Swizz Beatz is calling Justin Timberlake to the Verzuz stage.
During his Verzuz rematch with Timbaland over the weekend, Swizz put the pop superstar on blast. When Timbaland started playing one of the many hits he produced for JT, Swizz attempted to shut him down, much to the surprise of viewers.
“Until you can get Justin Timberlake on Verzuz, I don’t really wanna hear those vocals,” Swizz laughed after Timbaland played JAY-Z and Timberlake’s 2013 collaboration “Holy Grail.”
Later when Timbo played “Cry Me a River” and “SexyBack,” Swizz again chimed in. “Until Justin let the world know that he–” Swizz said before Timbaland cut him off. “Justin gotta come out, he’s coming out.”
“He gotta admit that he love the Black culture and he gotta be on this stage,” Swizz said before inviting JT to participate in an upcoming Verzuz battle. “You took from the Black culture, you give to the Black culture! Come to Verzuz and be a part of the Black culture!”
Later during a post-show livestream, captured by HipHop-N-More, Timbaland confronted Swizz over his controversial comments. “You did went a little hard on my brother JT though. You went too hard, man,” he said.
Swizz explained why he decided to call out JT. “Look, man, I had to go hard. Did you hear how them songs were sounding on that stage? You and JT, it was like JT was in the building. I was like, man!” he said.
But Swizz said it was all in good fun. “I don’t got no problem with JT. I don’t got no problem with nobody,” he assured Timbo. “Shout out to JT, we can’t wait to get you on stage having fun, ’cause you deserve it too.”
Justin Timberlake’s name has been tossed around before, and Drake reportedly told Timbaland that he wants to see him go up against Usher. “It’s so funny, Drake hit me up too about it, too. He said, ‘We gotta make that happen.’ I’m like, ‘Soon to come. Soon to come,’” Timbaland said on ESPN2’s “Jalen & Jacoby.”
During Sunday’s Verzuz, Swizz also debuted an unreleased version of DMX’s “Bath Salts” featuring J. Cole.