John Legend and Alicia Keys Announce Juneteenth VERZUZ Battle

Timbaland and Swizz Beats‘ highly-popular VERZUZ Instagram Live battle series has become a hot topic within the world of music over the past several months. Thee two famed producers have continued to push the culture forward with their out-of-this-world matchups and now they’re returning on Juneteenth alongside Alicia Keys and John Legend for an extra-special event.

Let’s celebrate Juneteenth with a special edition #Verzuz! @AliciaKeys vs @JohnLegend on the 🎹

Friday, June 19th | 8PM EST pic.twitter.com/KI7sJrWapr

— Verzuz (@verzuzonline) June 13, 2020

Over the weekend, Swizz announced the battle via Instagram, revealing that the event would take place on the holiday, which commemorates June 19, 1865, the end of slavery in the US.

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

Celebrating Juneteenth with a special edition of #Verzuz! It’s a battle of the pianos with me vs. @AliciaKeys this Friday, June 19th at 8ET/5PT @verzuzonline pic.twitter.com/uttjPbMKDd

— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 13, 2020

Previous VERZUZ battles include face-offs between Nelly and Ludacris, Lil Jon and T-Pain, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and more. John Legend is also set to release his new album Bigger Love on June 19. The project, which follows 2016’s Darkness and Light, will feature contributions from Gary Clark Jr., Jhené Aiko, Koffee, Rapsody, and more.

For more related news, watch Lil Baby’s powerful visual for “The Bigger Picture.”