It’s no secret. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have been working hard to pair up some of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest stars for their Verzuz celebratory battles. To date, the duo has successfully hosted 24 of these events on Instagram Live and their streaming partner, Apple Music. Now, what you rarely hear about are the matches that could have been. In a live conversation following D’Angelo’s damn-near-solo set—that many R&B lovers didn’t know they needed—Swizz Beatz and Timbaland revealed how the soulful crooner was originally scheduled to take part in Verzuz alongside fellow “neo-soul” singer Maxwell.
“I’m not gonna lie. That sh*t took very long. Let’s give people the story,” starts Swizz. “What was supposed to happen was D’Angelo versus Maxwell on Valentine’s Day. That didn’t work out, but the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go and still motivated, we had to celebrate him— matter who was on stage with him. We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music.”
He continues: “This is a celebrational stage and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out. That man pulled up to Verzuz three hours early. D’Angelo was the earliest person in Verzuz history tonight so don’t get him showing up [at] the time he did mixed up with the pre-show which was by DJ Scratch.”
Message received, but could you imagine how many more ladies would’ve gotten their lives on that night of love? Can you imagine the attempted falsetto singing done by viewers on that special and rare night? It would’ve been nice to see D’Angelo and Maxwell on the same bill, that’s for sure.
Watch Swizz and Timbo talk about the match that could have been while clearing the air about D’Angelo’s start-time at around the 4-minute and 20-second mark of the video below.
Not for the first time, Moby is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration with clear frustration.
“The U.S. is collapsing under a deeply corrupt and shockingly ineffective administration,” the longtime electronic musician shared on social media. “These are unbelievably dark times.”
Moby went deeper into his thoughts through a video message, where he explained that people outside the United States keep asking Americans what is actually happening in the country.
“So many of my friends outside the United States keep asking me, ‘what the hell is happening over there?’ And honestly, we don’t even know,” he said. “The country is being controlled by one of the most corrupt, dangerous and incompetent administrations imaginable. Nobody fully understands what’s happening right now. These are very dark times in America.”
Moby joins a growing list of artists publicly criticizing Trump and MAGA politics, including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
Earlier this year, Moby uploaded another statement to social media where he addressed how people should respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. “The real question isn’t whether people should feel horrified or outraged by what’s happening in the United States,” Moby explained in the Jan. 26 clip. “The question is what are we actually going to do about it?”
The musician and activist also encouraged people to protest, saying demonstrations are a constitutional right and something he believes Trump’s administration is attempting to weaken.
In the end, he urged people to vote regularly, “not only during the upcoming midterms, even though those matter, but also in every special election throughout the year.” He also encouraged supporters to “stop giving money to the scumbag corporations backing Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
His newest remarks arrive as the U.S. Justice Department unveils a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut down following military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February without approval from Congress, leading to rising gas prices across the globe.
Throughout his independent music career, Moby has earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 along with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and an enormous catalog of sync placements. Overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, he is viewed as one of the defining artists of his era. He scored two No. 1 albums there with Play from 1999 and 18 from 2002, alongside 18 top 40 singles and two nominations for Best International Male at the BRIT Awards.
Check out Moby’s newest social media post below.
