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After the colossal success of the versus battle between Brandy and Monica, people are wondering who will be the next pair of artists to battle.
In the comments of DMX and Snoop Dogg’s versus battle, Keyshia Cole invited Ashanti for a versus battle.
“Ashanti what’s good,” with a heart emoji Cole said in an Instagram live chat room. “Keyshia Cole what’s upppppp,” Ashanti replied with heart emojis.
Ashanti would discuss the battle with rapper Fat Joe on Instagram live. When Fat Joe asked about her thoughts on the battle, Ashanti responded optimistically. “Listen, if they want to see it, I ain’t mad,” Ashanti said.
The versus battle is a webcast series created by acclaimed producers Timberland and Swizz Beatz. It started early in the pandemic when Timberland and Swizz Beatz had a virtual DJ battle on Instagram live. Since then, a number of legends have brought their catalogues to Instagram live to battle, including Babyface and Teddy Riley, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and Brandy and Monica to name a few.
R&B titans Keyshia Cole and Ashanti both got their starts in the 2000s. Ashanti blasted on to the scene in 2002, with her eponymous debut album. Along with being featured on hit songs with rappers like Ja-rule and Fat-Joe, Ashanti was R&B’s new “It girl.” The R&B-pop titan put out hits like “Foolish,” “Rock with you” and “Happy,” to name a few. The Grammy winning artist has sold 15 million records world-wide and sung some of the most memorable feel-good hits of the 2000s.
Keyshia Cole released her debut album “The way it is” in 2005. The urban R&b princess is often compared to the hip-hop soul queen, Mary J Blige; because of her signature themes of hurt and expression in her songs. Her discography includes classics like “Love,” “Let it go,” and “Trust.” In 2009, Billboard ranked Cole among the top 10 R&B/Hip-Hop artists of the 2000s.
Ashanti and Keyshia Cole collaborated on the song, “Woman to woman,” a song from Keyshia Cole’s 2012 album of the same name. Both artists have had their share of hits, and even though Ashanti has a smaller catalogue, she is not to be underestimated. Ashanti was more successful with pop audiences, which made her songs inescapable in the early 2000s.
Cole appealed more to urban radio, but she still was able to create some classics with that audience. The Keyshia Cole and Ashanti versus battle will be an experience that will create 2000s’ nostalgia highlighting their timeless hits.