RZA and DJ Premier’s Instagram Live Verzuz battle is set to go down this Saturday (April 11). Ahead of the virtual showdown, RZA spoke with Complex about what Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Instagram battle series means to the culture.
“This is something we’re doing for culture,” the de-facto Wu-Tang Clan leader told the outlet. “People could take it as a fight, a battle, whatever they want, but it’s more about us celebrating the culture of hip hop.”
“So the cool thing is that we’re still here as icons, and as foundations of hip hop in many ways, and for us to get together and show people where that energy came from in hip hop,” he continued. “At the end of the day, it’s for the culture.”
The Verzuz battles have also become opportunities for viewers to potentially hear some unreleased music. RZA revealed that he’s got some never-before-heard Ol’ Dirty Bastard records that may make an appearance.
“I got to talk to Swizz to get all the rules and regulations… but I actually got some O.D.B. stuff that nobody has,” he said. “I wonder if I could play that sh*t. I guess there’s probably some legalities to this sh*t. A lot of things that I got to be conscious of.”
“If you check my stuff, you won’t find the same beat twice. You listen to O.D.B., you get one vibe from me. You listen to Method, maybe another vibe from me,” he continued. “I don’t think there’s no other producer that’s been creatively diverse as me. And I think that that’s gonna be a good energy to share with the hip hop community.”
Unreleased joints that have been previewed during Instagram Live battles have even gone on to be officially released — like Lil Jon, Usher and Ludacris’ “SexBeat.” The collaboration was first played during T-Pain and Jon’s beat battle last weekend (April 4) and then officially arrived on Friday (April 10).
Tune in to DJ Premier’s Instagram Live to watch the battle on Saturday (April 11) at 9 pm EST. Peep the event’s epic flyer below.