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.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
