Carl Thomas & Case Bring Classic R&B Catalogs To Verzuz

Verzuz is keeping its latest run firmly in R&B. Case and Carl Thomas are set to meet, bringing two catalogs built on turn-of-the-century slow jams and records that have aged into staples. The battle is set for next Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. PT and 9 p.m. ET. Fans will be able to watch live through Apple Music, Complex, and official Verzuz channels.

The announcement follows August’s Joe and Donell Jones faceoff, continuing a stretch that has put veteran R&B voices back at the center of the platform. Case and Thomas make for a particularly interesting pairing because their commercial peaks overlap without their catalogs feeling interchangeable.

Case has “Touch Me, Tease Me,” “Happily Ever After,” “Faded Pictures,” and “Missing You” to pull from. His catalog also reflects how much of his run crossed through soundtrack culture and Hip Hop collaborations. “Missing You” became his biggest solo hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and No. 4 on the Hot 100.

Thomas enters with one of the defining Bad Boy R&B albums of its era. Emotional arrived in 2000 and gave him “I Wish,” “Summer Rain,” the title track, and “Giving You All My Love.” “I Wish” spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart, while the album eventually went Platinum.

His catalog also gives the night a slightly different emotional temperature. Case often moved between romantic records and Hip Hop-adjacent collaborations, while Thomas built much of his reputation on heartbreak songs that sounded polished without losing their ache. A Verzuz format gives both approaches room to breathe. Neither singer is coming into the matchup as a nostalgia act who disappeared once the early 2000s ended. Case released “I Can’t Breathe” earlier this year, while Thomas has remained active on the R&B touring circuit and returned to “Emotional” in 2025 with a remix featuring Big Boogie and Moneybagg Yo.

Check out the announcement above.