Social media was not happy with Keyshia Cole, 39. The Just Like You singer was more than fashionably late her Verzuz battle against Ashanti, 40, on Thursday, Jan. 21. Even Diddy, 51, took to the comments to express his frustration. “Come on, Keyshia!!!” he exclaimed in the comments, as others took to Twitter to complain. “After making us wait over a month for this #Verzuz, Keyshia and Ashanti have the nerve to be late,” one fan wrote.
Once the show was on the road, Keyshia and Ashanti slayed with hit after hit! Ashanti brought out all her Murder Inc. era tunes, including “Down 4 U” with Ja Rule, all from an iconic silver throne fit for royalty. She brought back all the old school vibes with “Baby,” harmonizing on the track just like it was the early ’00s. “See I can never feel at home with you/I gave up everything I owned for you,” she crooned, looking incredible in a sexy blazer dress with a long pearl necklace over it. Of course, she couldn’t miss classics “What’s Luv” with Fat Joe and her version of “Into You” with Fabolous.
Keyshia Cole & Ashanti showin love to 2Pac 🕊 #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/Zgr6meLs8L
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) January 22, 2021
Keyshia sounded incredible as she showed off her vocal range on 2008’s “Playa Cardz Right” with 2Pac, shouting out the late rapper who was a close friend of her brothers. “I was almost signed to Death Row Records — that was so long ago,” she reflected on her teen years when she was first starting out. “The fact I was still able to make it after knowing [2Pac and the Death Row group] — my brother was really close with ‘Pac and everything…he died when I was 16. I made it so many years after he told me I would, and we were able to do a song with him…It’s a blessing to say I made it so far after so much time invested,” she added before getting into the forever-classic tune. Keyshia also performed her unforgettable Diddy collaboration “Last Night,” with O.T. Genasis even popping in for “Love,” a song he remade in 2019.
Ashanti and Keyshia wasn’t playing with the hair tonight 🙌🏽. Come on inches😂😍😍😍 #Verzuz #verzuztv pic.twitter.com/whqO6EquOm
— Dhabii💯 (@iam_Dmannn) January 22, 2021
The highly anticipated Verzuz battle was originally scheduled to take place on Dec. 12, but was unfortunately cancelled after Ashanti tested positive for COVID-19. “Hey y’all just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. I’ve gotten so many calls, texts, emails and DMs (direct messages) checking in on me and my family and I’m super grateful for that,” Ashanti wrote on Dec. 24, 2020. “I’m feeling much better … Thanking God that my mom is out of the hospital and my dad is doing well, she added, confirming she recovered from the virus in January.