Ashanti & Keyshia Cole "Verzuz" Sets New Record On Instagram

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20225.1K Views

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole's "Verzuz" beat Gucci Mane and Jeezy's record for Instagram viewership.

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole's Verzuz felt like a long time coming. Over the course of a few months, people have anticipated the battle only to have it postponed on several occasions. Ashanti caught coronavirus last year, pushing the event back on two separate occasions until Timbo and Swizz simply said, 'fuck it' and got the two R&B stars to face-off over IG live instead of in-person. And while there were hiccups along the way, it remained a successful evening for all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXyhpGIMAO

Following the battle, Verzuz came through with the analytics, proving that the platform continues to get bigger and bigger. On Instagram they had 1.2M concurrent viewers and 6M viewers in total which is now a new record for Verzuz. Additionally, it marked the second-highest tweeted battle of all time. Clearly, people were stoked for this but it's hard not to imagine that a good percentage of those tweets surrounded Keyshia Cole's tardiness.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1353133648124530692

The previous record on Instagram was previously held by none other than Jeezy and Gucci Mane whose Verzuz racked upwards of 5.5M viewers on Instagram.

Timbo and Swizz's platform has continued to go up throughout the pandemic. And it appears that future battles might include some late legends. Over the weekend, Timbo and Swizz hinted at two different Verzuz line-ups -- one with Tupac & Biggie, the other with Michael Jackson and Prince.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.