Beenie Man believes that he and Bounty Killer being left off a Billboard cover that’s dedicated to the “Verzuz” battles is the latest sign that dancehall has been disrespected for far too long. So he blasted the magazine when the cover was released, Monday, Aug. 10, and Bounty did the same.
“I guess billboard is REALLY THAT GUY,” wrote Beenie on Twitter. “When will DANCEHALL get it’s recognition???? Nuh matter how the impact, no matter the hard work, no matter how powerful the music is, them still try it everytime them get a chance. Ah time now man. #FixUp. Don’t try undermine the thing .#Dancehall. Big up Swizz & Timz but this is what our genre face! Everybody fwd and tek piece and build up dem thing and then do everything to undermine the genre DANCEHALL where they got it from.”
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who founded “Verzuz,” were also heavily criticized — clearly, by people who don’t understand that the two artists would have had no control over the magazine’s editorial decisions — when the cover without Beenie and Bounty surfaced. The backlash made Swizz post another cover that included both men, but it’s just photo-edited and not the official Billboard cover.
The outrage behind both dancehall artists being excluded from the photo montage has to do with their legendary status and all they’ve done for dancehall, a genre that others like pop and rap often borrow from to make hits.
But Beenie and Bounty have also done a tremendous amount for “Verzuz” by changing the format and making it much more entertaining based on the viewers’ feedback.
In the online showdowns, two artists take turns playing 20 songs from their catalog, and fans decide the winner based on who had the strongest material.
The artists used to play their songs from separate locations when “Verzuz” began, but Beenie and Bounty performed together when they battled on May 23, just like they’ve done in the past.
Their showdown was called the best so far, and with 3.2 million total views, a lot more people streamed it in comparison to other battles.
Bounty sent his message to Billboard Tuesday, Aug. 11, on Instagram and, like Beenie, he implied that dancehall is constantly being slighted.
“@billboard are some d–k riding hypocrite groupies they conveniently forget the reality but dem cyaah stop the glory with a fraud story👌🏾,” wrote Bounty.
People wrote plenty underneath Bounty’s message and agreed that it’s a travesty that he and Beenie were excluded from the cover.
“They’re asking, how can this little a– island produce world class entertainment that broke records. Let’s put the main faces in the back and glorify everyone else. Smh,” someone wrote.
Many left similar messages under Beenie’s tweets.
“Massive disrespect,” someone commented. “You and Killa owned ‘Verzuz,’ there hasn’t been a better battle before or since.”
