D’Angelo to Take On Unnamed ‘Friends’ in ‘Verzuz’ Battle

D’Angelo will face off against unnamed ‘friends’ in an upcoming Verzuz episode. The battle, which takes place live at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater, will stream via Instagram Live on February 27th.

Launched last year by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, the popular series features veteran songwriters, producers and artists who musically battle vying to outdo each other in a mostly friendly competition, although it has also presented artists who have had previous beefs. A recent Verzuz featured Gucci Mane and Jeezy, where the two Atlanta rappers rekindled their 15-year feud in an intense exchange of words. That episode drew more than 1.8 million viewers.

D’Angelo released Black Messiah in 2014, his most recent album and first to follow his R&B classic Voodoo from 14 years prior. Last year, he appeared on producer Slingbaum’s vinyl-only release “Behoove” with Erykah Badu. In 2019, the reclusive soul auteur contributed “Unshaken” to the soundtrack of video game Red Dead Redemption 2 and also collaborated with Rapsody on “Ibtihaj” from the rapper’s album, Eve.