Alicia Keys to go head-to-head with John Legend in ‘Verzuz’ battle

Alicia Keys and John Legend are set to go head-to-head in a Verzuz battle next week.

The battle series began on Instagram at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and was initiated by producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland.

Verzuz battles see two producers, songwriters or performers face-off against each other, playing through their own catalogue. A winner isn’t declared but the audience often argues about who has the better songs in the comments section.

Keys and Legend will go up against each other in another edition of the series, with their battle set to take place on June 19. The date is also known as Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the US.

“Let’s celebrate Juneteenth with a special edition,” an Instagram post from the official Verzuz account read. The battle will begin at 8pm EST (1am BST). On his Twitter account, Legend dubbed it a “battle of the pianos”.

 

Other battles in the series have seen face-offs including Nelly versus Ludacris, Lil Jon versus T-Pain, and French Montana versus Tory Lanez.







Legend will also release his new album ‘Bigger Love’ on June 19. The follow-up to 2016’s ‘Darkness And Light’ will feature guest appearances from Gary Clark Jr., Jhené Aiko, Koffee, Rapsody and more.

Meanwhile, Keys was one of a number of stars to sign an open letter calling for justice for Ahmaud Arbery. The 25-year-old was shot and killed on February 23 as he went jogging in Brunswick, Georgia. Two men – Gregory McMichael and son Travis – were arrested and charged with Arbery’s murder on May 7, after outrage spread online and in the US media that no action was seen to be taken in the case.

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