] artists performing their music via remote technology. The technical difficulties is part of the experience.”
Those moments of lagging and glitchiness (remember Babyface vs. Teddy Riley?) made Verzuz uniquely ours, an unpolished offering that allowed Black folx to tune in to our favorite artists, reminisce about their hits, and learn about the never-before-told stories behind its successes. Recent occasions such as Too Short vs. E-40 or Jeezy vs. Gucci Mane ramped up the production value, sponsors, and popularity, but it also placed all those involved in harm’s way of COVID-19.
Which brings us to Ashanti vs. Keyshia Cole, an event that everyone has been clamoring for, yet was delayed when the former was diagnosed with the life-threatening virus. Originally set for Dec. 12, 2020, the battle was postponed to Jan. 9, 2021, and now appears to be “coming soon,” which is fine for most as long as both combatants are 100% A-OK.
“Starting off the new year amazing and COVID free!!!” Ashanti shared earlier this week on Instagram. “Got my negative results back 2 [sic] days ago! Happy New Year y’all!!!”
We’ll update this post once a time is confirmed.