Teddy Riley and Babyface’s IG Live Battle Hits Technical Snag

Fans were excited last week when Babyface announced he was coronavirus free and challenged Teddy Riley to an Instagram Live battle. Last night, over 400,000 people tuned in to see the two legends play their hits from over the decades. However, the broadcast ran into problems, especially with the audio, and left fans underwhelmed.

An echo from Riley’s end would distort his music and alter the quality of the battle speaking comments in the chat feature about the error.

The battle started at 9 o’clock, but for over 30 minutes the two tried to start the battle. All viewers heard were playback and echoes whenever Riley tried to play a new song. At around 10, they stopped and told people to come back in 30 minutes. But at a little after 10:30, Babyface said through an Instagram post that maybe it’s best to postpone the battle.

“Tonight was really special … it’s only right that we postpone this thing and do it at a time when there aren’t any technical difficulties and everybody can hear the music the way it needs to be heard,” he said.

Swizz Beats, the co-creator of the VERZUZ Instagram Live battles commented on yesterday night’s battle.

“Tonight, shit happens, man … I’m actually cool with stopping the event to make sure it go right …” Swizz told his followers. “A lot of people dressed up for tonight, a lot of people was in there for tonight, but we’re gonna put it back on—it’s going to be amazing. But we gotta respect those legends … I know when to call. We got to call it … Babyface put in too much work, Teddy put in too much, Babyface put in too much work.”

And of course, social media erupted with jokes about the two.