Though some have been cast into cabin-fever induced despair as a result of the ongoing quarantine, Scott Storch has seized the opportunity and doubled down in the studio. As he reveals during his wake-and-bake conversation with The Breakfast Club, he’s been cooking up instrumentals every day, including some reserved for his own upcoming solo album — not to mention a few choice bangers with Kevin Gates in the cut. Before long, conversation shifts to his recent battle with Mannie Fresh, an event that seemed to highlight how significant Storch’s early-millennium reign really was.

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Charlamagne eventually acknowledges the elephant in the room, which is to say some of Storch’s co-production credits being used in the battle. “Listen, Dr. Dre is a huge whale, if not the biggest producer in the history of hip-hop music,” says Storch. “Sometimes, when your name sits next to a name that big, it kind of overshadows — especially when I was getting started in the business, I was a young man just coming up. When those records came out, people weren’t reading through the credits and see who was doing what.”

“As far as playing that music in the battle, my sound is pretty clear when people hear it,” he continues. “I’m not going to play something if I’m not one of the main nucleuses or foundations of what these tracks are. I really feel the co-production and writing, whatever I contribute, I bring mine to the table.” Charlamagne challenges Storch’s position, questioning whether his sound is truly that recognizable and pointing out that Storch wasn’t exactly credited on “The Watcher 2.” Storch maintains that he laced the keys and the topline melodies. “Sometimes the credits don’t reflect what went down on the record,” he responds. “In terms of me legitimately being a part of everything I played, come on.”

For more from Scott Storch, who appeared unfazed by Tha God’s skeptical position about his setlist, check out the full conversation below.

If the ongoing influx of producer battles has taught us anything, it’s that Dr. Dre is the final boss of this particular game. Formidable in every department, with a catalog that even the most esteemed producer would tremble at the mere sight off. Decades of material laced for a variety of different artists, from Death Row to Aftermath and beyond. And while the Doc has yet to participate in any of the producer match-ups, DJ Premier was originally hoping to take him on before landing on RZA, as he revealed to Sway Calloway.

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“I really didn’t even wanna do the battle,” admits Primo. “I told them I’ll do it if Dre does it. If Dre does it with me I’ll do it. Otherwise, I’m not doing it.” When Swizz suggested Pete Rock, Premier declined on the basis that he and Rock go head to head during their live set all the time. Luckily, Swizz came through and suggested The RZA, and the challenge was enough to entice Primo into breaking his Dre-only rule. “He was only the only one I could think of that I’d be down to battle, otherwise I wouldn’t want to do it at all.”

Though Dre was ultimately not in the cards, Primo was more than happy to go up against the RZA. In fact, on the day the battle was set to go down, he admits to actually feeling nervous. To be fair, the man’s phone was blowing up with setlist suggestions, with Primo laughing that several actors and famous comedians were quick to offer their suggestions. “I’m like yo, this is starting to get me out of my zone,” laughs Primo. “It was starting to get me nervous…I just didn’t want to let anything sway me from how I know I would attack based on whatever RZA throwing at me.” 

RZA and DJ Premier were the latest hitmakers to go up against each other over Instagram live for Timbaland and Swizz Beatz's "Verzuz" series. The legendary producers went head-head-head on Saturday night in an epic battle for the ages, continuing to keep fans entertained in quarantine. They started off the session by taking a trip down memory lane and recounting how they first met in 1990. Although the Wu Tang leader was experiencing some sound issues near the beginning, he eventually resolved them and proceeded to drop some more vintage heat.

Preemo kicked things off with Jay-Z's "A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More," prompting RZA to fire off GZA's "Liquid Swords." Premier decided to go with M.O.P.'s "Breakin' the Rules" for round two, to which RZA responded with Method Man's "Bring the Pain." Premier played Mos Def's "Mathematics" for the next round, which was met with RZA's pick, Cappadonna's "Maria."

The beat-makers started to up the ante by round four, with Premier bringing Big L's "The Enemy" into the mix. RZA then fired back with Raekwon's "Wu Gambinos." We got KRS One's "MC's Act Like They Don't Know" from Preemo for round five, followed by Ghostface and Jadakiss' "Run" from RZA. The battle went on for another 25 rounds, with RZA playing a snippet of an unreleased Joey Badass track near the end.

Though we’re all on lockdown, Instagram has been supplying an endless amount of entertainment over the past few weeks. Instagram Live has spawned some wild moments from Boosie Badazz‘ livestreams to Tory Lanez‘ Quarantine Radio but for people who simply wanted music, there have been several beat and song battles that have taken place. Last night, T-Pain and Lil Jonwent head-to-head while producers like Boi-1da and Hit-Boy have gone song-for-song, proving who has the better catalog.

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Tonight, old school fans were supposed to be getting a treat when the legends Teddy Riley and Babyface were supposed to hop on Instagram Live. Unfortunately, Swizz Beatz, who has been putting in work behind the scenes, shared the unfortunate news that it would be postponed to a later date that has yet to be announced. The producer shared a statement revealing that they’ll be making it bigger and better in respect to the two kings who paved the way for generations to come.

“The date is changed but keep your outfits on deck because the new date is coming back ASAP and we’re taking the quality to the next levels for these 2 Kings #VERZUZ !!!!!!! @timbaland let’s go !!!! You will understand later trust me!!!!! Nobody backed out FYI !!!” Swizz captioned it.

We’ll keep you posted on the new date. Keep your eyes peeled for that and the female edition of VERZUZ.

With the coronavirus pandemic rendering many traditions obsolete, it has in turn produced a notable influx in online battles, particularly between producers. We’ve already seen Timbaland face off against his longtime rival Swizz Beatz, and Boi-1da waged war with Hit-Boy in a badass and banger-fueled duel. Now, the paperwork has been signed and the new matchup has been decided. Look for Scott Storch to go up against T-Pain tonight at 8PM EST in a match that many are already predicting to be a full-blown slaughter.

And yet, T-Pain has proven above all else that he is both a competitor and an incredible sportsman. Taking to Instagram to hype the musical match-up, T-Pizzle had a laugh at his own expense in the process. “This boy @scottstorchofficial bout to curb stomp me,” he captions. “Win or lose I’m honored to be apart of the biggest thing happening right now. Tune in and celebrate music history wit us! Shit gon be fun regardless. Thank you @timbaland and @therealswizzz.” 

Though Storch has kept the trash-talk to a minimum, he did share a clip of T-Pain addressing the challenge on his Instagram. “You know folks, sometimes a challenge comes into your house and you gotta accept,” explains Pain. “Swizz hit me, Timbo hit me, and this is happening. T-Pain vs Scott Storch. There’s going to be a lot of hits. Scott, you don’t want the smoke. It’s happening buddy!” Check out the announcement poster below, and hit the comment section with your predictions.

Beat battles have been dominating Instagram Live feeds over the last week since everyone has been stuck inside. We recently saw Hit-Boy and Boi-1da go head-to-head which resulted in several the previews of unreleased song snippets from Nipsey Hussle, Big Sean, Drake, and Roddy Ricch. The-Dream and Sean Garrett hosted a live where things got tense and personal as they competed to see who had more hit singles.

The requests for match-ups have been running rampant on social media but the heads have really been wanting to see Madlib and Alchemist go head-to-head. Both producers have extensive catalogs filled with certified classic records with legendary rappers. Unfortunately, Alc doesn't want to step into the ring with Madlib. 

"Madlib would absolutely destroy me," Alchemist admitted to Elliot Wilson. "You crazy, man? I ain't going up against that man."

He added, "Madlib is like my idol, man. That's my brother, too. He's on another planet on his own. He's his own genre."

Though Alchemist doesn't want to face Madlib in a beat battle, he said that the current match-ups have been incredible for the culture. "I like what’s going on. Obviously, it’s entertainment for us all to see everybody flexing like that. And it’s really a celebration at the end of the day," he said before he was asked about going against Madlib.

Peep the clip below. 

A few days removed from Swizz Beatz and Timbaland squaring off in an epic producer duel rematch, Boi-1da and Hit-Boy are gearing up for a bonafide battle of the beats this very evening. In other words, it’s Boi vs. Boy and only one will prevail.

Put together by Timbaland and Swizzy for the shared benefit of hip-hop culture, the incendiary event has already caught the eye of many prominent hip-hop names — some of whom might have even tossed a couple of dollars on their chosen competitor. “I’ve heard about bets from 100$ to 10,000$ So Far. Who Tuning in?” asks Hit-Boy, who would likely bet on himself in this situation. After all, he’s packing a catalog that includes The Throne’s “N***as In Paris,” Kendrick Lamar‘s “Backseat Freestyle,” A$AP Rocky’s “Goldie,” and many more.

Yet the North has never been known to shy away from a fight. Taking to Instagram for the proverbial weigh-in, Toronto’s Boi-1da slid through with some words for his opponent. Considering his ridiculous catalog of bangers, including but not exclusive to Drake‘s “God’s Plan,” Eminem‘s “Seduction,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Blacker The Berry,” the Canadian appears to be a formidable contender.

It’s honestly difficult to foresee a decisive victory from either party, but one thing is clear — this will be a duel for the ages. Will you be tuning in?