On this date in 1998, Jay-Z and his Roc cohorts dropped his third album Vol.2…Hard Knock Life on their independent Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam imprint.
Recorded in some of NYC’s most coveted studio spaces, Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life featured some of the games best producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland, Hov’s third album was the proof that Jigga had found the formula to produce the most successful full-length project of his career at that time.
Debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling 350K in its first week, Vol.2 …Hard Knock Life was certified 5x platinum within two years of its release, setting Hov’s album bar so hight that it won a Golden Phonograph for Best Rap Album at the 41st Grammy Awards. Some of the top singles from the 14 track gem include “Nigga What, Nigga Who(Originator 99)”, “Hard Knock Life,” “Can I Get A…” and “Money Ain’t A Thang” featuring Jermaine Dupri.
Salute to Jigga, Dame, Biggs, Memphis Bleek, Sauce Money, and the rest of the Roc for putting out such a timeless piece of Hip Hop history!
“I’ll battle anybody you put me against,” Havoc said.
The latest “Verzuz” battle on IG LIVE between Babyface and Teddy Riley had almost half a million viewers at one time (almost shutting down Instagram), and it doesn’t seem that they’re stopping anytime soon. “Verzuz” battles have been the source of much entertainment during the lockdown, with Swizz Beats and Timbaland facing off to the delight of hip-hop fans everywhere. Now, the next round of head-to-head battles is already well underway.
“I just hit up Swizz, I sent him my list. Now I said, Swizz, I’ll battle anybody you put me against.” He said, ‘I bet.’ I said, ‘I’ll be waiting,’ and he said, ‘I’m going to do it ASAP.’ So look for that.”
Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (9709232ag) Rapper/producer Swizz Beatz HOT 97 Summer Jam 2018, East Rutherford, USA – 10 Jun 2018
When asked if he would challenge Alchemist, RZA, or even newer producers like Metro Boomin, he responded, “Yeah. Yeah! You could put me up against anybody and I’m not going to get destroyed. I believe that in my heart. I could definitely hang in there with the best of them. And yeah, I was going to say RZA but didn’t want to get beside myself, but I would take him on. I’m willing to lose just because.”
Fans are keeping their eyes peeled for an official battle any day now.
The kings of quarantine. The sultans of sequester. The icons of isolation. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are making our social distancing bearable by hosting Instagram live battles between some of the greatest living creatives in the music industry.
On Saturday night, fans watched T-Pain and Lil Jon go track for track playing the songs that put their metaphorical jerseys in the rafters of the hip-hop arena. Lil Jon even debuted a new record featuring Usher and Ludacris, a track that the “Get Low” producer says was on the shelf for the past two years.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (9709232an)
Rapper/producer Timbaland
HOT 97 Summer Jam 2018, East Rutherford, USA – 10 Jun 2018
To see where these battles have gone in such a short period of time, it’s appropriate to give the social distancing crown to the two producers who made this happen.
Of course, there are artists who deserve praise for their efforts of keeping fans entertained under quarantine. Tory Lanez’ “Quarantine Radio” bit on Instagram broke an IG live record amassing 315,000 watchers by hosting twerk competitions and chatting with heavy hitters like French Montana, Chris Brown, and Drake.
Then there’s DJ D-Nice who’s “Club Quarantine” gained national media attention for his dope live mixes that brought masses of celebs and fans to his Instagram page to rock out at home.
The aforementioned are amazing moments in the culture, but those moments have peaked, whereas Swizz and Timb have hardly skimmed the Rolodex in putting these battles together.
Interest in producer battles peaked in 2017 when Swizzy and Just Blaze live-streamed a more than 2 1/2 hour head to head battle playing classics that they produced for legends like Jay-Z, DMX, Jadakiss, Fabolous and more.
The stream on HOT 97’s YouTube channel currently has more than 1.5 million views. This moment in Hip-Hop history prompted Timbaland to jump in his bag and take on the Ruff Ryders beatmaker at Summer Jam in 2018.
The culture thirsted for more competition but nothing ever materialized. Some might argue that creatives were scared to lose the battle and potentially hurt their business in the future. Others might say the bag wouldn’t be big enough to do it in the first place and wasn’t worth the time.
But, I think we all can agree that if there ever was a time for artists to jump in the ring it’s now while millions of people are forced into the 4 corners of their homes clinging to social media as their only means of human connection.
Swizzy and Tim did it on one of the biggest stages in hip-hop, so it’s only right that the two legends became the purveyors of the Instagram live battles that have captured the few moments of happiness that have occurred so far in 2020.
The IG live battle that took off was between Scott Storch and Mannie Fresh, a battle that brought out the biggest hip-hop media outlets, the gatekeepers of hip-hop culture, the artists some of whose records got spun in the competition and of course the fans who’s undivided attention made the live stream flirt with 200,000 views on the live battle.
Scott Storch was declared the winner of the battle, but the results mattered less than just embracing the moment and realizing how many hits these two men are responsible for; its been like that with each battle that’s been conducted from Boi-1da vs Hit-boy to the songwriters battle of The Dream vs Sean Garrett.
A day will come when life goes back to normal. Concert tickets will be sold, clubs will re-open and vacations will be booked. But, we’ll always talk about when Swizz Beats and Timbaland, the kings of quarantine, brought out the legends for war.
Swizz Beatz is continuing the series of artists going head to head with their 20 biggest hits. Next on the list, T-Pain and Lil Jon. The battle will take place on Instagram Live Saturday, April 4th.
Lil Jon was the voice of Atlanta in the early to mid-2000s dropping classic records like “Yeah” performed by Usher, “Snap Ya Fingaz” with E-40 and Sean Paul from the Youngbloodz and so much more (I don’t want to spoil the contest running of tracks.)
In the other corner, T-Pain was the face of auto-tune, a vocal effect still used today, dropping classics like “Buy U a Drank” and “Kiss Kiss” with Chris Brown.
On Wednesday, Scott Storch and Mannie Fresh went head to head in a producer battle that peaked at 202,000 people watching live with Swizz Beats keeping score.
Swizzy had Storch winning in a close battle, but the live comments told a different story with Scott Storch winning by a landslide. Mannie’s archives included tracks like “Back That Azz Up,” “Go DJ,” and Young Jeezy’s “And Then What.”
Scott Storch showed his versatility going from 50 Cent “Just a little bit” to Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” and threw in Chris Brown’s first hit “Run it” featuring Juelz Santana.
We have a change of plans for tonight !!! We now have @manniefresh vs @scottstorchofficial 9pm est on live. Let’s the games begin !!!!! @timbaland the paperwork is fully in
my wish list 
