Source: Timbaland, Elon Musk, Swizz Beatz / Verzuz
Swizz Beatz took to social media to respond to backlash after announcing the Verzuz partnership with Elon Musk and X, formerly Twitter.
On Friday (June 21), Swizz Beatz shared a set of photos in a post on his Instagram account showing himself attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with fellow star producer and artist Timbaland. It was at the festival on Wednesday where he and Timbaland made the surprise announcement of a deal with Elon Musk to release all future content through X, formerly Twitter. The first photo shows the two in t-shirts highlighting the move, with a phrase by Swizz emblazoned on it in cursive, saying, “We will show you better than tell you.” That was repeated in the caption of the post, with Swizz Beatz adding, “Blessings to all” with emojis.
The comments on the Instagram post weren’t as cheerful, as individuals called out the two mega-producers for striking a deal with a polarizing figure such as Musk and announcing the news on Juneteenth. “It’s cool to ‘show us’ but don’t play in our faces and act like folks don’t have a valid reason to question this partnership,” one commenter wrote. “But nobody said anything before we been on that platform since Verzuz started,” Swizz Beatz wrote in response.
Another commenter wasn’t as civil, writing: “It’s crazy how we always have to go and get the oppressor to help us. What did you need #verzuz to do, broadcast from the moon??? Y’all didn’t need that man. Owning something 100% & then having your oppressor have a say in your business is working backward.” Others also pointed out how Swizz needed to be more understanding since returning from the hajj with his family prior to the Cannes Lions Festival.
The post comes after the joint announcement with Timbaland, where the Ruff Ryders CEO spoke effusively about the partnership. “We are beyond thrilled to have found the best partner for Verzuz,” he said in the statement. “Not only are we excited to have Verzuz on X, we’re excited to help X build the biggest entertainment company in the world. I would like to thank Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Brett Weitz, Mitchell Smith and the entire X team for believing in the Verzuz vision. We can’t wait to get to work.”
They both also promised to build “Entertainment Businesses” on X in the future.