Pure magic was made
Last night's Verzuz was the epitome of Black excellence and Black Girl Magic!
It was a celebration like no other, a Verzuz battle that garnered a record-breaking 1.2 MILLION viewers -- and it was thanks to two R&B legends: Brandy and Monica.
Many of us have waited for this moment for a good 20+ years. Brandy and Monica gave us the somewhat tour that us 80s babies only dreamed of having back in the '90s.
After years of being pitted against each other, these two queens blessed us with an iconic Verzuz live battle displaying their amazing, timeless catalog of music while also keeping it cordial and boosting up one another. I love how they saluted one another's accomplishments throughout the years. Both songstresses also said it's been about 8 or 9 years since they've been in a room together.
These Verzuz battles are our new go-to entertainment source during this pandemic. I used a PTO day just to make sure I wouldn't miss not one second of this greatness!
Now, some tea was spilled (like when Monica revealed she asked Usher to collaborate on another song and he said no) + a little tension was obviously noticed by fans and a splash of shade was thrown on both sides. Overall, it was a Verzuz celebration that the culture needed, and I was so happy to see these two finally come together, again!
According to Swizz Beatz -- who is one of the creators of Verzuz -- this battle almost didn't happen. Neither Monica nor Brandy wanted to do it at first and it took a lot for them to finally come around, Swizz revealed. In the end, they both came together to give the people what we wanted, what we needed.
I got so caught up in reminiscing about the good ol' days that I lost track of the score with who was winning. Overall, the real winner for the Verzuz battle was us, the fans.
The nostalgia was so real
This Verzuz definitely gave me an escape from the craziness happening in 2020 as memories from the '90s flooded my head -- like when I would pop in cassette tapes and had to wait to replay my favorite jams by rewinding the song in my Walkman. I also reminisced about my 8th grade dinner dance when Monica played her hit "For You I Will." Just so many of their hits took me down memory lane of the '90s and had me thinking about how good those years were and how '90s R&B was truly the best.
And can we talk about Brandy for a second with the big flexes -- she was thee Black Cinderella (I know you heard that "Impossible" song she slipped in there!), she had her own TV show "Moesha," she also starred on "The Game," acted in different movies, had her own Barbie doll, and let's not forget the Biggie and Tupac flexes she added in. Whew!
Brandy's resume is unbelievably impressive for someone who is only 41 years old.
I hope this Verzuz battle showed why Brandy and Monica were so important to us, especially young Black girls like myself who wanted to be like them.
The two rounds that really stood out for me
Round 4 was a battle of the debut singles!
Brandy's "I Wanna Be Down" (1994) vs. Monica's "Don't Take It Personal" (1995) was sooo hard to choose from
Brandy recalled first meeting Tupac in the '90s and added in the fact that Pac name-dropped her debut hit single, plus she added in the sound bite. Chile! And, if that wasn't enough, Brandy also hit us with the "I Wanna Be Down" remix. BIG flex on Brandy's part. Huge! I gotta give that round to her.
Round 7 made some of us cry
Brandy, Chaka Khan, Tamia & Gladys Knight's "Missing You" (1996) vs. Monica's "For You I Will" (1996) -- another hard round
First off, this round was most definitely a tie. Brandy paid homage to icons like Kobe Bryant and Whitney Houston before playing "Missing You" from the Set It Off soundtrack. Monica then played "For You I Will" and she also mentioned how it remains an impactful song for Kobe's wife Vanessa. Monica said she was only 17 years old when that song came out, plus she reminded everyone it was for "Space Jam." Huge flex!
In the end, Brandy and Monica came together for somewhat of a live version of their classic song "The Boy Is Mine." And, even though it looked like Monica didn't really want to sing it live with Brandy... I'll take it! Just seeing both of these queens in their element was enough for me.
Brandy even teased the possibility of a joint tour! Was she serious? Who knows.
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