(AllHipHop News) Verzuz just raised the bar even higher with their IG Live battle between two of Reggae’s biggest stars, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer.
Live from Jamaica, the two icons went head-to-head and it was everything we all expected it to be – and more.
If you’re familiar, the two musical giants of Jamaica once had a longstanding rivalry. For these two to battle it out, let alone be in the same room, was beyond epic.
The battle also marked the first time the two artists competed in person, as quarantine had previous artists competing virtually. While the battle was set for an 8 PM start.
It wouldn’t be a Dancehall/Reggae gathering without the selectors spinning the classics, and warming up the hundreds of thousands of viewers with the best of the best from the genre.
Arriving later than planned, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer finally showed up and both came well prepared. With more than 450,000 people tuned in and no shortage of celebrities – like Rihanna and Usain Bolt chiming in on the live comments section – the showdown went down.
While each artist brought their own dancers to the battle, I’m sure the thousands of viewers and fans, alike, were busting out their best dancehall moves at home.
Whether it was Beenie Man’s “Romie,” or Bounty Killer’s “Living Dangerously,” the vibes were high and apparent from the never-ending stream of comments, and fire emojis.
Not even a brief interruption by police, due to the 8PM curfew issued in Jamaica, shut the Live down, which carried on for another hour. “No no, we not stop now,” said Beenie Man.
As the battle continued, the two OG’s of their genre paid tribute to Hip-Hop with each playing their favorite collaborations.
Beenie Man kicked it off with “Fresh From Yard” featuring Lil Kim, while Bounty Killer jabbed back with “Suicide of Murder” featuring Jeru the Damaja.
Following up, Beenie Man then played his T.I assisted “I’m Serious” as Bounty Killer took us to Queensbridge on “Deadly Zone” featuring Mobb Deep and Big Noyd.
Closing out the Hip-Hop collaborations in the seventh round, Beenie Man fired out his “Compton” record with Guerrilla Black which Bounty responded to with “Hip Hopera” featuring The Fugees.
The battle came to a close in the tenth round. And Beenie Man finally brought out his biggest mainstream hit, “Girls Dem Sugar featuring Mya out.
A tough song to follow, Bounty Killer closed his set of ten hits with “It’s A Party” featuring Cocoa Brovaz.
Regardless of who “won” both Beenie Man and Bounty Killer came out on top. Putting their differences aside and doing it for the culture was the biggest win for all of us.
“This is how we represent the culture. At the end of the day, it’s a musical sport,” Bounty Killer expressed, as he and Beenie Man, ended the two-hour livestream with a sing-a-long to Bob Marley’s “One Love.”